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Noordeinde · Den Haag · Netherlands

Elea

Greek-rooted fine dining on Noordeinde, where chef Takis Panagakis works modern European technique through the produce, spices and lexicon of his homeland.

The essentials, at a glance

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Impact score
2 - Engaged
→
Documented practices
Seasonal cooking
Plant-forward menu

Style
Fine dining
Cosy
Cuisine
Fusion
Mediterranean
Good to know
Private dining room
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide·4 radishes

The delicious details

Restaurant Elea occupies a grand townhouse on Noordeinde in central The Hague, where chef and owner Takis Panagakis and hostess Bibi Kuyp have brought their long fine-dining careers together since opening here in February 2023. The name Elea is ancient Greek for olive, and Panagakis draws on his upbringing in Greece to layer suneli spices, smoked yoghurt, fava and trachana into a modern European framework.

The dining room seats 55 across an open kitchen and a chef's table. Service is led by Kuyp, who came up through Sea Grill in Brussels and De Zwethheul, with a sommelier and a maître handling wine, cheese and cocktails between them.

Menus run as five, six or seven-course tastings, with a nine-course chef's menu and a full vegetarian version that mirrors the regular menu course for course. The kitchen leans into vegetables alongside langoustine, lamb and quail, and dessert often returns to a Hellenic motif, such as a sweet tzatziki with cucumber, dill and Greek yoghurt.

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

Menus follow the European seasons. A full vegetarian menu mirrors the regular menu course for course. Cheese is sourced through named specialist Ed Boele; wine pairings offer an equal alcohol-free option.

Cuisine
Fusion
Mediterranean
Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
2 - Engaged

The kitchen follows the European seasons closely, with spring menus built around white and green asparagus, morels, rhubarb and tender artichoke, and dish writing that tracks the year as it shifts. Vegetables sit at the centre of the table: a complete vegetarian menu mirrors the regular menu course for course, with dishes such as celeriac Wellington and artichoke à la Polita drawing recognition from international guides.

The restaurant is included in the We're Smart Green Guide, the international guide to vegetable-forward kitchens, and was named Mediterranean Restaurant of the Year 2026 by Gault&Millau. It also features in the Michelin Guide selection for the Netherlands.

The impact dimensions
Local & direct sourcing
Seasonal cooking✓
Sustainable animal products
Plant-forward menu✓

Ed Boele is named as the kitchen's cheese specialist; the menu identifies Dutch-sourced shrimp and yellowtail kingfish.

Ed Boele is named on the à la carte as the kitchen's cheese specialist. The menu notes Dutch-origin shrimp and yellowtail kingfish.

No farms, growers or named wholesalers beyond Boele are identified. The concrete signals—a named cheese source and local protein origins—clear the L1 floor, but the kitchen does not document the short-supply-chain detail required for a higher score.

Strongest sourcerestaurantelea.nl ↗

The current spring menu pivots on white and green asparagus, morels, rhubarb and tender artichoke; editorial sources corroborate the seasonal rotation.

The current spring menu is built around white and green asparagus, morels, rhubarb and tender artichoke. Both the regular and vegetarian menus run as five, six or seven courses aligned to the season. Editorial coverage (Horeca Magazine, De Restaurantkrant) describes the menus as seasonal in the same language.

The seasonal intent is specific and independently corroborated. The restaurant does not, however, document the cadence of menu rotation or formally commit to a year-round seasonal sourcing programme, which keeps the score at 3 rather than 4.

Strongest sourcerestaurantelea.nl ↗

The menu identifies Dutch-sourced shrimp and yellowtail kingfish among animal proteins served.

Animal products on the spring menu include langoustine, Dutch shrimp (noted as Dutch-sourced), yellowtail kingfish (described as of Dutch origin), red mullet, quail and lamb.

Strongest sourcerestaurantelea.nl ↗

A full vegetarian menu mirrors the regular menu at every length (five to nine courses); the kitchen is recognised for plant-forward composition by We're Smart, Michelin and Gault&Millau.

The restaurant runs a full vegetarian menu that mirrors the regular menu course for course at every length—five, six, seven and nine-course tastings. Dishes include smoked green yoghurt with green asparagus and radish, tomato spetsofai with couscous and jalapeño, artichoke à la Polita and celeriac Wellington.

Elea is listed in the We're Smart Green Guide, the international guide to vegetable-forward kitchens. Michelin's selection notes that 'vegetables play an important role here, with top-notch vegetarian options.' Gault&Millau named the restaurant Mediterranean Restaurant of the Year 2026, praising the kitchen's plant-based composition.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗
Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Noordeinde 142, 2514 GP Den Haag, Den Haag, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€€€
Format
55 seats, five to nine-course seatings, reservations essential
Hours
Monday18:30–21:30
TuesdayClosed
WednesdayClosed
Thursday18:30–21:30
Friday18:30–21:30
Saturday12:30–14:30, 18:30–21:30
Sunday12:30–14:30, 18:30–21:30
Style
Fine dining
Cosy
Good to know
Private dining room
Web
restaurantelea.nl
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 11 May 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.
This place
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
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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