Café-Restaurant Terroir — Restaurant in Utrecht

Opened in 2021 by owner Wim Rieff and sommelier Julian Klaassen, in a historic building in Utrecht's Museum Quarter, on the edge of the centre on the quiet Lange Nieuwstraat. Star Wine List picked it up as soon as it opened: "at last Utrecht has a cosy, comfortable restaurant with a real focus on wine." The concept reverses the traditional order: you choose your wine first, then your dish. Or the other way round, but the wine is always the centre of attention. Seasonal à la carte cooking with changing dishes: white fish with Jerusalem artichoke and sauerkraut, pheasant with berry sauce, turbot with fig sauce. Produce from close by where possible. The wine list now has around 500 wines, classic and sometimes idiosyncratic, always with a fixed, fair margin. At least 30% natural wine. Mostly served by the bottle and half bottle. More than 30 suppliers, including Erasmus Wijnen, Henri Bloem, Rieslinghuis and Smaragd Wijnen. Particularly strong in Germany, Burgundy and natural wines from lesser-known regions.