Easter is just around the corner. In a week, my mother will sculpt a lamb out of a pack of butter, my grandmother will cut the segments of the grapefruit, and my father will handle the music. The salmon is super fresh, the scrambled eggs are taken out of the pan at just the right moment (still very soft and not dry), next to the matzos is brown sugar, and the Easter bread is from the best baker. I will take a slice of that, scoop out the filling, spread it over the bread, and then add a dab of butter on top. Yes, I mean it, I really do that. God, I am looking forward to this again. And my mother too; don't even think about not being there for Easter. For those who ‘celebrate’ outside, I have researched the best places for a brunch. And not places with a special Easter menu or something, okay? I am slightly allergic to fixed menus. I just want to choose à la carte what I feel like, unless I would be dining at a Michelin-starred restaurant, then I would gladly make an exception.

Amsterdam - Café Restaurant Amsterdam
Café Restaurant Amsterdam. A wonderfully large restaurant that used to be a water pump factory, so high, industrial, but not cold. You can easily eat here with a large group, the service is young, friendly, and trendy, and you can order delicious wines by the glass. There is no fuss on the menu, so if you order steak frites, that is exactly what you get. And how delicious it is. The burrata is also recommended or the grilled salmon. Yum. Be sure to make a reservation, as it is packed during Easter.

Utrecht - Stan & Co

The idea is that you here are a bit in the Meatpacking of New York, and they have done that quite well. If you go, try to reserve the table closest to the kitchen. You sit on high stools and can see the chefs' fingers at work. I like that. If that table is already booked, there are cozy round booths.

Goes - De smederij
That is in Zeeland, and May-Britt has lived there, so she knows where it is nice. De Smederij is by the water, and if the weather is nice, there is a large terrace with cozy benches. I love benches. May loves the mussels, especially with fries.

Rotterdam - Nhow Hotel
A brand new (opened last year) design hotel with a restaurant on the seventh floor with an amazing view over the Maas. Inside, it all looks very artsy: art on the walls, quirky chairs, lots of LED light, but very sleekly decorated. I would choose the sashimi and the green tea soba noodles.

Vlieland - Het Badhuys
Liesbeth and I just found out that we both celebrated the summer on Vlieland for years with our families. We both stayed at Hotel Seeduyn, rode horses at the same riding school (well, I only tried it once with supervision on a pony, while Liesbeth galloped independently on real horses along the beach), we bowled with all the cool kids (so maybe even with each other) and bought ice creams at beach tent ‘t Badhuys. And it is really fun to be there for Easter. No fuss with special menus there either, but you can mainly eat very relaxed. On the beach. That says enough, right?