With its summertime terrace on a pretty square and tasty tapas-style menu of kleine gerechten (small portions), Sems is a lovely spot to lounge. Inside, walnut-wood tables grace the more formal restaurant and there's a wine bar for pre-dinner drinks. 'Tapas' embraces everything from ribs, scallops and beef steaks to fish 'n chips and truffle-laced gnocchi with hazelnuts and ricotta.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Leeuwarden attractions

1. Natuurmuseum Fryslân

0.11 MILES

Let your angels run rampant in this natural history museum, covering Friesland's flora and fauna. Highlights include a virtual bird-flight simulation …

2. De Waag

0.13 MILES

The petite weighing house dominates Waagplein; butter and other goods were weighed here from 1598 to 1884.

3. Keramiek Museum Princessehof

0.18 MILES

Pottery lovers will adore the Netherlands ceramics museum. Here you'll find the largest collection of tiles on the planet, an unparalleled selection of…

4. Historisch Centrum

0.2 MILES

Read up on the town's history at the city archives, home to a permanent exhibition on the history of Leeuwarden. It also organises guided tours led by…

5. Fries Museum

0.22 MILES

The provincial museum occupies an imposing glass-fronted building sporting a striking wood-and-steel roof that projects out over Wilhelminaplein. The…

6. Obe Paviljoen

0.23 MILES

Named after the local Frisian poet Obe Postma (1868–1963), this contemporary wood-and-glass pavilion is razor-sharp in both architectural design and the…

7. Blokhuispoort

0.24 MILES

No single sight evokes the undercurrent of explosive creativity pulsating through the Frisian capital quite like this 19th-century prison-turned-cultural…

8. Oldehove

0.29 MILES

At the northwest corner of the historic core stands the notoriously off-kilter Oldehove – Friesland's rival to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Things went…