NAR Café der Kunsten

NAR is located at Nijverheidsweg 6 in the Werkspoorkwartier in Utrecht West. The current official name is simply NAR. However, the location began as NAR Café der Kunsten, an initiative by Oscar Larik and Walter Bak. The first plans emerged in March 2020, during the pandemic period. Prior to that, both were already working on temporary cultural projects on Nachtegaalstraat. Bak ran Mysterieur Kakapo there, a shop featuring festival objects from his company Schaalwerk. Larik managed a temporary gallery on the same street.

The café first opened in mid-November 2021. Approximately two weeks later, it closed again due to a lockdown. Therefore, the planned official opening weekend took place from May 27 to May 29, 2022. From the start, the location combined hospitality with visual arts and music. This foundation has since been expanded. NAR now describes itself as a bar, Italian restaurant, club, stage, festival grounds, gallery, and exhibition space. The organization creates its own programs and makes space available to external organizers and creative initiatives.

Publicly available information about coffee at NAR is limited. An older page from the eatery listed The Village Coffee as a supplier. News coverage from 2022 also mentioned this partnership. The Village Coffee & Music is a coffee roastery located at Nijverheidsweg 4, right next to NAR. The company has been roasting coffee in its own facility since 2015.

Other collaborations with coffee roasters are not documented. Public data on the beans used, countries of origin, plantations, or direct trade relationships is also missing. The same applies to certifications and specific environmental claims regarding the coffee. NAR does not publish a current coffee menu featuring espresso, filter coffee, or milk-based drinks. Brewing methods and the equipment used are equally unmentioned. On the current restaurant menu, coffee appears only as an ingredient in tiramisu. As a result, a complete picture of the coffee offering cannot be formed based on publicly available information.

At NAR, coffee is part of a broader hospitality and cultural model. The program includes live music, exhibitions, club nights, theater, and festivals. In previous years, poetry, literature, classical music, jazz, and DJ nights were also on the agenda. Galerie Larik initially operated alongside the café with its own program. However, exhibitions, concerts, and installations could come together in the shared outdoor space.

In 2022, the founders spoke about evenings where students and artists could meet. Music, lectures, and informal conversations were meant to coexist. Proposals from people outside the organization could be submitted and evaluated. This open programming aligns with the current approach, in which NAR also provides space for younger and external organizers.

In 2025, NAR organized two editions of HET FESTIVAL. The second edition took place on August 30, 2025. The program continued to mention festival and club activities for 2026. Additionally, NAR is registered as a participating cultural venue for Culturele Zondagen. Coffee workshops or tastings by NAR are not publicly documented.

At the opening, emphasis was placed on the reuse of building materials. The café and gallery were built from a circular design. This included, among other things, a floor from Tivoli, planks and beams from a VPRO project, and materials from former cafés. Containers were also given a new function within the premises.

An older page from NAR also described a preference for regional products and local collaborations. In addition to The Village Coffee, House of Pints, De Leckere, and Van de Streek were mentioned as beer suppliers. Amadeus supplied bread. According to that page, groceries came from a radius of less than one kilometer. News coverage from 2022 also reported that coffee, beer, and pastries were purchased from nearby businesses. At that time, most of the food was vegetarian. It has not been publicly confirmed whether all these arrangements are still valid in 2026.

Based on the available information, NAR does not have a publicly developed specialty coffee profile. The documented collaboration with a nearby roastery does place coffee within the local sourcing model. However, data on brewing methods, bean selection, and current drinks is missing. NAR is therefore best described as a cultural hospitality venue where coffee is part of a broader program. Public information offers more insight into art, music, circularity, and local collaboration than into the technical aspects of coffee.