Ethica restaurant — Restaurant in The Hague

We decided to go here for our one year, and chose to experience their four course dining + wine tasting.

Firstly, the atmosphere is very nice, we sat outside by the canal. The lighting was also nicely lit and the service was super welcoming and accomodating. The wine pairing matched very well with each courses, it didn't feel like you were drinking a bottle of wine. I Believe around 80-90% is also locally sourced from the Netherlands, and is all freshly made.

We started with a venison tartar - it was delicious and not too gamey, there was a nice balance of crunch to balance the softness of the tartar.

Our second course one got a crayfish tartar bisque, which was creamy and delicious. Very easy to eat and perfect after the deer!

And the other, garden peas with mint. A nice pea pure base, topped their garden veggies. It was a very nice, light and refreshing dish after the venison.

For our main course, we both had the half pigeon. We were greeted by the chef, who explained the multiple day process of preparing this dish. This made the experience very personal.

This dish you have three variations of beets, it was nice but definitely an overpowering taste. The gravy was phenomenal, I do wish there was a bit more gravy to balance more of the beat flavour.

For desert one had the chocolate cake with ginger. You wouldn't think ginger and chocolate go well. But this was delicious, a spoon full of chocolate, ice cream, peach and ginger and it's a flavor bomb, the ginger does not overpower the chocolate, but instead adds a bit of a spicy, tangy flavor. Definitely a don't knock it till you try it moment.

Second had the Goat cheese board, which I have to say was one of my favorite parts. The strengths of the cheese crescendo from weaker to much more robust, and the chef does an amazing job of it. One equally different and stronger than the last. If you like cheese/perfer a more savory finish, I would choose this. Such a nice end to an...

We had a dinner for 2 at Ethica, we opted for a 4 course dinner but we had to get the deer bitterballen too as it caught our eyes. Our dinner started with 2 amuse, the fermented black bean and mushroom tartelette was a hit. From the dinner menu, our favorites were the sweet sour tomatoes, pigeon tataki, wild boar steak with blackcurrant gravy and the zucchini cake. The pigeon was very flavorful, and the gravy suited the steak so well! The zucchini cake dessert was also spot on with the airiness and its level of sugar: not too sweet and not too bland either. We wanted to finish off with their homemade liquors as our waitress and the co owner of Ethica Joske mentioned she makes them herself. We tried the herbal and pine liquors, the latter being our favorite as it was smooth and aromatic. A great way to end an enjoyable meal.

Overall, the atmosphere is cozy yet classy, it fits their goal of being a sustainable and conscious restaurant. Their menu is well curated with such ethical concerns in mind (hence their name, Ethica from Spinoza's book) The service was also fast, and we were especially happy to have Joske host us. It would be better if they had a larger wine menu to go along with such diverse flavors they have in their dishes. But we will be back to try more of their liquors! If you don't have time for a full dinner, we would recommend their snacks menu too, especially the deer...

It was a really disappointing experience! My boyfriend booked it for me because we liked the “farm to table” concept and thought we could enjoy a nice five-course menu. But it turned out to be a big letdown because there was a jazz event. The restaurant prioritized the event, assigning all the head waiters to it, and they never mentioned this when we made the reservation.

We could only get a three-course menu. When we ordered drinks, they served mediocre wine and beer in plastic cups for €6 each. The three courses were a joke: first, pulled pork with pickles; then a very thin, very salty lamb chop with some potatoes and carrots; and the dessert was just two dollops of whipped cream with a tiny bit of fruit.

And they charged us €91 for all of this! It was a terrible experience. I don’t know if they value events so much that they ignore regular customers, or if the place is just...