Matthijs and Simon breathe new life into ‘t Spaghettihuis

‘t Spaghettihuis in Asse is open again and that is thanks to Simon Kuijken and Matthijs Van Avermaet. They took over the restaurant in Arsenaalstraat and kept the simple but proven recipe: a menu full of spaghetti.

The former owners closed the doors of the famous spaghetti restaurant in January, which was still known as Spaghetti Café. Enter Simon Kuijken (48) and Matthijs Van Avermaet (41), two Assen residents who have known each other for years. Both have had some catering experience in the past as waiters or cooks, but having their own restaurant is also new to them. So they had to dust off the catering experience a bit.

“It’s definitely our midlife crisis,” Matthijs laughs. “But when it became known in December that the Spaghetti House was about to be taken over, I wanted to realize my dream of having my own business. But I didn’t feel like running the business alone and combining it with my family. And so I asked Simon to join me. Because we would have thought it a shame if this well-known but simple concept were to disappear in Asse.”

Four sauces

And the concept is as simple as it sounds. In addition to regular spaghetti, ‘t Spaghettihuis also offers whole wheat and gluten-free pasta and four different sauces. “We have the regular bolognaise, ham & cheese and a veggie and vegan sauce. You can combine the different pasta and sauces, so that we can serve almost every customer,” says Simon, who will be in the kitchen.

‘t Spaghettihuis is open from Wednesday to Saturday from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM. “We continue to work part-time at our old job, which is why we have limited opening hours. We have already received many positive reactions from customers who are happy that the restaurant is making a new start. You can come here for a quick bite, but also if you want to enjoy an extensive meal with friends or family. And because spaghetti deserves a good glass of wine, we have an extensive wine list with wines that you can also order by the glass.”

Reservations are only required for groups of more than six people. Simon and Matthijs also want to open their summer terrace soon, so that guests can feel even more like they are in Italy when the weather is nice.