Merlet

A dining room sheathed entirely in gold leaf, with a moss wall framing the fireplace and a glass installation where sand slowly forms dunes, sets the tone before a single plate arrives. This Michelin-starred restaurant in the Noord-Holland dunes serves French cuisine with sharp acidity and quiet Asian inflections, leaning on local ingredients like Wadden Sea prawns and Texel lamb. The dune landscape outside somehow ends up on the plate.

Two honors, in evidence: