Bakery Review: Pompernikkel
Pompernikkel is a solid win for the neighbourhood. Their flavoured croissants are a highlight.
Just north of the Eastern European and fabric shops, a crowd forms out the door of a wooden facade in the corner of Beeklaan. Some standing in the snaked line, waiting for the sunshine yellow door to open, and others sitting on hard chairs outlining the perimeter. Most are in Ganni-style silhouettes, cool shoes, and tote bags of various colors. And a few have greying hair, warming gilets, and leather loafers. This is a hangout for hip young professionals and cool seniors. And this is Pompernikkel.
This isn’t city centre, but an area more populated with more affordable, more cozy, more volks eateries. Here, Pompernikkel is one of few eateries that stand out for their offerings that pique interest and make you go ‘oooohh’.
For this review, I tried a myriad of pastries: plain croissant, cinnamon bun, their bread, and seasonal bakes. What I found in Pompernikkel was a solid win for the neighbourhood — a solid bakery that offers sourdough and original flavour combinations that won’t be found elsewhere in the city.
The cinnamon bun is a highlight
Wow, what a pastry! This isn’t your average cinnamon bun made from croissant dough, nor is it the most delicate pastry you’ll try. But what stands out is the flavour profile. The cinnamon (from Ceylon is my guess) itself is perfectly soft and round. Whether that’s the quality of cinnamon, the miso, or black pepper contributing to the excellent flavour profile, I couldn’t tell you. All I can say is that it is very well-balanced. An excellent treat.
9/10
The kaasknaller is a banger
The kaasknaller — a croissant with gruyere, caramelized shallots, and pepper — is indeed a banger. One whiff and I’m back in my childhood touring a mineral cave in France. The strong gruyere smells intoxicating and it draws me like a moth to a flame. The cooked shallots contribute needed sweetness and the large quantity of pepper counterbalances both with surprising spice.
The croissant doesn’t rise to an attractive full height, and reads on the dense and bready side. Overall, it’s a very solid filled croissant where the fillings, rather than the croissant, take the lead. I’d order it again.
8.5/10
The seasonal pastries are not to be missed
The seasonal croissants changes quite often, so I hesitate to recommend wholeheartedly, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the pastry I had this week — a pistachio kumquat danish with a fennel custard. The heavy attributes of Pompernikkel’s croissant dough are well-suited here as the pastry holds up to the weighty custard. The kumquat provides a surprising bit of sunshine in the otherwise fennel-forward pastry. Although the three elements never complete the circle, as in, they’re not perfectly balanced, the elements toward perfection are 90% there. It surprises and delights.
8.5/10
The other bakes I found were solid
The plain croissant I loved to smell
The pumpernickel-coloured croissant smelled intoxicating — like sweet, sweet caramel owing to the daring rich hue. One whiff and I was enamored. The butter is wildly prominent and fortunately, it tastes great — a fresh milky butter immediately engulfs your mouth. But the butter is both a boon and bane here. Although itself splendid, it overpowers and I miss a bit of salt and sugar to balance the butter and caramel notes. The croissant also leans on the dense and bready side. Overall, a solid croissant.
7/10
The cardamom bun is beautifully shaped
It’s a hefty one and the layers wrap around itself pleasingly. It’s a good bun with great cardamom smell, but quite dry and there isn’t enough cardamom for my liking. It’s alright.
7/10
The sourdough bread is fine
Despite their name, Pompernikkel doesn’t sell pumpernickel. Rather, whichever shape and size of loaf you get, it’s made from the same dough of 15% whole grains and 85% a softer white flour.
I chose the smaller of the batards with seeds folded into the dough. It smells like hearth and warmth, just as something from a bakery should smell. The crust is thin and it makes for an easy-to-slice loaf, even on the first day. The uniformly small bubbles embedded in the dough are pleasing to the eye. It makes for a perfectly good bread base for toppings. Overall, it doesn’t make me go ‘whoa’ but it’s certainly an above average sourdough loaf with good execution.
7/10
The Hague Review: 7.5/10 for solid bakes and well-executed flavour combinations
Pompernikkel is certainly a win for the neighbourhood. Their daring flavoured croissants should not be missed and their talent in flavour combinations should be lauded.
I appreciate the emphasis on seasonality, robust quality bakes, and the daringness to open an interesting bakery in the neighbourhood. There’s clearly a lot of effort, creativity, and thought, which I also appreciate.
I’m not convinced it’s one of the best bakeries, but it’s among the few good ones in The Hague. Come when you’re in the neighbourhood. Come for their cinnamon bun and daring seasonal treats. Pompernikkel is a rare jewel around here.
Pompernikkel
Beeklaan 370
2562 BG Den Haag
