Restaurant in Gouda, Netherlands
Gouda's only Michelin star. Book now.
LIZZ earned a Michelin star in 2024 and is the strongest fine-dining option in Gouda by a clear margin. Chef Remco Kuijpers builds Creative French tasting menus around Dutch produce with precise Asian flavour accents. Book well ahead — the four-day-a-week schedule and starred status make tables hard to secure, especially on Friday and Saturday evenings.
LIZZ earned its first Michelin star in 2024, making it the highest-credentialed restaurant in Gouda and one of the more compelling arguments for visiting the city beyond its cheese markets. The restaurant sits inside the Weeshuis Hotel at Spieringstraat 1, a landmark building with historic vaults that gives the room a weight most purpose-built fine-dining spaces spend years trying to manufacture. If you are planning a first visit and wondering whether the price tier is justified, the short answer is yes — with a specific caveat about format.
Chef Remco Kuijpers runs the kitchen, and his approach is leading described as Dutch produce filtered through a French technique with deliberate Asian counterpoints. This is not fusion in the casual sense. The Michelin citation is specific: spices and subtle Asian acidity add a new dimension to first-class Dutch ingredients. The sweetbread dish cited in the guide — sherry, umeboshi plums, cumin, sakura vinegar, shiso, and pumpkin , tells you exactly what kind of cook Kuijpers is. He builds dishes around a strong local anchor, then pulls in precise, often surprising flavour counterweights that shift the register without losing the thread. The result reads as confident rather than experimental. These are not dishes that challenge for the sake of it; they challenge because the flavour logic holds.
As a first-timer, the architecture of the meal is the main event. Expect the tasting menu to progress with clear intention: early courses tend to set the Dutch produce credentials, mid-menu dishes introduce the Asian acidity and spice contrasts at higher intensity, and the closing courses pull back toward balance. The Michelin note on balance is relevant here. What distinguishes LIZZ from kitchens that pursue the same cross-cultural approach is that the instinct for equilibrium never drops. You will not leave feeling assaulted by technique or under-fed by restraint.
The COCO champagne bar within the Weeshuis Hotel is worth knowing about before you arrive. It functions as a pre- or post-dinner option and serves breakfast and lunch as well, which means the hotel-restaurant combination has utility across different parts of the day. For a first visit, consider arriving early enough to have a glass in the bar before your booking , the historic vaults and fresh flower arrangements in the main building set the tone more effectively than walking straight to your table.
Service is a genuine differentiator here. The Michelin guide specifically calls out attentive service that avoids being fawning, and the wine-food pairing suggestions as a particular strength. At the €€€ price point, wine pairings are often where a meal tips from justified to expensive. At LIZZ the pairing programme is flagged as worth engaging with, which is practical guidance: do not default to ordering by the bottle if pairing is on the menu.
LIZZ opens Wednesday through Saturday, lunch and dinner, with both services running from 12 PM to 5 PM and 6 PM to 11 PM respectively. Monday, Tuesday, and Sunday are closed. That four-day week, combined with a single Michelin star and a city-centre location inside a hotel, means the room fills quickly. Plan to book well in advance, particularly for dinner on Fridays and Saturdays.
Gouda is not a city with deep fine-dining infrastructure. LIZZ is the clearest option at the leading of the market. For Dutch cuisine in the city, Weeshuis Gouda is the natural step down in formality, sharing the same historic building. For farm-to-table cooking at a lower price point, Ter:Govw is the local alternative worth knowing. If you are building a full trip around the region's Michelin-starred options, see our full Gouda restaurants guide for context.
For Dutch starred restaurants at comparable or higher price points outside Gouda, the relevant comparators are Maeve in Utrecht (Creative French, €€€) and La Provence in Driebergen-Rijsenburg (Creative French, €€€). At the higher end of the Dutch fine-dining tier, Ciel Bleu in Amsterdam and Aan de Poel in Amstelveen operate at a different scale. De Bokkedoorns in Overveen, Brut172 in Reijmerstok, and De Groene Lantaarn in Staphorst round out the regional starred picture if you are planning a wider itinerary. For the most celebrated names in the Netherlands, De Librije in Zwolle, 't Nonnetje in Harderwijk, De Lindehof in Nuenen, and De Lindenhof in Giethoorn are the benchmarks against which LIZZ will eventually be measured.
If you are visiting Gouda and want to extend beyond the restaurant, see our full Gouda hotels guide, our full Gouda bars guide, our full Gouda wineries guide, and our full Gouda experiences guide.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIZZ | €€€ · Creative French | €€€ | HIGHLIGHTS: • 1 MICHELIN STAR 2024 • CREATIVE COOKING; The exquisite Weeshuis Hotel is housed in THE landmark edifice of the historic city of Gouda. The chic COCO champagne bar is the perfect spot to sample a lavish breakfast, a casual lunch, a wickedly tempting tea or a glass of champagne! Oozing with character, thanks to historic vaults, fresh bouquets of flowers and LIZZ’s signature luxury, you can expect a global experience in the capable hands of gifted Remco Kuijpers. The seasoned chef unveils his culinary sensitivity and flawless technique. Spices and subtle Asian acidity add a new dimension to first-class Dutch produce. He embarks you on a fascinating and occasionally amusing journey. For example, sweetbread acquires a new range of nuances thanks to an clever blend of sherry, umeboshi plums, cumin, sakura vinegar, shiso and pumpkin. High-flying craftsmanship that is rich in surprises, originality and expression without falling into the trap of cloying or staid – an instinctive sense of balance pervades every dish. One final word for the excellent service, attentive yet not fawning and for the mind-blowing wine-food pairing suggestions.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| De Librije | €€€€ · Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| 't Nonnetje | €€€€ · Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| De Lindehof | Contemporary Dutch, Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| De Nieuwe Winkel | €€€€ · Organic | €€€€ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Fred | €€€€ · Creative French | €€€€ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Gouda for this tier.
Contact LIZZ directly before booking — the kitchen's approach, blending Dutch produce with French technique and Asian accents, suggests enough range to accommodate variations, but the Michelin-starred tasting format typically requires advance notice for any restrictions. The venue database does not list a phone number or website, so reach out via reservation platform. Do not arrive and assume adjustments can be made on the night.
Lunch runs 12 PM to 5 PM, dinner 6 PM to 11 PM, Wednesday through Saturday. If you are travelling from Amsterdam or Rotterdam, lunch lets you combine the visit with Gouda's historic centre without a late return. Dinner gives the full experience more room to breathe. Neither service is publicly documented as a shorter or cheaper format, so if the full tasting is your goal, the choice comes down to logistics.
At the €€€ price point with a 2024 Michelin star, LIZZ is well-positioned for what it charges. Chef Remco Kuijpers works with first-class Dutch produce and a technique-forward approach that earned Michelin's explicit praise for balance and originality. Within Gouda, there is no comparable fine-dining option. Against the broader Netherlands Michelin tier, it holds its ground, particularly given the lack of competition at this level in the city.
Book at least 3 to 4 weeks out. LIZZ operates only four days a week — Wednesday through Saturday — which compresses availability significantly. A 2024 Michelin star will have increased demand, and the Weeshuis Hotel setting means tables are shared with hotel guests. Weekend dinners will fill fastest; mid-week lunch is your best chance at shorter notice.
The venue is set within the Weeshuis Hotel, which includes a COCO champagne bar. That space is listed as suitable for breakfast, casual lunch, and drinks, so bar dining in a relaxed format appears to be an option outside the main LIZZ restaurant service. If you want the Michelin-starred kitchen experience, a table reservation is the format — the bar is a separate proposition.
Based on Michelin's own description, yes: the kitchen earns its star through technique that doesn't tip into excess, with Asian acidity and spice used to sharpen rather than overwhelm Dutch ingredients. The sweetbread dish cited — sherry, umeboshi, cumin, sakura vinegar, shiso, pumpkin — gives a clear signal of the ambition level. If you want à la carte flexibility, this format is not built for that; commit to the tasting or skip it.
Yes, and it is the clearest special-occasion choice in Gouda by a significant margin. The Weeshuis Hotel setting, a 2024 Michelin star, and service that Michelin specifically called attentive without being fawning make it well-suited for a meaningful dinner. For a larger group or a celebration that needs a private space, confirm room availability when booking — the venue database does not detail private dining options.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
