Feast on an Authentic Indonesian Rijsttafel

Due to its profound colonial history, The Hague is fondly known as the Indonesian capital of the Netherlands. As civil servants and families returned from the former Dutch East Indies in the 19th and 20th centuries, they brought along rich culinary traditions that today define the city's food scene far better than herring or bitterballen.

Make an advance reservation for an authentic rijsttafel (rice table), a banquet-style feast featuring dozens of small, intensely spiced dishes such as slow-cooked rendang, spicy sambal goreng tempeh, skewers of peanut-drizzled satay, and gado-gado. Outstanding institutions like Keraton Damai or Restaurant Poentjak serve benchmark spreads that can easily be tailored to your preferred spice tolerance.