4 - Recognised
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Local and direct sourcing is a defining commitment: nearly all fresh ingredients come from Groningen and Drenthe, with a named permaculture grower (Tuin voor Zwaantje in Annen), an on-site kitchen garden and beehives, and wild-foraged mushrooms and herbs from the surrounding region. Seasonal cooking follows naturally from this approach, with menus structured around what the garden, the forager and the local waters provide at any given time. The kitchen's circular practices centre on fermentation as both a culinary and a preservation technique, with koji, pickles, house made soy sauce and dashi reducing waste while adding depth. Animal products are sourced responsibly: the kitchen has eliminated beef, dairy, pork and endangered species entirely, using only local game, poultry and nearby-waters fish. The plant forward philosophy is the restaurant's strongest area, recognised by the We're Smart Green Guide with its highest distinction of five radishes and a place in the 2025 Top 100 Best Vegetable Restaurants worldwide.
Herberg Onder de Linden is a Dutch Cuisine listed restaurant, holds a Michelin star and a Gault&Millau score of 16.5.
The impact dimensions
Low waste & circular practices✓
Sustainable animal products✓
Nearly all ingredients from Groningen and Drenthe, including direct sourcing from named permaculture grower Tuin voor Zwaantje, an on-site garden, wild-foraged produce and local game and fish.
Nearly all fresh ingredients come from Groningen and Drenthe provinces. The restaurant draws from named suppliers including Tuin voor Zwaantje, a permaculture CSA garden in Annen where the restaurant team maintains its own plot; an on-site kitchen garden for fruit, herbs, flowers and vegetables; own bees for honey; wild-foraged mushrooms and herbs from the surrounding region; and local game, poultry, North Sea fish and shellfish.
The sourcing philosophy extends to complete self-sufficiency within the region: local grains for sourdough, Groningen beans for in-house tofu, and a deliberate elimination of distant luxury imports (lobster, truffle, caviar). Dutch Cuisine listing confirms the restaurant as sourcing 'alle versproducten uit eigen land' (all fresh products from the Netherlands). Multiple independent press sources corroborate the near-complete regional sourcing.
Menu follows seasonal availability through reliance on the restaurant's own garden, permaculture partner and wild foraging, with current offerings reflecting spring and summer ingredients.
The menu's seasonal rhythm is structural: the kitchen's reliance on its own garden, a permaculture partner and wild foraging naturally anchors the cooking to what is available at any given time. A deliberate menu restructuring in July 2025 reinforced this by eliminating non-seasonal imports. Dutch Cuisine lists the restaurant's seasonal produce commitment as a guiding principle.
Current menus feature seasonally appropriate items—spring and summer dishes include pea, spearmint, wild garlic, lamb and North Sea crab—reflecting the kitchen's responsiveness to local availability.
Extensive fermentation programme (koji, pickles, house-made soy sauce, dashi) serves as both a culinary and waste-reduction technique; on-site EV charging available.
The kitchen's circular approach centres on extensive fermentation (koji, fermented black garlic, pickles, house-made soy sauce, dashi), which serves as both a culinary technique and a preservation method, transforming ingredients that might otherwise be discarded. Whole-ingredient cooking from the on-site garden and wild foraging reduces waste at source. In the energy sub-area, two EV charging stations are installed at the premises.
Local game, poultry and North Sea fish only; no dairy, beef, pork or endangered species; regional origin specified on menu.
The kitchen has taken a deliberate approach to reducing animal-product impact: no dairy, beef, pork, endangered species, or distant luxury items (lobster, truffle, caviar eliminated in July 2025). Remaining proteins are local game, poultry from northern Netherlands, lamb, and North Sea fish and shellfish, with species and regional origin specified on the menu. Dutch Cuisine listing confirms this sourcing philosophy.
Partnership with Tuin voor Zwaantje community garden; affordable four-course menu introduced; staff development through apprenticeship; Alliance Gastronomique member.
The restaurant operates within a 1735 Rijksmonument, preserving a community cultural asset. A partnership with Tuin voor Zwaantje CSA garden establishes a direct social supplier relationship, and the introduction of an affordable four-course menu (€79) widens accessibility. The kitchen supports staff development through apprenticeship—head chef Bjorn Snijder trained at the restaurant and returned to lead the kitchen. The restaurant holds Alliance Gastronomique membership.
Fully plant-forward by design: We're Smart Green Guide five-radish rating and Top 100 Best Vegetable Restaurants placement; 80/20 plant-to-animal ratio with full veg and vegan alternatives.
Vegetables are the unambiguous centre of the kitchen's identity. The We're Smart Green Guide awards the restaurant five radishes (maximum rating) and names it 'culinary discovery of the year in the Netherlands for 2025', placing it at number 72 in the Top 100 Best Vegetable Restaurants worldwide. An 80/20 plant-to-animal ratio, with Dutch Cuisine confirming 'groente in de hoofdrol' (vegetables as the star), reflects the commitment.
The kitchen has eliminated dairy, beef and pork entirely, offering full vegetarian alternatives for every course and fully vegan menus on request. Plant-based fermentation is central—koji, fermented black garlic, Groningen bean tofu, house-made soy sauce, dashi—drawing on the on-site garden, permaculture supplier and wild foraging. Animal proteins, where present, are minimal and responsibly sourced.
Sourcing signals
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Direct named-farm sourcing
Own garden on site for fruit, herbs, flowers and vegetables. Own bees for honey production.
Tuin voor Zwaantje (permaculture CSA garden in Annen, Drenthe) is the restaurant's named grower with a dedicated restaurant-team plot.
Extensive in-house preparation includes fermentation (koji, fermented black garlic, house-made soy sauce, dashi, pickles), sourdough from local grains, and tofu from Groningen beans.
