Restaurant in Malden, Netherlands
Easy to book, Michelin-noted, worth considering.
Lime holds two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024–2025) and a 4.6 Google rating, making it the most credible modern cuisine option in Malden at the €€€ price tier. It books easier than the Netherlands' starred flagships and works well for small-group or celebratory dinners where intimate atmosphere matters as much as the food.
If you are weighing Lime against the handful of €€€€ modern cuisine restaurants that dominate the Netherlands' serious dining circuit, the calculus is direct: Lime gives you Michelin-recognised cooking at a price tier below those flagships. Two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) confirm the kitchen is producing food at a level worth a detour to Malden's Kerkplein square, and a Google rating of 4.6 across 306 reviews suggests that reputation holds over time, not just in a good week. For food-focused travellers who want a high-quality modern cuisine dinner without committing to the full €€€€ outlay of a starred destination, Lime is the more practical choice.
Lime sits on Kerkplein 2, the central square in Malden, a small town just south of Nijmegen in the Gelderland region of the Netherlands. The square setting matters for how the restaurant feels: a village-square address in a Dutch municipality of this scale means an intimate, contained environment rather than an anonymous urban dining room. Expect a room that reads as considered rather than cavernous — the kind of space where table spacing and sightlines work in favour of a private dinner rather than against it. For groups interested in a more closed-off experience, a room of this character and town-square positioning typically lends itself to a quieter, more conversation-friendly atmosphere than comparable restaurants in city centres, though the specific seat count and private dining arrangements are not confirmed in our current data, so contact the venue directly before assuming dedicated private room availability.
The spatial character of Lime is one of the more compelling reasons to choose it for a celebratory meal or a small-group dinner where the table talk matters as much as the food. Modern cuisine at this price tier in the Netherlands tends to sit inside one of two formats: the grand urban room (think Amsterdam or Zwolle) or the intimate regional destination. Lime belongs firmly in the second category, and that is a practical advantage if you want to dine without competing with a packed Friday-night room in a major city.
Given the venue's scale and its village-square position, Lime is worth considering for small group occasions where discretion and atmosphere are priorities. The Michelin Plate recognition and the consistently strong review base make it a credible choice for a work dinner, an anniversary, or a gathering where you need the food to hold up alongside the occasion. Groups looking for a private room should contact Lime in advance: for parties of four or more, clarifying whether a semi-private or fully separated space is available will determine whether the main dining room suits your needs or whether an alternative arrangement is possible. For two diners, the main room at a restaurant of this footprint is almost certainly the right call — the intimacy of the space works in your favour without any special arrangement required.
One practical consideration for group bookings: Lime's price tier (€€€) positions it as more accessible than the €€€€ restaurants in the broader Dutch modern cuisine category, which makes it a sensible anchor for a group dinner where guests have varied budgets but everyone wants a serious meal. You get the Michelin credibility without the full price premium of a starred room.
A Michelin Plate means the Guide's inspectors found the food worth recommending , good ingredients, careful preparation, competent kitchen , but stopped short of a star. For the reader deciding whether to book, that distinction is useful: you are not booking a dining event in the way you would a one-star or two-star restaurant, but you are booking a kitchen that has cleared Michelin's quality threshold two years running. The consecutive recognition (2024 and 2025) is the more meaningful signal here, because it rules out a one-off good year. The 4.6 rating from over 300 Google reviews reinforces that this is not a restaurant coasting on a single good press cycle.
For context within the Netherlands' modern cuisine tier, the Plate puts Lime in a competitive position relative to similar regional restaurants. It is operating at a level that warrants a special-occasion booking or a considered detour, even if it does not demand the advance planning required for a Michelin-starred table.
Booking at Lime is rated Easy, which is a practical differentiator from the harder-to-secure starred restaurants in the Netherlands. You are unlikely to need weeks of lead time in the way you would for a table at De Librije in Zwolle or 't Nonnetje in Harderwijk, but booking ahead for weekend evenings is still sensible given the venue's size. Malden itself is a small town, so if you are travelling from outside the region, combining the dinner with a stay in nearby Nijmegen or planning it as part of a broader Gelderland itinerary makes more logistical sense than treating it as a standalone city trip. See our full Malden restaurants guide and Malden hotels guide for accommodation and dining context around the visit.
For those building out a broader evening in Malden, the Malden bars guide covers pre- or post-dinner options. If you are exploring the wider region, our guides to Malden wineries and Malden experiences round out what is available nearby.
Specific hours, phone contact, and online booking links are not confirmed in our current data. Check directly with the venue at Kerkplein 2, 6581 AE Malden for current availability and reservation options.
Malden's dining scene beyond Lime includes Aama Lama, a Nepali momo specialist, and Sing Choi Kee, offering Hong Kong-style Chinese cooking , both useful options if you are in the area for multiple meals and want contrast to a modern cuisine dinner. For a broader Dutch modern cuisine comparison, Aan de Poel in Amstelveen, Ciel Bleu in Amsterdam, De Bokkedoorns in Overveen, and Brut172 in Reijmerstok represent the range of what serious modern cuisine looks like across the country at different price tiers. At the same €€€ price band as Lime, Basiliek in Harderwijk offers a useful regional comparison. Further afield, De Groene Lantaarn in Staphorst and De Lindenhof in Giethoorn show how village-setting modern cuisine operates elsewhere in the Netherlands, while Borkonyha Winekitchen in Budapest is a useful international benchmark for Michelin Plate-level modern cooking at the €€€ tier.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lime | €€€ · Modern Cuisine | €€€ | Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | Easy | — |
| 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 | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Lime is a Michelin Plate-recognised modern cuisine restaurant (awarded in both 2024 and 2025) at Kerkplein 2, on the central square of Malden, a small town just south of Nijmegen. The €€€ price point puts it above casual dining but below the Netherlands' starred restaurants. Booking is rated Easy, so you won't need to plan months in advance the way you would for a starred venue in Amsterdam or Rotterdam. Come expecting a considered, technically solid meal rather than a boundary-pushing tasting experience.
No dress code is documented for Lime, but a €€€ Michelin Plate restaurant on a village square in Gelderland typically draws guests who dress neatly rather than formally. Think presentable casual to business casual — you're unlikely to feel out of place in a blazer or a clean dinner look, and equally unlikely to need a tie. If you're in doubt, erring toward smart is a safe call at this price tier.
Within Malden itself, alternatives are limited: Aama Lama offers Nepali momo-style cooking and Sing Choi Kee covers Hong Kong-style Chinese, both at significantly lower price points. For serious modern cuisine at the same or higher tier, you'd need to head toward Nijmegen or further into Gelderland. Lime is the only Michelin-noted option in the immediate area, which simplifies the choice if €€€ modern cuisine is what you're after.
Bar seating specifics are not documented for Lime. Given its village-square location and the scale typical of restaurants in this setting, the dining room is likely the primary format. check the venue's official channels before assuming bar seating is available, especially if you're planning a walk-in or a solo visit.
Menu format and specific pricing are not documented in available data, so a direct verdict on the tasting menu isn't possible here. What the two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024, 2025) do confirm is that inspectors found the cooking consistently recommendable across two visits. At €€€, the investment is lower than a starred venue — if modern cuisine tasting formats are your preference and you're in the Nijmegen area, the risk-reward is reasonable.
At €€€, Lime is priced above everyday dining but below the Netherlands' Michelin-starred circuit, and two consecutive Michelin Plates indicate the kitchen is cooking at a level that justifies the spend. For a special occasion in the Malden or Nijmegen area, it's the most credentialled option locally. If you're already in Amsterdam or Utrecht with easy access to starred restaurants, the case is weaker — but as a regional destination or a Gelderland stopover, it holds up.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
