De Nieuwe Winkel in Nijmegen

De Nieuwe Winkel** – Groei Menu 2026
This is the only fully vegan Michelin two star restaurant in the world. That made the experience even more special for me, especially because I live in the Netherlands. I had been curious about De Nieuwe Winkel for a long time and the Groei 2026 menu turned out to be a very creative and often surprising journey through plants, fermentation and completely unexpected interpretations of familiar dishes. Here is my experience per course.

1.The menu started with** **Turkish Tzatziki, or Cacık, which was a fantastic opening for me. It had the fresh and slightly acidic character I know from Turkish cacık, but presented in a much more refined way. As someone who really enjoys these flavours, I loved this dish and gave it a 9/10.

2.Next came a vegetable cracker. It was a small and delicate course that prepared us for what came next. 7.5/10

3.Then came an edible bouquet made from flowers with a creamy filling. It was beautiful, playful and simply fun to eat. I really liked the idea behind it and thought it was a lovely way to showcase flowers as an ingredient. For me, this was a 7/10.

4.The fourth dish was a cracker with different types of seaweed. It was an interesting course but the Seaweed tasted like spinach. Not bad 6.5/10

1. The** **Koji Oyster, made with SCOBY, was one of the dishes that did not work as well for me. I found it too fermented and the texture was a little too slippery for my taste. I could appreciate the technique and creativity behind it, but personally I gave it a 5/10.

2. Then came the a red bean Taco, which was easily my favourite dish of the entire menu and a clear 10/10. This was such a complex dish. It was fresh, savoury, crunchy and soft at the same time. Every bite seemed to reveal something different.

3. Then came something much simpler, but perhaps even more memorable for me: sourdough bread with vegan butter. This was another 10/10. Honestly, I think this was the best sourdough bread and butter I have ever eaten. The bread had so much flavour and the vegan butter was incredibly creamy. It sounds almost strange that bread and butter could be one of the highlights of a two star restaurant, but for me it genuinely was.

4. The strawberry bolognese was a creative interpretation of a familiar Italian dish. Instead of a traditional tomato sauce, strawberry was used as the basis of the sauce. I really appreciated the idea, although I found the acidity a little too dominant. For me, this was a 5.5/10

5. Next came the mahogany chicken soup. The dish was inspired by chicken soup but created using mahogany tree. It was another fascinating example of how the restaurant transforms completely unexpected ingredients into something that still feels familiar. But taste wise it was a 6.5/10.

6. The cracker with tofu, aubergine and glazed shiso was another dish I enjoyed. The different textures worked nicely together and I also love aubergine. For me, this was a 7.5/10.

7. The seitan with buckwheat and XO sauce was one of my least favourite dishes. I found it too acidic for my taste. There were interesting flavours and techniques involved, but the acidity and bitterness dominated the dish for me. I gave it a 5**/10**.

8. Then came an unexpected extra course, the Rosehip Pizza. Instead of tomato sauce, rosehip was used as the base. The thyme was beautifully present and gave the pizza a wonderful aromatic quality. The vegan cheese was particularly impressive because it tasted and felt like a soft and creamy Brie 7.5/10.

9. The dessert featuring Greek yoghurt made from melon seeds was refreshing. Surprisingly, I actually preferred it to regular yoghurt. It had a wonderfully creamy and slightly tangy character. The honey was made from dandelion, if I remember correctly, and added a lovely sweetness. I could honestly imagine starting my morning with a bowl of this. I gave it an 8.5/10

10. The final dessert was No Chocolate Chocolate. It combined flavours of chestnut, almond and cream with a wonderfully crunchy biscuit. The presentation was also beautiful because it was inspired by the artwork of Wassily Kandinsky. I really enjoyed both the taste and the visual aspect of this dessert and gave it an 9/10

Overall, I had a very good experience at De Nieuwe Winkel. Not every dish was completely to my taste, but that is also part of what makes the restaurant interesting. It challenges you to think differently about plants, fermentation and what vegan fine dining can be. I would definitely go back.