Had lunch at De Librije on Saturday (lunch/dinner are the same menu).
The restaurant is inside of a glass ceiling courtyard inside the hotel. Little bit of a maze, but given the history of the building, makes sense. The room is split into two sides by the cold kitchen (snack, apps, desserts). One side is the main dining room and the other contains the chef tables. The hot kitchen is next to the chef tables.
There is also a lounge to hang in for coffee/tea.
I added the marigold caviar to my menu, did both desserts, and did the “high end pairing.”
Servers and staff were awesome, very friendly and definitely food people with a passion for the craft. Chef came by the table at the beginning of the meal to say hello and then his wife came by to help with wine choices. About 1/2 way through, I was given a tour of the kitchen and the private rooms, where they dry their own ducks and brew their own kombucha.
Food was great. Some of the standouts were the foie dish, the marigold caviar, and the legumes dessert. Wine pairings were very good (5 glasses total) and I added 2 glasses of champagne (one with snacks and the 2nd with the caviar).
Tip on getting to Zwolle: the trains go from the Amsterdam Zuid station pretty frequently. When you get into Zwolle, it is a very nice stroll through the city to get to the restaurant. I believe there are busses available as well, but I ended up walking so I could see a little bit of the city.
Definitely worthwhile the trip from Amsterdam if you are in the area.
by Stockboy85