De Silveren Spiegel
De Silveren Spiegel
De Silveren Spiegel (Kattengat 4-6, Amsterdam) — The menu at “The Silver Mirror,” one of the oldest and best-known restaurants in Amsterdam, offers updated preparations of traditional seafood and meat dishes, such as baked sole filets with wild spinach, and trilogy of lamb with ratatouille — but just as in the old days, the lamb (from Texel, one of Holland’s Frisian Islands) is still Holland’s finest. Be sure to try the Zaanse mustard (from windmill village Zaanse Schans).
The two houses that form the premises were built in 1614 for a wealthy soap maker, Laurens Jansz Spieghel. It’s typical Old Dutch inside, with a bar downstairs and dining rooms where bedrooms used to be. The whole place emanates a Dutch tidiness that’s very welcoming. There’s a garden at the back, and adjacent is the 17th-century, domed Ronde Lutherse Kerk (Round Lutheran Church).
De Pijp
De Pijp
De Pijp (Gaffelstraat 90, Rotterdam) — Over 110 years old, De Pijp is a well known restaurant among locals. Frequented by students, politicians and artists this is truly a no-nonsense homey restaurant. The menus are written on chalkboard and the dishes are mostly Dutch favorites like mussels or steak with baked potatoes.
De Knijp
De Knijp
De Knijp (Van Baerlestraat 134, Amsterdam) — One of this fine restaurant’s advantages is that it’s open late — its kitchen still takes orders when chefs at many other Amsterdam restaurants are tucked up in bed. This would not count for much, of course, if the food weren’t good, but De Knijp is definitely worth staying up for, or worth stopping by for after a performance at the nearby Concertgebouw; many concertgoers and assorted other late-nighters do so.
The menu is not wildly inventive, the standard offerings being something like oysters, grilled lamb, or roast duck, but you might find a few adventurous items, such as carpaccio with pesto, poached salmon with tarragon sauce, and goose breast with pink pepper sauce. Service is friendly, if sometimes a tad worn-out (this is a hardworking place) in this intimate bi-level bistro with lots of wood furnishings. In summer, a sidewalk terrace is available.
De Jaren
De Jaren
De Jaren (Nieuwe Doelenstraat 20-22, Amsterdam) — This cafe-restaurant with picturesque surroundings is fashionable without being pretentious. It occupies a solid-looking former bank; ceilings are unusually high and flooring is multicolored tiled mosaic. Students from the nearby University of Amsterdam lunch here, and it’s popular with the media crowd.
De Jaren’s unique selling point is its two marvelous open-air patios beside the Amstel River, sunny spots that, in fine weather, are much in demand. Occupants of those prime seats settle into them with a firmness of purpose, but it’s worth checking out the outdoor decks, in case one of these permanent-seeming patrons might have fallen — or been pushed — into the river. Enjoy ham and eggs for breakfast, a salad from the extensive salad bar for lunch, or spaghetti Bolognese, couscous, or rib-eye steak for dinner. Sip on coffee, beer, or jenever (gin) while perusing the English-language newspapers.
D’Vijff Vlieghen
D’Vijff Vlieghen
D’Vijff Vlieghen (Spuistraat 294-302, Amsterdam) — The “Five Flies” has nine separate dining rooms spread over five canal houses decorated with objects from Holland’s Golden Age — among them four original Rembrandt etchings. Each dining room has a different character. There’s the Rembrandt Room; the Glass Room, with a collection of antique handmade glassware; and the Knight’s Room, adorned with 16th-century armor and accoutrements, to name just three. Chef René Cramer is passionate about what he calls “New Dutch” cuisine, which aims to convey the culinary excellence inherent in many traditional Dutch recipes and products, but in an updated, French-influenced form, employing organic ingredients as often as possible. Enjoy quite a mouthful by choosing the geroosteerde tamme eend op een bedje van appeltjes en tuinboontjes overgroten met een vinaigrette van rode en groene pepers (roasted tame duck on a layer of apples and broad beans drizzled with a vinaigrette of red and green peppers).
Café-Restaurant Van Puffelen
Café-Restaurant Van Puffelen
Café-Restaurant Van Puffelen (Prinsengracht 377, Amsterdam) — A young professional crowd gets to choose between brown-cafe-style eating and drinking, and a slightly more sophisticated experience in a separate dining room. Some menu dishes don’t add up to much more than regular steak with accompaniments. Others, like the baked seawolf wrapped in Serrano ham and served with olive risotto and a lime sauce, display greater, Mediterranean-inspired flair. In any case, as far as possible they use locally sourced organic produce and meat from free-range animals. Save room for the handmade chocolates that are house specialties. The sidewalk terrace with a view of the Prinsengracht is — like most similar canalside assets — much in demand when the weather’s fine.
Café-Restaurant De Duvel
Café-Restaurant De Duvel
Café-Restaurant De Duvel (Eerste van der Helststraat 59-61, Amsterdam) — Invariably packed with hip locals, “The Devil” is a friendly neighborhood eetcafé (bar with eats) that serves more-than-decent food in a cozy red dining room in the trendy De Pijp district, close to Sarphatipark. Indonesian chicken saté, salad with shrimps tempura, and beef filet in a mustard mousseline are some of the typical dishes — so, a bit wider-ranging than your standard Continental fare, but nothing overly adventurous — on a menu that changes every three months yet rarely goes without some kind of pasta, seafood, and chicken offerings. This is one of the few modish Amsterdam eateries that embraces kids, and there are games and coloring books to keep little ones engaged. The bar side of things is at least as important as the restaurant, and the kitchen closes before midnight.
Breitner
Breitner
Breitner (Amstel 212, Amsterdam) — A fast, last-minute dash from here should get you to the Muziektheater or Koninklijk Theater Carré just in time for the evening curtain rise, but that would involve dining in unseemly haste, and undervalues the performance of the excellent kitchen and knowledgeable waitstaff. The plush red carpet, chandelier, and wine cupboard suggest classical timelessness, yet modern decor and paintings tell a different story. Named after Amsterdam’s Impressionist painter George Hendrik Breitner, this restaurant finds a way to fuse a classic French foundation with this city’s cosmopolitan spirit. The menu changes four times a year, tracking the seasons. Light floods in from big riverside and canalside windows, so a window seat guarantees fine views on the water. Ordering the three-course menu is the way to go for theatergoers.
Brasserie Keyzer
Brasserie Keyzer
Brasserie Keyzer (Van Baerlestraat 96, Amsterdam) — Whether or not you attend a concert at the Concertgebouw, visit its next-door neighbor, Brasserie Keyzer. An Amsterdam landmark since 1903, Keyzer has enjoyed a colorful joint heritage with the world-famous concert hall. Among the many stories still told here is the one about the night a customer mistook a concert soloist for a waiter and tried to order whiskey from him. The musician, not missing a beat, lifted his violin case and said graciously, “Would a little Paganini do?” The traditional dark, dusky decor and starched pink linens add elegance, while the menu leans heavily to fish from Dutch waters and, in season, to game specialties such as hare and venison.
Bordewijk
Bordewijk
Bordewijk (Noordermarkt 7, Amsterdam) — This pleasantly located restaurant is often regarded as one of the best in the city. The decor is tasteful, with green potted plants offsetting the severity of the white walls and metallic black tables. Service is relaxed yet attentive, and on mild summer evenings you can’t beat dining alfresco on the canalside terrace. But the real treat is the food. An innovative chef accents French standards with Mediterranean and Asian flourishes to create an elegant fusion of flavors. The menu changes often, but a typical expression of this mix is found in the Bresse pigeon with fresh morel mushrooms and polenta. In the bouillabaisse Marseillaise, you can just about scent the Provençe coast’s heady air, and the geroosterde coquilles Saint-Jacques (roasted scallops) are divine. Dinner is followed by a fine selection of cheeses, and the wine list is superb.
