Farewell Witte Uyl and Lovefood

We’re very sad to see two of our favorite restaurants in Amsterdam close down. Both De Witte Uyl and Lovefood closed doors over the last weeks.

De Witte Uyl had been on our list of Best Amsterdam Restaurants since 2009. And Lovefood was one of our Best Amsterdam Brunch places for the last three years. Our lists change rarely – it takes several extraordinary dinners before a restaurant is included. And the restaurants on the lists have shown amazing consistency in their quality. That makes it even harder to see two of them go.

We’re incredibly thankful for all the hard work and uncompromising passion for good food that owners Annemieke and Jason and their teams have put into their restaurants. They set themselves high standards and weren’t satisfied unless those were met day in and day out.

And true to themselves, both owners decided to close shop at the top of their game. With their dining rooms still filled with happy guests every night, even in times of economic crisis, Annemieke and Jason decided that it was time to move on, leave troubles with landlords, diners who don’t get the concept of inventive desserts like the chocolate board, or large numbers of no shows behind, and start new exciting projects.

Annemieke has actually already moved to France and opened three fantastic apartments for rent, naturally each with a big, fully equipped kitchen. And Jason is working on a new idea to be revealed in 2014.

Thank you very much, Annemieke and Jason, good luck with your new projects and please keep us posted!

Amsterdam Restaurant News

Two of our favorite places that were closed temporarily are now back and another one unfortunately has closed down. So I thought I’d write a brief post to update you on the latest development.

restaurant marius amsterdamFirst of all, Restaurant Marius, one of our Best Amsterdam Restaurants, has reopened in its former location. Marius was closed from late May to late September. Plans for moving to a larger venue fell through due to issues with permits, so Marius will continue to do its magic from the charming Barentszstraat locale.

lovefood amsterdam logoIn other good news, Lovefood, one of our Best Amsterdam Brunches, has returned. They are now operating on a monthly schedule, every first Sunday of the month. You can get the details on their Facebook page. Make sure you do get a reservation. It’s very busy due to the monthly schedule and several good reviews.

You win some, you lose some, they say. And unfortunately this appears to be true as we just received an email letting us know that The Man Who Cuts the Meat has closed down. Executive chef Chris van der Kuil has moved to Saigon, Vietnam, and is now working on Flow.

Restaurant Marius Amsterdam Still Closed

Update October 11th, 2010: As you can read in the comments below, Marius has reopened as of late September 2010.

Update March 22nd, 2012: Marius has moved into a new location, just 40 meters from the previous one, and right next to the new sausage and wine bar “Worst” just opened by the same owner.

Most restaurants in Amsterdam have re-opened after vacation and everything is back to normal.

The one sad exception is Marius, one of dutchgrub’s Best Amsterdam Restaurants. Marius closed doors in late May for renovations and to take some time off to find new inspiration. As you can see on the photos, there’s not much visible progress. The inside merely looks abandoned with no sign of work done. And the sign on the door still says that Marius will re-open in September, likely at a new location, but that the necessary permissions were slow to acquire.

Marius is great and we hope they’ll be back soon with a great new restaurant!

restaurant marius amsterdam - door sign.JPGrestaurant marius amsterdam - inside.JPGrestaurant marius amsterdam - closed sign.JPG