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Centrum · The Hague · Netherlands

Botanica

A vegetable led kitchen, bar and garden inside The Hague's voco hotel, cooking seasonal Dutch produce with plants at the centre of the plate.

The essentials, at a glance

◐
Impact score
4 - Recognised
→
Documented practices
Local sourcing
Seasonal cooking
Low waste
Plant-forward menu

Style
Casual
Cosy
Trendy
Cuisine
Dutch
International
Good to know
Terrace
Garden
Bar
Recognised by
Dutch Cuisine·Charter signed

The delicious details

Botanica sets vegetables at the centre of the plate, cooking to the five principles of Dutch Cuisine: culture, health, nature, quality and value. Around four fifths of the menu is built from vegetables, with meat and fish in supporting roles.

The kitchen, led by chef Bas Hoog, works from an open pass inside the voco hotel on Kneuterdijk, drawing on produce from the Westland growing region, The Hague's market and the nearby North Sea coast. Coffee arrives from a city roaster by bike, eggs come from a local farm, and herbs are grown in the restaurant's own garden.

Traditional techniques such as fermentation and pickling run through the cooking, and a single vegetable is often worked into several preparations. A hidden city garden, tropical planting and resident butterflies give the room its calm, green character.

Menu
What's on the table, and what's left off

A vegetable-led kitchen at the voco hotel serving lunch and breakfast, built around four-fifths vegetables and one-fifth protein. The menu includes a plant-based burger, vegetarian options, and seasonal Dutch produce from the Westland region and North Sea coast.

Cuisine
Dutch
International
Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Vegan-friendly
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
4 - Recognised

The kitchen sources much of its produce close to home, drawing on the Westland growing region, The Hague's market and North Sea fish, with coffee delivered by bike from a city roaster and eggs from a local farm. Cooking follows the seasons in the Dutch Cuisine tradition, with dishes built around what is available through the year.

Vegetables form the foundation of most plates, making up around four fifths of the menu. The kitchen also works to limit waste, using fermentation and pickling to preserve produce and turning whole vegetables into several preparations, and it keeps a bee hotel and an on site herb garden.

Its approach is recognised by Dutch Cuisine, the national movement for seasonal, vegetable forward cooking that aims to be responsible for people, animals and the environment.

The impact dimensions
Local & direct sourcing✓
Seasonal cooking✓
Low waste & circular practices✓
Sustainable animal products
Social impact
Plant-forward menu✓

Produce from the Westland growing region, The Hague's market and North Sea coast; coffee delivered by bike from a local roaster; eggs from a local farm.

Local and regional sourcing is a stated value of the kitchen, corroborated by the restaurant's Dutch Cuisine listing. Produce is drawn from the Westland growing region, The Hague's market and the North Sea, with coffee from a local roaster delivered by bike and eggs from a local farm. Editorial coverage describes an approximately 80 percent local sourcing share.

Strongest sourceDutch Cuisine ↗

Seasonality is a guiding principle; the menu follows what nature provides through the year, with rotating dishes such as yellow beets, grilled North Sea mackerel and seasonal festive menus.

Seasonality is communicated as a guiding principle through the Dutch Cuisine philosophy, where the menu follows what nature provides through the year. Editorial coverage cites clearly seasonal dishes (yellow beets, grilled North Sea mackerel, sea buckthorn) and rotating festive menus.

Strongest sourceDutch Cuisine ↗

Fermentation and pickling preserve produce; single vegetables are worked into several preparations; coffee delivered by bike; bee hotel supports biodiversity.

Specific circular practices are described: fermentation and pickling used to preserve produce, and whole vegetables worked into several preparations rather than discarded (a single cabbage becoming couscous, risotto, creme and bechamel). Lower-impact logistics are also noted, with coffee delivered by bike, alongside a bee hotel supporting biodiversity.

Strongest sourceEntreemagazine ↗

Animal products play a supporting role; organic Dutch beef and grass-fed language noted; eggs from a local farm; North Sea mackerel sourced, but no named suppliers or welfare certifications for higher-impact items.

Animal products play a supporting role on a vegetable-led menu. There are partial quality signals: organic Dutch beef and grass-fed language, locally sourced eggs, and North Sea mackerel. However, no individual suppliers are named, and higher-impact commodities such as smoked salmon and tuna carry no sustainability qualification (no MSC, ASC or equivalent).

Strongest sourceRestaurant submission

A monthly Community Table (third Thursday) is described as a shared-dining initiative; the restaurant states it supports smaller local companies through supplier choices.

Social signals are limited and lightly evidenced online. A monthly Community Table (third Thursday) is described as a shared-dining initiative, and the restaurant states it supports smaller local companies through its supplier choices. No named partner organisation, employment practice, or recurring community programme is documented in independent sources.

Strongest sourceOn a Journey ↗

Vegetables are the structural foundation, positioned as the main event; roughly 80 percent vegetables and 20 percent protein; vegetarian dishes and plant-based burger available.

Vegetables are the structural foundation of the menu, positioned as the main event rather than the side. The restaurant and independent editorial coverage cite a composition of roughly 80 percent vegetables and 20 percent protein, aligned with the Dutch Cuisine principle of vegetables in the leading role. Vegetarian dishes and a plant based burger are available.

Strongest sourceOn a Journey ↗
Sourcing signals
✓
Own-grown produce
✓
In-house preparation

The restaurant grows herbs and spices in its own city garden. Editorial coverage notes on-site cultivation; scale is modest, focused on herbs and some produce.

Fermentation, pickling and botanical infusions are named as kitchen techniques. A single vegetable is worked into several in-house preparations (pickled, smoked, creme, vegan bechamel).

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Kneuterdijk 8, 2514 EN The Hague, The Hague, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€
Format
Lunch and breakfast; reservation recommended
Hours
Monday06:30–10:30
Tuesday06:30–10:30
Wednesday06:30–10:30
Thursday06:30–10:30
Friday06:30–10:30
Saturday07:00–11:00
Sunday07:00–11:00
Style
Casual
Cosy
Trendy
Good to know
Terrace
Garden
Bar
Web
botanicarestaurant.nl
Reserve a table
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 12 Jul 2026
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How we score
The My Treats impact scale

Every restaurant is assessed against SEERO, our six-dimension sustainability framework — covering sourcing, seasonality, waste, animal products, social impact, and plant-forward cooking. Each finding is weighted by how strongly it is corroborated. The combined result is translated into a planet rating from 1 to 5.

The five levels

SEERO is an acronym for Starting, Engaged, Endorsed, Recognised, Outstanding:

Starting First verified signals of sustainable practice.
Engaged Credible practice across two dimensions.
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
This place
Outstanding Top-tier practice, confirmed by recognised third-party audit.

How a level is reached. Each level needs two things together: a minimum number of dimensions covered, and a minimum overall strength of evidence across them. A dimension only counts once its evidence is specific and substantiated — a passing mention doesn't qualify. Meeting only one of the two keeps a restaurant a level lower.

Ratings of four or five planets require human validation and, at the top tier, an external audit. Scores are based on publicly available evidence and restaurant submissions at the time of assessment.

Full methodology→
Impact dimension
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How this dimension works
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How evidence is weighted
Self-declared Stated by the restaurant on its website, menu or in a submission. Plausible, but not yet independently corroborated.
Researched Found through independent research; one credible third-party source backs the claim.
Vouched Corroborated across more than one independent source. Some gaps may remain.
Audited Fully corroborated across independent sources or by a recognised third-party certification.
What the sourcing checkmarks mean
✓ Full check — independently verified: corroborated across more than one source, or audited / third-party certified (vouched or audited).
✓ Light check — self-declared or from a single source. Not yet independently verified.
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