Het Nieuwe Café is the open for all restaurant and bar with a beautiful terrace in Het Nieuwe Instituut. Het Nieuwe Café has a new chef. Manuela Goncalves Tavares (already known for Coco) runs the restaurant now. Together with her team, she serves colourful, mostly plant-based and seasonal dishes.
Manuela Goncalves Tavares is well known in Rotterdam for her restaurant Coco in the Hoogstraat as well as previous ventures such as Toko 94 and Toko Trash. She regards heart and soul as essential ingredients in the kitchen. According to her a restaurant is not a constantly changing concept, but as building on tradition by adding something new.
Her own creations are based on an approach that she defines as ‘tokological’. It’s based on the hidden treasures, flavours and cultures that you find in the different toko’s (food shops and small eateries) in the city. A real Rotterdam mix of Afro-Caribbean, Asian and Mediterranean cuisines.
The menu of Het Nieuwe Café will feature colourful, often seasonal, vegetarian and vegan dishes, including, for example, a purple sweet potato soup with coconut milk, lime and plantain, and mushrooms with bok choy, coloured noodles and seaweed flakes.
Manuela Goncalves Tavares: “I’m enormously proud that the New Institute has asked us to design the New Café. I’m also personally very enthusiastic about putting more vegetarian dishes on the menu, something I’m very keen on from my own mission. In addition, it’s a very nice and special place in Rotterdam to continue my catering adventure.”
Het Nieuwe Café is currently operating on a limited basis. It will be fully operational by 1 November.
Coverphoto: Elvan Ünlü
