A beautiful old building that 130 years ago was a warehouse for barley, wheat and other grains. Now it is a beautifully iconic place with a large terrace on the water and a glass conservatory overlooking the Forum, just outside the Diepenring. A wonderful place if you want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city center.

Restaurant with beer
'Graansilo is mainly a very nice collaboration,' says Merel Stam, manager of Grain Silo Food & Drink. 'It is a restaurant with beer, with which we try to create a nice accessible concept. In addition to the four-course surprise menu, guests can also enjoy a two- or three-course dinner during the week. At lunchtime you can also eat a two-course surprise menu and there is a small lunch menu with a choice of a number of sandwiches. According to Merel, the sandwich for which you should go to Graansilo at the moment is the Jamaican pulled chicken sandwich with spicy salsa.

Four-course surprise menu
In the evening the focus is mainly on the four-course menu. 'We change one dish every week,' Merel explains, 'so that we can actually offer a new menu every week. I always call it the entry-level model to fine dining. You don't have to come here in your suit or be very neatly dressed. It is very accessible, also because of the price, which means that quite a few people come to experience what it is actually like to eat out in a more luxurious way.'

A surprise menu is of course not called a surprise menu for nothing. But here is a small tip of the veil. How about beef tataki with kimchi salad and hoisin sauce, or haddock ceviche with avocado, corn and tom kha foam? Or if you have a sweet tooth, then you will definitely love the peach cheesecake, buttermilk gel, mango and a scoop of bourbon-vanilla ice cream.



Grain silo brains
And because it's mainly about beer at the Graansilo, you can always choose a beer arrangement to go with the dishes. Then there is also the Graansilo beer tasting: three beers with a tasty snack board.

No beer is brewed at the restaurant location, but it is developed there. Peter Doornbos, operational manager says: 'Downstairs is the so-called beer vault and that is where our self-proclaimed Grain Silo brains come together to develop new beer recipes. That often starts with a beer, looking at what there is a need for on the market, what we like to do and what it takes. Then we'll have a kind of tasting panel come here. The brewer uses the resulting tasting notes to create a new beer.'

Graansilo is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11.00 a.m. for lunch and dinner. For more information, go to restaurantgraansilo.nl