Sepia

Its location in a residential neighborhood outside the center of Groningen means you are especially surprised upon entering. The soft color tones, calm interior design, and living-room-like ambiance make you feel right at home immediately. Sepia is a remarkable restaurant in several respects: two female chef-owners work in the kitchen, it operates as a lunch restaurant, and it serves innovative, primarily vegetable-based dishes. And: here, the alcohol-free pairing menu is promoted. It's well worth it, as most of the non-alcoholic beverages are house-made and anything but ordinary. The same goes for the fine dining dishes coming out of the kitchen. Roasted wild goose (with roasted fennel for the vegetarian version) is served with a red onion gel and tarragon foam. A slightly caramel-flavored hay cream provides the perfect finishing touch. We pair it with a house-made juice of cucumber, rhubarb, and pepper. The next course is an ode to fermentation: foam made from fermented tempeh and fermented mustard seeds served on a bed of mushrooms. Wild and earthy. Unfortunately, the non-alcoholic smoked kombucha is slightly too sweet alongside it. The Pfeffingen 2023 Chardonnay SP harmonizes much better. The main course features perfectly cooked beekridder with shiso sauce, accompanied by a jus made from the cherry blossoms of the tree on the street. Original and refined! A wonderful spot to return to.

Huiskamerrestaurant Sepia is only open for lunch from Friday through Monday, and the place is packed on Monday afternoons. There is no menu or wine list here. A multi-course menu is served alongside a wine or juice arrangement. Chefs Sieta Schellinger and Fareeda van der Marel cook according to the 'nose-to-tail' principle, which practically means that special ingredients can appear on your plate. For our aperitif, we enjoy a Jaanihanso Perry Brut Nature 2021, a refreshing dry pear cider from Estonia. The amuse surprises: a buttermilk soup with lavash oil, mangel beet stewed in orange blossom, crispy buckwheat, and Indian cherry. It leaves you wanting more. Lightly roasted and smoked Little Gem lettuce with white bean cream, pickled radish, fresh radish, eggplant, beluga lentils, roasted sesame seeds, and carrot vinaigrette. Fantastic! Every component is intensely flavorful, and the entire dish is perfectly balanced. The non-alcoholic tomato-ginger juice pairs excellently with it. The wine at the neighboring table, the Basa Lore Getariako Txakolina 2022, also fits seamlessly. By the way, being the designated driver in this restaurant is hardly a chore. The non-alcoholic arrangement is highly recommended. House-made non-alcoholic beverages, each crafted with care. Bold yet successful is the main course: beef heart with pea purée, peas, forest mushrooms, and a honey tarragon sauce. The poured wine is a gem: Moulin à Vent from Domaine des Moriers 2020. One point of attention is the pouring. The portions are truly skimpy. We even ask if there has been a mistake and if they think we ordered a half-glass arrangement. It doesn't help. The cheese board is a feast. Five beautiful domestic and international cheeses, but we are equally impressed by the accompaniments: pear tumtum, blackberry and blueberry compote, fermented walnuts, candied enoki mushrooms, raisins, and a seed cracker. A fine establishment.

Two friends, one passion: putting a surprising menu on the table using the finest seasonal ingredients. Chefs Sieta Schellinger and Fareeda van der Marel joined forces and opened a small-scale living-room restaurant in a former neighborhood pub on the outskirts of Groningen. They follow a fairly unique concept: Sepia serves exclusively lunch, from Monday through Friday. In the minimally decorated dining room, we receive a warm welcome, but then have to wait a while before being served an aperitif. After that, the dishes of the four-course lunch menu follow at a relaxed pace, with one dish changing each week so that the entire menu is refreshed after five weeks. Vegetarian and plant-based preferences are also accommodated. Just be sure to mention this when making a reservation. The lunch can be accompanied by a wine pairing or an alcohol-free option – featuring homemade kombucha, juice, and broth. We enjoy extraordinary dishes. For instance, we are delighted by the starter of pickled watermelon with a cucumber soup, followed by tender chicken accompanied by various corn preparations, including kernels, cream, and a crispy version with elderflower, alongside al dente pearl barley. The dessert is panna cotta with white chocolate, raspberry, and meringue. Seemingly simple, yet flawlessly executed, wonderfully seasoned, and presented beautifully, like a picture. A welcome addition to the city, and you can tell that everything here is handled with passion, love, and attention. Welcome to Lekker!