The Binckhorst, which was an urban jungle with vacant industrial buildings and a crane still cranking here and there. But at the edge, BINK36 was the promise: one day this would not be the end of the city, but the centre. That future is now in sight. Like a spaceship, The Harbour Club has landed on the roof of the former KPN fortress.

The city's most spectacular restaurant

The lights shine, the name is readable from afar. There is no longer any doubt: The Harbour Club is the city's most spectacular restaurant. Although it is much more than that: a culinary feast, an adventure, a trip to another world.

At the entrance between the two main buildings, where radiators and graffiti unpolished set the tone, a glass lift is ready to launch you to the fifth floor in one jerk. There, the first impression is breathtaking.

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The terrace-lined space has the allure of a boardroom and, at the same time, its curved canopy suggests a very different world, that of industrial romance: glowing welding points and machines spitting out new products. Not surprisingly, not so long ago this place was the stage for theatre productions. And then, of course, there is that huge shark, because wherever The Harbour Club turns up, it shows its teeth.

'The Harbour Club is much more than eating out, it's an experience you'll be talking about for a long time'

And then something is about to happen. "That is indeed one of our hallmarks, a visit to The Harbour Club is much more than eating out, it is an experience that you will talk about for a long time," Joost Verhoeven tells us. An example of their perfection can be found at the toilets.

André Hazes or Barry White

In almost every restaurant, that's a place of sobering up, you step through the décor and suddenly the 'saturday night fever' is gone. Not at The Harbour Club. "At our place, a DJ in the restroom plays old vinyl: Tina Turner, André Hazes or Barry White. Anything that was mood-enhancing in the sixties, seventies and eighties can be heard here."

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You are soon in higher spheres, thanks to the architecture of the penthouse. There is room for five hundred guests (and as many parking spaces downstairs!) who, thanks to the seclusion of the boxes, can also keep it intimate. But on summer evenings, the terraces will be the attraction. One on the Binckhorst side and one on the city/sea side.

There, the terrace extends inside thanks to the glass façade that opens all the way, making you feel like you're outside even at the bar: you can feel the sea breeze and in the distance, the lights of Scheveningen twinkle.

Joost Verhoeven talks about the common thread they have held as entrepreneurs for ten years: signature dishes of the highest quality. In rapid succession: "Think dry aged tomahawk steak, sole, sole, fruits de mer, grilled lobster, wagyu beef - the finest meat anyway - and super-fresh oysters. Much is prepared at the table: filleting a fish, a beautiful steak tartare, we will leave no opportunity unused to entertain guests."

Top acts

So it never gets boring. Also because Richard van Leeuwen and Joost Verhoeven have set out to be ever innovative. Take the aluminium aircraft trolleys that roll past the tables with drinks.

Sometimes on the edge, sexy, a little naughty

And when they talk about entertainment, they mean entertainment. So you can expect top acts like cabaret performer Najib Amhali on stage. "A saxophonist, or a DJ is also possible, but we prefer someone with an electric violin or two opera singers dressed as waiters singing a duet.What we do is sometimes on the edge, sexy, a bit naughty. That, too, is The Harbour Club: we are not frightened deer."

The covered terrace overlooks the Binkchorst.

Mariska

That special vibe will mainly come from the staff. "They are the most important. It would be nice," Joost says, "if guests don't say 'we're going to The Harbour Club' but 'we're eating at Mariska's tonight'. "

A name to remember, then.

www.theharbourclub.com