4 - Recognised
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Local sourcing runs deep. Fabio Antonini maintains direct relationships with named producers across the Netherlands: wild oysters and sea bass from Goede Vissers, free range heritage pork from Buitengewone Varkens, Kempen sheep from shepherd Stijn Hilgers and honey from De Mokumse Stadsimkerij. The menu changes with the seasons and the day's deliveries, built around what is fresh and available rather than a fixed roster of dishes.
The kitchen actively reduces waste through its partnership with De Keuken van het Ongewenste Dier, which supplies crow and other overlooked proteins, demonstrating a commitment to using what the land and sea provide rather than discarding it. Animal products are sourced with clear traceability: wild caught fish processed with the ikejime method, heritage breeds raised in fields and forests, and Slow Food Presidia products including Wadden oysters and Kempen sheep.
The restaurant has contributed to social food initiatives since becoming the first restaurant outside Italy to join the Slow Food Chefs Alliance in 2009, a network Antonini has championed across the Netherlands.
The impact dimensions
Low waste & circular practices✓
Sustainable animal products✓
Multiple named, traceable local suppliers including Goede Vissers (oysters and wild sea bass), Buitengewone Varkens (free range pigs), and shepherd Stijn Hilgers (Kempen sheep), with clear producer relationships central to the kitchen's identity.
Strong local sourcing across most categories. Multiple named, traceable local suppliers confirmed: Goede Vissers (wild oysters and sea bass from the Wadden/North Sea), Buitengewone Varkens (free range pigs across 20 Dutch locations), Noord Oogst (Amsterdam Noord, heritage Duroc and Berkshire pigs), De Keuken van het Ongewenste Dier (hunted game), De Mokumse Stadsimkerij (Amsterdam urban beekeeping, honey), shepherd Stijn Hilgers (Kempen sheep, Slow Food Presidium product). Direct producer relationships are central to the kitchen's identity and independently confirmed by the Slow Food Foundation.
The restaurant claims all main ingredients come from small producers in Amsterdam and surroundings, with exceptions for Italian wines, cheeses and olive oil. Sea buckthorn berries are sourced from local dunes. Key categories (wines, cheeses, olive oil) are sourced from Italy, and no formal organic certification (EKO/Skal) was identified to independently verify the organic sourcing claim.
Menu operates without fixed recipes, changing daily and seasonally with ingredient availability and the day's deliveries, following Slow Food principles.
Menu largely follows seasonal availability. The restaurant operates without a fixed menu, cooking with what is in stock and changing dishes as ingredients become available or run out. The current menu features clearly seasonal ingredients: green asparagus, white asparagus, ramsons (wild garlic), morels, rhubarb, strawberries, monk's beard, sea banana, and samphire.
Seasonality is described as a guiding principle tied directly to the Slow Food philosophy, though no independent source specifically confirms weekly or daily menu rotation, and no archived menus are available to verify the full extent of seasonal change over the year.
Partnership with De Keuken van het Ongewenste Dier supplies overlooked proteins (crow and hunted game); no fixed menu model reduces food waste by using what is in stock.
At least one concrete circular practice confirmed: partnership with De Keuken van het Ongewenste Dier (Kitchen of the Unwanted Animal), which supplies crow and other hunted game that would otherwise go unused. This represents a food waste reduction and circular approach to overlooked proteins.
The no fixed menu model (cooking what is in stock, serving alternatives when something runs out) is inherently waste reducing. In house preparation of pasta and bread daily reduces packaging waste from bought in products. Avoidance of endangered species (no tuna or swordfish) shows conservation awareness, though no specific practices are documented for plastic and packaging elimination or energy measures.
Named suppliers with verifiable welfare practices: wild-caught fish processed using ikejime humane killing, heritage breeds from small farms, and Slow Food Presidia products including Wadden oysters and Kempen sheep.
Strong traceability and welfare evidence across most animal product categories. Named suppliers with verifiable welfare practices: Goede Vissers (wild caught oysters returned to sea if unsold within two days; wild sea bass processed using ikejime humane killing method), Buitengewone Varkens (pigs roam freely in fields and forests across 20 small scale Dutch locations), Noord Oogst (heritage Duroc and Berkshire breeds), shepherd Stijn Hilgers (Kempen sheep, a Slow Food Presidium product preserving endangered heritage breeds), De Keuken van het Ongewenste Dier (hunted game, reducing waste of overlooked species).
The restaurant avoids endangered species (no tuna or swordfish). Slow Food Presidia products include Wadden oysters and Italian heritage items (Roccaverano robiola, Trasimeno beans, Cetara anchovy sauce). The Slow Food Foundation independently confirms the producer relationships and Presidia sourcing, though no formal MSC, ASC, or Beter Leven certification is held.
Partnership with De Keuken van het Ongewenste Dier (social enterprise promoting overlooked species); Fabio Antonini serves as ambassador of the Slow Food Chefs Alliance in the Netherlands since 2009.
At least one named and verifiable social commitment: partnership with De Keuken van het Ongewenste Dier (social enterprise promoting the use of overlooked animal species to reduce food system waste). Fabio Antonini serves as ambassador and founder of the Slow Food Chefs Alliance in the Netherlands (joined 2009, first restaurant outside Italy), representing ongoing community leadership in food education and biodiversity protection.
The restaurant actively educates diners about food origins and producer relationships, sometimes directing guests to visit organic suppliers directly. The Slow Food Foundation independently confirms the Alliance ambassador role. Only one of three sub-areas is clearly addressed (cause support and community engagement); no employment practices or fair wage commitments are documented in any source.
Approximately 40–45 percent of main courses are vegetarian or vegetable-centred; the menu uses forgotten vegetables, rare heritage plant varieties, and Slow Food Presidia plant products.
Meaningful plant presence on a mixed menu. The current à la carte menu shows approximately 3 of 7 main courses are vegetarian or vegetable centred (charcoal bavette with asparagus, linguine with ramsons pesto, celery knob sandwich with eggplant), representing roughly 40 to 45 percent of mains.
The restaurant uses forgotten vegetables, rare heritage plant varieties, and Slow Food Presidia plant products. However, the menu is not structurally plant forward: meat and fish dishes (lamb shank, duck ragu, mullet, stockfish) are equally prominent. The restaurant's identity centres on Italian cuisine and Slow Food philosophy rather than plant forward cooking.
Sourcing signals
✓
Direct named-farm sourcing
Multiple named producers confirmed (Goede Vissers, Buitengewone Varkens, Noord Oogst, De Keuken van het Ongewenste Dier, De Mokumse Stadsimkerij, shepherd Stijn Hilgers) and independently verified by the Slow Food Foundation.
Fresh pasta and bread made daily in house, confirmed by the restaurant's website and independently verified by Gambero Rosso and the Slow Food Foundation.
