City Guide The Hague

In: Travel
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Written from the perspective of a second-year PhD candidate in the Netherlands.

I lived in the Hague for two years. These are some of my favorite spots for lunch, dinner, coffee and drinks.

Coffee etc.

Bijenkorf City Café

The ground floor of this huge upscale department store has a small cafe overlooking one of the busiest crossroads in the Hagues city center. It is my favorite place for people watching. Order a cappuccino and grab one of the chairs in front of the windows. They also have tasty cakes.

www.debijenkorf.nl, Wagenstraat 32, 2512 AX, Den Haag

8tea5

The best place for bubble tea, situated in the beautiful Passage.

8tea5.com, Passage 77, 2511 AC The Hague

Exki

My favorite coffee bar at the Turfmarkt. Lebkov and August (the other two coffeebars) are okay too, but Exki's lemon-drizzle cake with white-chocolate topping is just to die for. They also sell Palais de Thes tea.

www.exki.nl, Turfmarkt 224-226, Den Haag

Food

Minglemush

Food court with lots of cute little food stands. Minglemush has lots of different food options, plus craft beers, wine and gin & tonics. Minglemush lies on the east side of The Hague Central Station. It's almost never found by tourists, who tend to immediately exit the train station to the west upon arrival to go to the city centre. There also an upstairs, where you can find an arcade with old-skool games. Try the poke from the Pokébar or the genuine mexican tacos from Mixco.

www.minglemush.nl, Anna van Buerenplein 712, 2595 DK Den Haag

Bik Frietwerk

Get your fries (regular potato or sweet potato) from this haute cuisine snackbar, only 2 minutes away from The Hague Central Station. Great for lunch and dinner. I prefer the sweet potato fries with mango-mayonaise, or the regular fries with guacamole.

bikfrietwerk.nl, Turfmarkt 228, 2511 DJ Den Haag

Istana

The Hague is famous for its great indonesian food. If you have some time and money to spend and want to taste good rendang, go to Istana.

www.istana.nl, Wagenstraat 71-73, 2512 AR Den Haag

Warung mini

This tiny warung (small restaurant or cafe) is famous throughout The Hague. You might need to wait for a long time, as it is popular with locals. When I lived in the Hague, I went to eat there regularly. The roti leans to the salty side, but it's comfort food and comes for a reasonable price. They also do take-away, although you might try Moksi (a few streets further away, at Boekhorststraat 119) for shorter waiting times.

www.warungminidenhaag.nl, Amsterdamse Veerkade 57-A, 2512 AH Den Haag

Eazie wok

If you want a cheap and healthy supper, try the wok dishies of Eazie. The "indonesian cocos" with fried rice and fish is my number one favorite. Both The Hague Central Station and The Hague Hollandsch Spoor have an Eazie within walking distance.

eazie.nl, Gedempte Gracht 78 (near Central Station), Herengracht 26 (near Central Station), Stationsweg 136 (near Hollandsch Spoor)

Broodje van 's Gravenhage

Cheap but tasty roti-filled burrito's ("roti-wrap") for take-away. Perfect train food.

broodjevansgravenhage.nl, Rijnstraat 14, 2515 XP Den Haag