After the great meal at 212 last year, I couldn’t wait to go back again and decided to take my friend Melvin there for his birthday dinner. I hadn’t checked the menu when I made the reservation, so I only … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: 212** (2024)
MOS restaurant in Amsterdam has one Michelin star and offers a beautiful view of the river and Central Station from the large windows. The restaurant by chef Egon van Hoof and maître Henry Pattiwael opened in 2015 and has held … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: MOS*
Restaurant Aan de Poel is located in Amstelveen, the wealthy suburb of Amsterdam. It is situated and named after a small lake called “De Poel”. The terrace offers a beautiful view of the lake, but the weather wasn’t The restaurant … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: Aan de Poel**
Restaurant Heimat in Utrecht has just opened. In fact, I was there for the first regular night, after a trial week. My main purpose to be there was to catch up with a dear friend, who lives around the corner … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: Heimat
Zoldering is one of my favorite restaurants in Amsterdam. This was my 5th dinner there, but strangely enough this is the first blog I’m writing about it. Zoldering was established in 2019 by Tomas Bron (chef), Job Seuren (sommelier), Wout … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Zoldering*
In the Netherlands we have a saying: a good neighbor is worth more than a friend far away. We have the best of both worlds, as our neighbors are also very good friends. One of the things we share with … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Flore**
Spectrum is the restaurant of chef Sidney Schutte and maître-sommelier Cas Kratz, located inside the Waldorf Astoria hotel in the historic center of Amsterdam. The restaurant, formerly known as Librije’s Zusje, has held two Michelin stars since 2015. Since it … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Spectrum** (2024)
To celebrate my friend Anja’s birthday, I took her to dinner at Restaurant 212. This is the main restaurant of chef Richard van Oostenbrugge, who first held two Michelin stars at Bord’eau (I had the pleasure of dining there in … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: 212** (2023)
Coulisse has been awarded its first Michelin star in 2023, and so I was curious to check it out. It is located in a historic building, a former theater. The Dutch word “coulisse”, usually used as plural “coulissen”, refers to … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Coulisse*
Bistro de la Mer on Utrechtestraat 57 in Amsterdam is the sister restaurant of De Juwelier, just a few doors down on Utrechtsestraat at number 51. It is also owned by Richard van Oostenbrugge, chef of Restaurant 212 (just around … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Bistro de la Mer*
Regular readers have guessed it: yet another friend’s birthday to be celebrated with a dinner at a Michelin starred restaurant. In this case it is Melvin’s birthday, and because he likes Asian cuisine I took him to Yamazato in the … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Yamazato*
To treat my friend Martijn for his birthday, I took him to dinner at De Juwelier. Chef Richard van Oostenbrugge of two-Michelin star restaurant 212 has opened up two new restaurants around the corner: De Juwelier and Bistro De La … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: De Juwelier*
I wanted to treat my friend Sebas for his birthday and allow him to experience a two-start Michelin restaurant for the first time in his life. Since I had not been to Ciel Bleu in a long time (the last … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Ciel Bleu** (2023)
As every year, we celebrate the anniversary of our first date with a meal at Librije. It is easily the best restaurant in the Netherlands and has three Michelin stars. There are tasting menus of 5, 6, or 7 courses … Continue reading Dining in the Netherlands: Librije*** (2018)
Chefs Richard van Oostenbrugge and Thomas Groot left Bord’eau (where they had earned two Michelin stars within three years) and started there own restaurant: 212. The name refers to the address of their new restaurant (Amstel 212 in Amsterdam) and … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: 212
Bitterballen are popular party food in the Netherlands. They are breaded and deep fried, and usually filled with a meat ragoût. I have already blogged about those here. When they are larger and have a cylindrical shape, they are called … Continue reading Shrimp Croquettes (Garnalenbitterballen)
Duivekater is a traditional festive bread that originates in Amsterdam and surroundings and is now still popular in the Zaanstreek where I grew up (and still live), just north of Amsterdam. There are sources as far back as the 16th … Continue reading Duivekater
Librije’s Zusje is the “little sister” of Librije in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Amsterdam, with two Michelin stars. Two years ago we had dinner there for the first time, and I concluded back then it was the best restaurant in Amsterdam. … Continue reading Dining in Amsterdam: Librije’s Zusje** (2017)
Chef Ron Blaauw gave up his restaurant with two Michelin stars (at which I never dined) and replaced it with a “gastrobar”, which after its first year received a single Michelin star. Ron Blaauw wanted to create a more accessible restaurant, and I think he has succeeded. At Ron Gastrobar you can order as many dishes as you like for 15 euros (about US$ 20) each. They are of an intermediate portion size: not as big as a main course, but not a small bite either. Three or four dishes are enough for a meal. The term “gastrobar” also means that there are a lot of tables and quite close together. The restaurant is a bit like a “grand café”. I was curious about this new restaurant, and so I went to check it out. (Photos taken with my iPhone in bad lighting conditions.) Continue reading “Dining in Amsterdam: Ron Gastrobar*”
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