The 5 best places to enjoy Dutch Herring in The Hague

On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays you’ll find the Harteveld family working hard to clean and prepare herrings for all the loyal and hungry customers. This stall has been around for more than 25 years and the friendly owners know many of the regulars by their names. It’s the most charming place for a herring in town.

Who doesn’t want to eat a Dutch herring while overlooking the beautiful Hofvijver (Court Pond) and the ‘Little Tower’ where the Dutch Prime Minister has his office? You can have great herring here and might even bump into a minister or a member of parliament.

Het Haringhuisje (meaning: little herring house) is one of the best places for a Dutch herring. Traditionally, in The Hague herring is eaten by holding it by its tail and letting the fish slide into your mouth. If this makes you feel uncomfortable, you can have it on a bun or eat it the Amsterdam way: cut into pieces and with a cocktail stick.

The well-known Simonis 'fish family’ owns several fish restaurants in town, from basic to quite glamourous. This location at Scheveningen harbour is informal and, therefore, a great place to devour a herring. When the famous New Dutch Herring (de Hollandse Nieuwe) is in season, there is a herring stall outside.

This little fishmonger is tucked away in a residential street in Scheveningen, but herring and fish lovers know to find it. The owner Ben de Lange sometimes organises workshops ‘how to clean a herring’, because he doesn’t want this tradition to be lost.