The Malt Vault — Restaurant in Utrecht

I have been to Utrecht for a few days and been recommended the Malt Vault by a business partner. As I work in the whisky industry myself, I have had the pleasure to taste it straight from the cask and have been invited by distilleries to, what I call them, "bribe tours". Such as fine dine and whatnot with some whisky. It has been years in the industry for now and barely ever have I seen such passion for whisky than the young lady with the black hair and beautiful eye makeup has shown me here. How they handle the different qualities and peatiness/smokiness, has been explained thoroughly and yet in such an astounding compact format, I was blown away. In no shape or form has it been rushed, it was just perfected to the point I was absolutely sold. Ignore the distilleries and their industry partners, I have been to an unholy amount of whisky "professional" bars and whisky serving bars before, never have I been told what I can expect if I choose this or that, nor was the pricing transparent to me. Just slap a price shield onto something generally know to be expensive and be done. The Malt Vault has found a fair way to handle it. Sure, you do pay the premium for the location and service, which I think is fair. In their case, it wasn't just fair, but top notch to say the least. I just had to visit a 2nd time on my last evenning in Utrecht and it was a lot more busy that night. Yet, still welcoming atmosphere. I knew from the night before which one I wanted to go for so I did order it right away (Glasgow 5yo, bottled by Hidden Spirits, if you want a good dram - ignore the established distilleries and go for the younger/newer ones as they still have to put effort into it). Again, served with a water dropper, bottle of drinking water, clean glas and the dram itself. I have failed to ask the lady for her name, but she has done such a great job. While I could tell the location was rather filled on the 2nd day, she never made anybody feel like rushed or unwelcome. Still explaining every detail on the larger group arriving rather late at night. Seriously, they are doing something right there! If you just want to get a good taste of the different levels/qualities/smokiness and whatever facette Whisky has to offer, they are a great ground to start. I would only whish they would have a little more price effective grouping for a flight. Very well just me personally thinking that way as cheaper whiskies can be good as well. Then again, taste is very different!

Sounds silly, but me personally, I like a beer alongside while I am tasting whisky. For me, it works like a dried orange peel. So I was glad they do serve some very basic and mellov beer ("Brand", that's the name of it). But alas, you get a full bottle of fresh water, if you prefere to reset with that. Oh and also: When it does not rain, you can also sit outside right at the canal. It was mind boggingly good sitting there and having a good dram, I just stared down the river for minutes. Good time. They still came outside to check on you, which just added to the greatness while being there!

Long story shot: Highly recommended! Don't go there tipsy/drunk. Savour it sober and start slow. You will like it. You can pay by card, so don't worry about getting...

I had the pleasure of spending two evenings at The Malt Vault in Utrecht, tasting seven truly exceptional whiskies. What made the experience stand out was not only the remarkable selection — including some impressive independent bottlers like Gordon and Macphail — but also the outstanding service.

A young lady from the team guided me through the tasting with remarkable skill. She quickly understood my level of whisky experience and tailored each pour to take me one step further into the whisky world. Her recommendations were spot-on, balancing familiarity with exciting discoveries, and each dram felt like a meaningful step forward in my journey as a whisky enthusiast.

If you’re looking for more than just a drink, but a guided exploration of whisky at its best, The Malt Vault is an...

Found this hidden gem in a search for a nice cocktail bar. The place is quite hidden, but worth a visit! The bar is more focused on whiskey, but you have plenty of options if you are looking for something else as well! We went there for some cocktails and were not disappointed. What is nice is that you can see in the menu how your cocktail looks like, so you know what to expect :) We tried various cocktails and ejoyed all of them! The atmoshpere is also very nice, the place being quite cozy, and the waitress was very friendly! Looking forward to come again, and hopefully will get to see the cat, as we heard it is visiting from...