Restaurant Monarh is a restaurant located in a former monastery in the Dutch city Tilburg. It received one Michelin star in the 2019 Michelin Guide and thus became the first such restaurant in Tilburg.[1]
| Restaurant Monarh | |
|---|---|
 The entrance on a Friday evening | |
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | December 5, 2014 |
| Owner(s) | Danny Kovacevic |
| Chef | Paul Kappé |
| Food type | French/International |
| Rating |  (Michelin Guide) |
| Street address | Bredaseweg 204-08 |
| City | Tilburg |
| Postal/ZIP Code | 5038 NK |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Coordinates | 51°33′20.0″N 5°04′10.5″E / 51.555556°N 5.069583°E |
| Seating capacity | 60 |
| Website | www |
History and location
edit
Construction of Monarh started in 2013 in the former kitchen in the semi-basement of a monastery, called Missiehuis.[2] That monastery was used by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (locally called "rooi harten", meaning "red hearts") since its completion in the 1890s.[3] It was later designated as a rijksmonument and was sold in 2010 after its closure in order to be transformed into a residential and office complex.[4] Monarh opened on December 5, 2014, and its name is a contraction of Monastère Rooi Harten.[5]
The restaurant is owned by Danny Kovacevic, and the chef is Paul Kappé.[2] His brother, Ralph Kappé, is the sommelier.[6] Monarh serves both lunch and dinner, and the dishes belong to the French and international cuisines.[2] The white interior of the restaurant is characterized by groin vaults, that are supported by square columns, and arch windows.[7] Monarh has an open kitchen and an outdoor section and can seat over 60 people.[5]
The restaurant received attention after announcing a floating amuse-bouche in 2016. This dish is served on a superconductor, that is cooled with liquid nitrogen and levitates above a magnet for up to three minutes due to the Meissner effect.[8] Subsequently, the owner and chef made an appearance on the talk show RTL Late Night.[9]
Monarh plans to open a second restaurant with a capacity of 150 in Plan-t, a planned office building in Spoorzone. The owner said that restaurant, that would offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner, is aimed to be more affordable and would have a more extensive menu.[10]
Reception
editOn December 17, 2018, Michelin announced at theater DeLaMar that Monarh was among the restaurants that would receive one star in the 2019 Michelin Guide.[1] Head inspector Werner Loens called it a notable entrant in an interview with Misset Horeca and lauded the maturity of the recently opened restaurant.[11] Restaurant guide Gault Millau gave Monarh a score of 14 out of 20, saying the chef cooks with courage and turns "every dish [into] a painting (...) and a feast".[6] Monarh first appeared in the Lekker500, a list of 500 Dutch restaurants, in its 2018 edition.[12] Mac van Dinther wrote a review for the newspaper de Volkskrant in 2015, describing the food as well-prepared and well-presented "but not extraordinarily creative".[7]
References
edit- ^ a b Vermeer, Bas (17 December 2018). "Tilburg heeft eerste Michelinster ooit: Monarh sleept culinaire roem binnen". Brabants Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ a b c Bluiminck, Nathalie (1 December 2014). "Foto's: nieuw restaurant Monarh in Tilburg". Misset Horeca (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ Hest, Joost van (September 2010). "De kapel van het Missiehuis van de Rooi Harten, een ontwerp van de Tilburgse architect A.G. de Bee" (PDF). Tilburg (in Dutch). Vol. 28, no. 2. Stichting tot Behoud van Tilburgs Cultuurgoed. pp. 43–53. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ Vermeer, Bas (27 July 2015). "Nieuwe buurt achter Rooi Harten bewoond: 'Enorme uitstraling'". Brabants Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ a b Vermeer, Bas (29 November 2014). "Horecanieuws: Restaurant Monarh mikt op de top". Brabants Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Monarh". Gault Millau (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ a b Dinther, Mac van (25 April 2015). "Monarh is niet grensverleggend creatief, wel goed gemaakt". De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ Posthumus, Wieteke (15 January 2016). "Restaurant Monarh zet zwevende amuse op de kaart". Misset Horeca (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ "Bijzonder: moleculaire keuken - RTL LATE NIGHT" (in Dutch). RTL Late Night. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2019 – via YouTube.
- ^ Jongerius, Stephan (6 February 2018). "Restaurant Monarh: tweede vestiging in Plan-T". Brabants Dagblad (in Dutch). Tilburg. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ Bluiminck, Nathalie (17 December 2018). "Werner Loens over Michelin 2019". Misset Horeca (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ Goutziers, Joost (31 October 2017). "Tilburgs restaurant Monarh nu ook in de Lekker 500". Brabants Dagblad (in Dutch). Tilburg. Retrieved 29 April 2019.