What Is a Wine Walk? We Did One in Eindhoven and Now We're Obsessed
Hot travel tip: do a wine walk. I had never heard of one until this past weekend and now I'm already trying to figure out where to do the next one. If food, travel and wine are your thing, keep reading because this is one of those things you didn't know you needed until you're two glasses in and wondering why you've never done it before.
We did ours in Eindhoven and it completely delivered. Here's the full rundown including every dish and every pour.
What Is a Wine Walk?
A wine walk is a self-guided culinary event where you move through a series of restaurants in a city, stopping at each one for a small plate and a matched wine pairing. The format we did had six stops: six restaurants, six dishes, six wines. You choose your starting point while the organizers map out the rest of your route. You walk at your own pace, spend as long as you like at each spot and let the afternoon unfold naturally.
The concept is popular across the Netherlands and runs in most major cities. It's organized by Wijnspijs and typically takes place on Sunday afternoons, running from around noon to 5pm. At 85 euros per person it's not the cheapest afternoon out, but you genuinely get a lot: a curated tasting menu across six different kitchens, six wines chosen by people who know what they're doing and a built-in excuse to explore parts of a city you might never wander into otherwise.
We had our favorites over the course of the day but nothing we left on the plate or wished we'd skipped. All solid food, good pours and interesting spaces, including a few restaurants we'll absolutely be going back to.
The Eindhoven Wine Walk: Our Full Menu
Here's everything we ate and drank, stop by stop.
Umami
Shrimp in chili sauce with mango and passion fruit purée and blanched green beans
Wine pairing: Portuguese white
Nicely cooked shrimp with a purée that stayed on the right side of sweet. Clean and bright and easy to eat.
Zuid by Adrian Zarzo
Spinach and cheese ravioli with pecorino foam, sun-dried tomatoes and tomato powder
Wine pairing: Itata Chilean red from ungrafted old vines
The foam and the tomato powder were genuinely interesting. I think this was my first real encounter with molecular cooking and I was fully on board. The Chilean red was unexpected with a pasta dish and it worked. Want more of both.
LouLou
Dorado fish two ways: one crispy with fennel cream, one raw with a creamy cheese sauce
Wine pairing: Le Jardin from Maison Bosquet, Chardonnay and Vermentino blend
The surprise of the day. I am not typically a fan of fish and dairy together but this genuinely worked. The fennel cream against the crispy fish especially. A strong opening that set the tone for the whole afternoon.
Lutz Gastro Bar
Lamb neck with hollandaise, pistachio and Israeli couscous
Wine pairing: Cadia Barbera d'Alba
Far and away the favorite of the day. The neck just melted and then you get the crunch of the pistachios a genuinely perfect bite. The Barbera was exactly right with it. I'm still thinking about this one.
Brasserie Lumen
Crostini on seeded bread with sautéed mushrooms, Sorrento ham and hollandaise
Wine pairing: Maison de La Villette Pinot Noir
My least favorite of the six, and it was still fine. That probably tells you everything you need to know about the overall level of the day.
Cafe Barolo
Cherry, almond and lettuce gazpacho with focaccia, goat butter and anchovy
Wine pairing: Pfaffl Riesling
Cherry gazpacho. Yes. The texture contrast with the almonds was exactly right and the Riesling pairing was smart just enough acidity to cut through the richness of the goat butter. The focaccia was the kind of thing you want to keep eating long after you're already full.
Is a Wine Walk Worth It?
Yes, genuinely. The 85 euro price tag sounds steep but when you break it down across six restaurants with matched wines at each stop it's actually reasonable for what you get. A comparable evening out three courses at a decent restaurant with wine would likely cost more and you wouldn't discover six new places in the process.
The format also takes all the decision-making out of it. You don't have to research restaurants, argue about where to go next or worry about booking. You just show up, follow the route and eat well. For a Sunday afternoon it's close to perfect.
How to Find a Wine Walk Near You
In the Netherlands, Wijnspijs runs the WineFood Walk in cities across the country throughout the year. Check their website for upcoming dates and locations they run them in Eindhoven, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and more. Events typically sell out so booking ahead is worth doing.
If you're not in the Netherlands, similar self-guided culinary walk formats exist in cities across Europe look for “wine and food walk” or “restaurant walk” in your city alongside the organizer's name. If a wine walk is on the calendar anywhere near you, do not skip it. It's one of those things that sounds like a gimmick until you're halfway through and realize you've discovered three new restaurants, had something you'd never have ordered on your own and walked off just enough calories to feel fine about the whole thing.
