The painted city The local’s favourites Q&A with Jacob Melleny & Harry Thorogood

Q&A

WITH JACOB MELLENY AND HARRY THOROGOOD

By Manon Marijs

Since November last year Utrecht can call itself home to its very first churros café: Papi Churro. After successfully running a churros food truck at several food festivals for three years, owners Jacob and Harry decided to step up their churros game. So, how did these two guys from London wind up in Utrecht? It all started five years ago at a ski resort in France. The two friends worked at a Dutch student’s bar. Their manager also happened to manage the TREK Food Truck Festival and he invited them over

to work for the festival. Jacob and Harry enjoyed it so much, that they bought their very own food truck to kick off their churros enterprise. And now you can enjoy Papi Churro all year round in the heart of Utrecht’s city centre.

> Korte Minrebroederstraat 5 papi-churro.com

Build your own ‘We like Utrecht’s bustling atmosphere, especially in summer. With Papi Churro, we’re bringing something new and tasty to the city. Something that’s different from the crepes and waffles that are available already.’ With names such as Basic Bitch, Salt Bae and White Virgin, their churros are definitely out there. You can build your own as well by adding loads of different toppings. ‘Since our café is more spacious than our truck, we’ve started expanding our product range by making our own vegan cookie dough toppings. Also, we’ve created a special Papi Churro coffee roast that complements our churros perfectly.’

Deli ‘Bigoli (Schoutenstraat 12) is an amazing Italian deli slash sandwich shop located in the heart of the city. Going there makes you think you’ve just popped to Bologna for the day. They have incredibly fresh and authentic products that taste delicious on a sandwich or a in salad. Add to that their lovely staff and great atmosphere and you’ve got one of our favourite places to grab a bite.’

Cinephiles ‘We enjoy visiting the Louis Hartlooper Complex (Tolsteegbrug 1) cinema on our days off or on the weekends. It is always buzzing with locals and gives you a chance to see the films that wouldn’t be featured in the larger cinemas. Watching a film in one of the cosy screening rooms is a true Utrecht experience. Also, the Cineville card makes it the most affordable cinema to go to if you’re cinephiles like us.’

Bella Italia ‘O’Panouzzo (Mariastraat 35) has the best pizza in town, hands down. Their dough is authentically Neapolitan and the service is fantastically Italian. Make sure to get the Calbrese pizza with a Birra Moretti to clench your thirst. And if the weather allows it, you should head outside. There’s nothing better than eating your pizza on the terrace whilst watching the world go by.’

Second home ‘Festival TREK (end of May in Grift park) is like a second home for us. We’ve been attending this outdoor festival for over three years now with our food truck. We love the vibe, the quality of what’s on offer and the buzz that comes with it. It’s a great for a family day out or for an evening of partying with friends. Even if we’re not there with our food truck, we still go and enjoy a beer in the sun.’

Bigoli

Louis Hartlooper Complex