Restaurant in Rotterdam, Netherlands
Michelin-recognised, easier to book than expected.
A Michelin Plate holder for 2024 and 2025, Héroine delivers modern cuisine at €€€ in Rotterdam with easy booking and a 4.6 Google score from over 400 reviewers. It sits below the city's €€€€ fine-dining tier on price while meeting the same Michelin quality bar, making it the most practical entry point into Rotterdam's upper restaurant scene for food-focused visitors.
Getting a table at Héroine is easier than you might expect for a Michelin-recognised restaurant in Rotterdam. Booking difficulty is rated easy, which makes it one of the more accessible options in the city's upper tier of modern cuisine. That accessibility is worth pausing on: a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, a Google rating of 4.6 across 427 reviews, and a price point sitting at €€€ rather than the €€€€ you'll pay at most of Rotterdam's comparable fine-dining addresses. If you're weighing where to spend your dining budget in the city, Héroine deserves serious consideration before you default to the obvious names.
Héroine sits on Kipstraat 12 in Rotterdam, a city that has built a credible fine-dining reputation over the past decade without the tourist density that drives prices upward in Amsterdam. The venue operates in the modern cuisine category, which in the Netherlands typically means technically precise cooking with a strong emphasis on seasonal produce and regional sourcing. That seasonal orientation is central to how Héroine positions itself, and it shapes the practical question of when to visit as much as it shapes the menu.
The Michelin Plate designation, held consecutively for 2024 and 2025, signals that inspectors have consistently found the cooking here to meet a standard worth noting, even if it has not yet crossed into starred territory. In Michelin's framework, the Plate means good cooking: fresh ingredients, carefully prepared. For a diner deciding whether to book, that translates as reliable quality without the pricing premium that Michelin stars tend to force. At €€€, you're getting a kitchen operating at a level that has passed external scrutiny, at a price that sits below most starred alternatives in the Netherlands.
Because Héroine's kitchen leans into seasonal rotation, the menu you encounter in October will read differently from the one available in April. Dutch seasonal cooking tends to follow a clear rhythm: spring brings asparagus and early herbs; summer opens up lighter preparations with North Sea fish and garden vegetables; autumn shifts toward game, root vegetables, and more concentrated flavours; winter menus tend toward richness and preservation techniques. If you have a preference for a particular season's produce, that preference should inform your timing. Autumn and winter visits at a modern cuisine address like Héroine often yield the most technically interesting plates, when kitchens have more to work with in terms of depth and complexity. That said, the lighter spring and summer menus appeal to diners who want precision over richness.
The Google score of 4.6 from 427 reviews is a useful signal here. That volume of feedback at that score suggests consistent delivery rather than a venue that polarises opinion. For the explorer-minded diner who wants to understand Rotterdam's food scene rather than simply tick a box, Héroine offers an entry point into the city's modern cuisine conversation at a price that doesn't require justifying a special occasion.
Rotterdam's dining scene has developed enough distinct addresses that choosing between them requires some clarity about what you're after. If your priority is the highest level of creative ambition and you're willing to pay €€€€, the city has options. If you want Michelin-recognised cooking at a more accessible price point, with a kitchen that changes with the seasons and has earned consistent praise from a substantial number of diners, Héroine is the more practical choice for many visits.
For context on how Héroine fits into the broader Dutch fine-dining picture, it's worth knowing that the Netherlands has a strong concentration of Michelin-recognised restaurants outside Amsterdam. Addresses like De Librije in Zwolle, Ciel Bleu in Amsterdam, Inter Scaldes in Kruiningen, and Aan de Poel in Amstelveen represent what the category looks like at the starred level. Héroine sits in a different tier, but for a diner spending a few days in Rotterdam, that distinction matters less than the question of whether the cooking delivers on its promise at the price asked. Based on the available evidence, it does.
For vegetable-forward modern cooking at a comparable price point elsewhere in the Netherlands, De Nieuwe Winkel in Nijmegen is worth knowing about. For regional modern cuisine outside the major cities, Basiliek in Harderwijk and De Swarte Ruijter in Holten operate in a similar €€€ band. Within Rotterdam itself, the comparison set shifts to €€€€ venues, which is where Héroine's pricing advantage becomes most visible.
If you're building a Rotterdam trip around food, pair Héroine with a visit to some of the city's other well-regarded addresses. The Millèn, In Den Rustwat, NY Basement, and Putaine cover different formats and price points across the city. Rotterdam's bar scene and broader dining options are covered in our full Rotterdam restaurants guide, our full Rotterdam bars guide, our full Rotterdam hotels guide, and our full Rotterdam experiences guide. If wine is part of your trip planning, our full Rotterdam wineries guide and De Lindenhof in Giethoorn are worth bookmarking for context on regional options.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Héroine | €€€ · Modern Cuisine | Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | Easy | — |
| FG - François Geurds | €€€€ · Creative | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Fred | €€€€ · Creative French | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Parkheuvel | €€€€ · Modern Cuisine | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Tres | €€€€ · Country cooking | Unknown | — | |
| Joelia | €€€€ · Modern French | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Rotterdam for this tier.
At €€€ pricing with a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, Héroine is positioned as serious modern cuisine without the top-tier price tags of Rotterdam's starred rooms like Parkheuvel. For what you pay, the Michelin recognition gives reasonable assurance of consistency. If you want a polished meal without committing to a full tasting-menu splurge, it sits at a sensible price point for Rotterdam's fine-dining tier.
The venue data doesn't specify a dress code, but a Michelin-recognised modern cuisine restaurant at €€€ in Rotterdam typically expects neat, put-together clothing. Business casual is a safe call — think clean trousers, a collared shirt or a tidy dress. Trainers and sportswear would likely feel out of place.
Booking difficulty at Héroine is rated easy relative to its Michelin-recognised peers, so you are unlikely to need weeks of lead time. That said, weekend evenings and holiday periods in Rotterdam fill faster than mid-week slots. A week or two out should be sufficient for most dates, but booking earlier costs you nothing.
Héroine is a modern cuisine restaurant on Kipstraat 12 in central Rotterdam, holding a Michelin Plate for two consecutive years — a signal of quality cooking that hasn't yet reached starred status. First-timers should go expecting a considered, restaurant-forward experience rather than a casual neighbourhood meal. Rotterdam is not Amsterdam: the dining room won't be packed with tourists, which generally means better service focus and a more local crowd.
Yes, with a practical caveat: Héroine's Michelin Plate recognition and €€€ pricing make it a credible choice for birthdays, anniversaries, or a work dinner where you need to impress without overkill. If you want the full ceremony of a starred room, Parkheuvel is the step up in Rotterdam. For occasions where you want the setting to feel special without three hours at the table, Héroine is the more accessible call.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
