Choux

Choux occupies a former tin factory and gin distillery on the IJ waterfront, its bright red facade marking a kitchen built almost entirely around vegetables. Chef Merijn van Berlo and sommelier Figo van Onna opened the restaurant in 2015 after a series of pop-up ventures, driven by the conviction that vegetables should occupy the centre of the plate.

The five-course tasting menu, presented orally rather than printed, changes with the seasons and draws from nearby growers for its vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Animal protein plays a supporting role at roughly 10% of the menu, limited to game and shellfish. An open kitchen and industrial interiors softened by warm wood set a tone that is refined yet deliberately relaxed.

Van Berlo co-created 621 Ferments with Lindenhoff, upcycling kitchen waste streams into koji-fermented garums. The wine list, overseen by Van Onna through sister company Zuiver Wijnen, centres on natural and biodynamic bottles.