Restaurant in Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands
2024 Michelin star, rural setting, book early.
Pikaar earned a Michelin star in 2024 and operates at €€€ — one price tier below most Dutch starred peers. Set in the Noord-Brabant countryside near Hilvarenbeek, it suits deliberate group dinners and milestone occasions better than spontaneous visits. Book four to eight weeks ahead; the star has made reservations genuinely competitive.
Yes — with one condition: plan well ahead. Pikaar earned its Michelin star in 2024 and sits in Riethoven, a village within the Hilvarenbeek municipality in the Noord-Brabant countryside. That address alone filters out casual walk-ins and positions every meal here as a deliberate trip. If you are organising a private dinner, a milestone celebration, or a group that wants a serious cooking experience without driving to Amsterdam or Zwolle, Pikaar makes a strong case. The combination of Michelin credentials, a €€€ price point (one tier below most Dutch starred peers), and a rural setting that forces intimacy makes it the kind of place where the occasion and the food reinforce each other. If you are undecided between here and a bigger-city alternative, read on.
Pikaar is in a village setting, which shapes the physical experience before you have even sat down. Rural Noord-Brabant starred restaurants tend to occupy converted farmhouses, village-square buildings, or historic Dutch country properties rather than sleek urban dining rooms. That spatial character — lower ceilings, a sense of enclosure, natural materials , creates a level of intimacy that larger city venues struggle to replicate. For groups, this is material information: the room is likely to feel gathered and contained rather than open and buzzy, which suits celebratory dinners where conversation is the point and ambient noise is not welcome.
If you are returning after a first visit and wondering what to do differently, the answer for most guests is to request whatever private or semi-private arrangement the restaurant offers for groups. Michelin-starred restaurants at this price level in the Netherlands typically maintain a separate space or at minimum configure corner seating for parties that book ahead with intent. Contact Pikaar directly to ask , the address is Dorpsstraat 9, 5561 AS Riethoven , because private dining arrangements at restaurants of this type are rarely advertised prominently but almost always available for groups who ask explicitly and book with enough lead time.
Because Pikaar operates in a rural municipality rather than a city, there is no ambient foot traffic to absorb off-peak tables. The restaurant fills its covers through reservations, which means the difference between a midweek lunch and a Friday or Saturday dinner is almost entirely about what is available rather than about crowd level or service quality. For group bookings , four or more guests , weekday evenings are your leading bet for securing the table configuration you want. Weekend evenings book first and give you less negotiating room on seating. If you are a party of two returning for a second visit, a weekday lunch or early-week evening slot is easier to land and often gives you more attention from the kitchen team.
The Michelin star was awarded in 2024, which means Pikaar is in the window where reservation demand tends to peak. New stars in the Netherlands consistently generate a surge in bookings that can last 12 to 18 months post-announcement. Book as far ahead as the restaurant allows.
A 2024 Michelin star in a small Dutch village means the restaurant is operating at capacity with national and regional attention it did not have 18 months ago. Book a minimum of four to six weeks out for a table of two. For groups of four or more, or if you want a private arrangement, book eight weeks out or earlier. There is no published online booking system in this record, so contact the restaurant directly at the Dorpsstraat 9 address in Riethoven or through any reservation platform that has listed them since the star announcement. Showing up without a reservation is not a strategy that works at venues like this.
At €€€, Pikaar sits one price bracket below the €€€€ tier occupied by [De Librije in Zwolle](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/de-librije-zwolle-restaurant), [Ciel Bleu in Amsterdam](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/ciel-bleu-amsterdam-restaurant), and [Inter Scaldes in Kruiningen](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/inter-scaldes-kruiningen-restaurant). A Michelin star at a lower price point than your peer set is the definition of value in fine dining. That said, the value calculation for groups is different: if you are driving to a village in Noord-Brabant, factor in travel and accommodation. Check [our full Hilvarenbeek hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/hilvarenbeek) before you book dinner, because making a night of it changes the cost equation significantly. The cooking is modern cuisine , technique-led, produce-driven, and structured around a tasting format that rewards a full evening rather than a quick meal.
For context on what modern cuisine at this level looks like across the Netherlands, [Maison Lameloise in Chagny](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/maison-lameloise-chagny-restaurant) and [Frantzén in Stockholm](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/frantzn-stockholm-restaurant) represent the upper register of the European format Pikaar is working within , serious tasting menus in destination settings. Pikaar is not at that scale of international reputation, but the 2024 star signals that the cooking quality is there. The Google rating of 4.8 across 136 reviews, gathered before and around the Michelin recognition, supports that read.
See the comparison section below for how Pikaar sits against its Dutch starred peers.
| Detail | Pikaar | Tribeca (Heeze) | De Lindehof (Nuenen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michelin recognition | 1 Star (2024) | Check Pearl listing | Check Pearl listing |
| Price range | €€€ | €€€€ | €€€€ |
| Setting | Village, Noord-Brabant | Village, Noord-Brabant | Town, Noord-Brabant |
| Booking difficulty | Hard | Moderate–Hard | Moderate–Hard |
| Leading for groups | Yes, contact directly | Yes | Yes |
| Google rating | 4.8 (136 reviews) | See listing | See listing |
For more Noord-Brabant options and regional context, see [our full Hilvarenbeek restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/hilvarenbeek). You can also explore [our full Hilvarenbeek bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/hilvarenbeek), [our full Hilvarenbeek wineries guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/wineries/hilvarenbeek), and [our full Hilvarenbeek experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/hilvarenbeek) if you are building a full itinerary around the region.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pikaar | Michelin 1 Star (2024) | €€€ | — |
| De Librije | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Aan de Poel | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| De Nieuwe Winkel | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Fred | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| De Lindehof | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
Comparing your options in Hilvarenbeek for this tier.
At €€€, Pikaar sits below the top-tier Dutch starred restaurants on price, which makes the 2024 Michelin star feel like reasonable value for what you are getting. If you are comparing it to city-based starred restaurants, factor in that a rural setting means fewer alternative options nearby, so the meal is the entire evening. That works in Pikaar's favour if the format suits you — but if you want a la carte flexibility, this is not the venue for it.
Pikaar is a Michelin-starred restaurant in a Dutch village setting, so the dress expectation sits between relaxed and polished. No specific dress code is published in available venue data, but Noord-Brabant starred restaurants of this type generally suit neat, considered clothing rather than formal black tie. When in doubt, err on the side of smart rather than casual — you will not be overdressed.
Book at least four to six weeks out, and push that to two or three months for weekend tables. Pikaar's 2024 Michelin star brought national attention to a restaurant already operating in a small village with limited capacity, and it has been running at near-full occupancy since. Treat this as a reservation that requires the same lead time as a city-based starred restaurant.
Rural Michelin-starred restaurants in the Netherlands typically run small dining rooms, so large groups need to confirm capacity directly before planning. For parties of four to six, a booking with well-flagged lead time should be manageable. Larger groups — eight or more — should contact the restaurant early to check whether the space and format can support it, since no private dining details are publicly confirmed in available venue data.
Yes, and the setting actually works in its favour here. A Michelin-starred dinner in a rural Noord-Brabant village feels deliberate and occasion-driven in a way a city restaurant cannot always replicate — you are making a trip of it. At €€€ with a 2024 Michelin star, it delivers enough credential to justify the occasion without the top-tier pricing of venues like De Librije. Book well ahead and treat the drive as part of the evening.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
