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Utrecht · Netherlands

Restaurant Karel 5

Michelin-starred tasting-menu cooking with a vegetable-led classical foundation, served in the medieval refectory of Utrecht's restored fourteenth-century Duitse Huis.

The essentials, at a glance

◐
Impact score
3 - Endorsed
→
Documented practices
Local sourcing
Seasonal cooking
Social impact
Plant-forward menu

Style
Fine dining
Cuisine
International
Good to know
Terrace
Garden
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide·4 radishes

The delicious details

The kitchen sits at the centre of the Grand Hotel Karel V, the restored fourteenth-century Duitse Huis on the southern edge of Utrecht's old town. Service is built around tasting collections of four, five, or six courses, with the menu rotating quarterly.

Chef Leon Mazairac holds vegetables at the centre of his cooking, even when meat and fish are on the plate. A parallel meat- and fish-free tasting menu runs alongside the regular collection at every service.

Most produce comes from Moestuin Maarschalkerweerd, an organic kitchen garden on the city's eastern edge that doubles as a learning ground for people working back into the labour market. The dining room and terrace look out over the inner garden and its fountain.

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

The menu runs as a fixed tasting collection of four, five, or six courses, with a parallel meat- and fish-free progression available at every service. Vegetables anchor most plates regardless of which route the guest follows, and the kitchen accommodates specific dietary requests when notified at booking.

Cuisine
International
Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Allergies handling
Notice At booking

Notify the restaurant at booking; the kitchen accommodates allergies and intolerances on a per-booking basis.

Impact score
How this restaurant rates
3 - Endorsed

Local and direct sourcing is anchored in a working partnership with Moestuin Maarschalkerwaard, the organic kitchen garden on Utrecht's eastern edge, which supplies the restaurant's vegetables on a weekly basis. Named-region produce includes Veluwe game and Herentals saffron. The tasting menu turns over quarterly, with each progression built around what the season's harvest makes available.

The Moestuin Maarschalkerwaard partnership also carries a social dimension: the garden provides labour-market reintegration for young people with occupational disabilities, and their work feeds directly into the restaurant's vegetable supply. The wider hotel complex holds a Green Key certification for environmental practice in hospitality, and the Grand Hotel Karel V sustainability programme covers separated waste streams, environmentally certified cleaning and dishwashing chemistry, and energy management calibrated to the building's monumental status.

Restaurant Karel 5 is listed on the We're Smart Green Guide with four radishes, recognising its plant-forward kitchen and responsible sourcing approach.

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

Weekly vegetables from the named Moestuin Maarschalkerwaard; Veluwe game and Herentals saffron by region.

Vegetables come from Moestuin Maarschalkerwaard, an organic kitchen garden on Utrecht's eastern edge, ordered weekly for the restaurant.

Game is referenced as coming from the Veluwe, and saffron from Herentals; both are named-region claims rather than named-supplier claims. Long-standing relationships with fishermen, hunters, butchers, and cheese affineurs are mentioned, but no further individual suppliers are named.

Strongest sourceguide.michelin.com ↗

Quarterly tasting-menu rotation with seasonal dishes named in Michelin and Gault&Millau coverage.

The restaurant page states that the tasting collection rotates quarterly with new themes and dishes. Michelin and Gault&Millau descriptions cite named seasonal dishes including sea bass with fig leaf and fennel velouté, agnolotti with mushrooms and Aleppo pepper, and raw scallop with lemon vinaigrette.

Strongest sourceguide.michelin.com ↗

Hotel-wide waste separation, certified green cleaning, and energy management; Green Key certification.

Waste management at the restaurant level is wrapped in the hotel's broader environmental programme: maximum waste separation across the property, environmentally certified cleaning and dishwashing chemistry, and energy management calibrated to the fourteenth-century building's monumental status. The hotel holds Green Key certification, which corroborates structured environmental practice through independent audit.

Strongest sourcekarelv.nl ↗

Veluwe game in third-party coverage; fishermen, hunters, and butchers named generally.

Animal sourcing is described as built on long-standing relationships with fishermen, hunters, butchers, and cheese affineurs, with attention to the fishing season and a focus on real farm products and fresh fish. Game is referenced as Veluwe in third-party coverage, providing a partial region-of-origin signal.

Strongest sourcekarelv.nl ↗

Vegetable supplier Moestuin Maarschalkerwaard is a labour-market reintegration social enterprise for people with occupational disabilities.

The restaurant's vegetable supplier, Moestuin Maarschalkerwaard, is a social enterprise providing labour-market reintegration for young people with occupational disabilities, documented directly on the hotel sustainability page and corroborated independently. The wider Grand Hotel Karel V also opens its spaces for cultural events, neighbourhood activities, and the House of Poetry.

Strongest sourcedenormaalstezaak.nl ↗

Parallel meat- and fish-free menu; vegetables at the centre of regular tasting menu.

Chef Leon Mazairac is described in Michelin coverage as holding vegetables at the heart of his cooking, and the hotel positions Karel 5 as having refined its identity around elevating vegetables. A parallel meat- and fish-free tasting menu is offered alongside the regular collection at every service. The regular menu still pairs vegetables with animal proteins equally, so plants are a guiding principle but not yet the structurally dominant axis of every dish.

Strongest sourceguide.michelin.com ↗
Sourcing signals
✓
Direct named-farm sourcing

The named supplier Moestuin Maarschalkerwaard delivers vegetables weekly to the restaurant. Veluwe game and Herentals saffron are cited by region in the hotel's sustainability framework.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Geertebolwerk 1, 3511 XA Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€€€
Format
Tasting menu (4–6 courses); reservation required
Hours
MondayClosed
TuesdayClosed
Wednesday18:00–21:00
Thursday18:00–21:00
Friday18:00–21:00
Saturday18:00–21:00
SundayClosed
Style
Fine dining
Good to know
Terrace
Garden
Web
karelv.nl
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 12 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.
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
This place
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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