The end of the year is list time! And in good style Amsterdam city magazine NL20 has published a list of newly opened restaurants that they got around to reviewing in 2008.
The NL20 list covers about 25 new Amsterdam restaurants organized by neighborhood.
Mashua on Prinsengracht is one of the reviews of restaurants located in the center of Amsterdam. Mashua was created by the people running Casa Peru, so I went there soon after its opening upon their recommendation. Unfortunately Mashua does not have the home-style cooking and service that made me love Casa Peru. And even worse, Casa Peru has since also lost its laid back charm.
NL20 also managed to get a reservation and write a review for much talked about Momo, which is still elusive to me, and Heerlijk! where I went for restaurant week.
Some notable mentions outside of the center are The Colour Kitchen, the Dutch version of Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, Italian traiteur Frenzi Cucina that sells a good Ripasso wine and dessert only restaurant Sucre; all in the west of Amsterdam.
Right next door from Sucre, but missing from the NL20 list, is one of my favorite new restaurants of 2008: Restaurant Blauw on Amstelveenseweg serves a refreshingly different, modern Indonesian cuisine.
And again just a few steps further on Amstelveenseweg is Umoja, one of Mapplr’s favorite additions to the Amsterdam restaurant scene of the last five years.
What’s your favorite new restaurant in Amsterdam? For inspiration see the recently opened section of Dinnersite, which has a more complete and searchable list of new restaurants in the Netherlands.