amsterdam Archives - Page 21 of 39

Amsterdam Restaurant Week 2009 – Still No Reservations

The summer edition of Restaurant Week will hit Amsterdam August 24 to 30, 2009. Reservations open tomorrow at 10am. But be warned, getting a good reservation in 2009 is just as impossible as in previous years.

Restaurant week is a great idea that in Amsterdam suffers from two major flaws: First of all too many average restaurants participate with menus that are not worth the fixed rate of €25,- for a three course dinner. And secondly restaurant week is so popular that it’s hard to get a reservation.

Like all diningcity subscribers I received an email with a link that allows me to make reservations 24 hours before the official start. I tried as soon as I had received the email and was greeted by a site that was largely unresponsive and generated time out errors. When I finally got through, all the good restaurants were already fully booked! And that’s a day before the official opening of reservations.

Michelin star restaurants La Rive and Ron Blaauw were just unavailable as the Brasserie in the Amstel Hotel, Christophe, and Lute in Ouderkerk. I just checked again and 44 out of 155 restaurants are already fully booked.

And while €25,- for a three course dinner is a great deal at the top Amsterdam restaurants, it’s really not worth it for places like cocktail lounge Barça, simple eetcafe De Duvel or average at best Italian l’Incontro. Sounds more like a cheap way to fill these restaurants than a way to make an exquisite cuisine available to everyone for a few days.

I did get a reservation for Oriental 128 which I was curious to try out. Oriental 128 is a high end Chinese on Amstelveenseweg that gets good reviews for its specialty dishes and wine list.

Brouwerij ‘t IJ Columbus on Tap at Hesp

brouwerij 't ij - columbus label Cafe Hesp, one of dutchgrub’s Best Amsterdam Terraces, has added Brouwerij ‘t IJ’s Columbus beer to its tap!

Its selection of beers on tap, including Weihenstephaner Weissbier and several Belgian beers, has always been one of the strong points of Hesp. It’s nice that they have added Columbus, a strong and hopsy amber brewed by neighbor Brouwerij ‘t IJ.

Columbus is far from a summer-y beer and probably not the greatest choice for a warm August evening on the terrace by the Amstel. But I am sure a good occasion will present itself soon for having a Columbus at Heps!

Brouwerij 't IJ Columbus on Tap at Hesp

brouwerij 't ij - columbus label Cafe Hesp, one of dutchgrub’s Best Amsterdam Terraces, has added Brouwerij ‘t IJ’s Columbus beer to its tap!

Amsterdam Closed for Vacation…

I thought I would post a brief warning for unsuspecting visitors. Many restaurants and cafes in Amsterdam close for summer vacation. Around the time of late July and early August, it’s better to check to avoid disappointments.

I have heard of a few vacations including De Witte Uyl, one of dutchgrub’s Best Amsterdam Restaurants, and Yam Yam, makers of one of dutchgrub’s Best Amsterdam Pizzas. Both will be closed until 16 August 2009. During the same period recently opened Italian l’Ozio will be closed for lunch, but remain open for dinner.

amsterdam closed for vacation — Omnipresent bikes and closed for vacation signs in Amsterdam

First Day of De Parade Amsterdam

Today is the first day of De Parade Amsterdam, a theater festival with focus on food and drinks in Amsterdam’s Martin Luther Kingpark.

De Parade is different from other festivals. The shows are short and creative and held in small tents. The vibe has some circus, a little fairy tale, street music and story telling. Everything is set up around a central food court where people meet, eat and drink, and decide which shows they want to see. The artists will tour the food court and entertain the visitors with small stunts trying to lure them to their show.

The good shows do sell out quickly, so some advance planning and reservation of tickets is advisable. I love Dutch poppy bard Spinvis who is a regular at the yearly event and this year has dreamt up a concept called kamermuziek (Dutch) – or chamber music. The show is some sort of behind the scenes look at how he makes music, all by himself, using a variety of sounds and instruments. Another classic and yearly crowd favorite at De Parade is the Silent Disco – a large crowd grooving to the beats with headphones. The effect is pretty cool when you see loads of people getting down in sync without a single noticeable sound.

While not a food festival, De Parade does a good job at wining and dining the guests, some of which actually enjoy the food and drinks so much that they never make it to any of the shows. The main food attraction is Restaurant de Aalmoes – Dutch for the alms. It’s a portable greenhouse in which two reputed chefs serve a biological French menu. The other restaurants and bars are a cosmopolitan mix of Dutch pancakes, Mexican burritos, Italian wood oven pizza, Sushi and much more.

de parade - restaurant de aalmoes — Restaurant De Aalmoes

Cost of Drinks on Amsterdam Terraces

Amsterdam came in at a quite affordable number 29 in the recent Mercer Worldwide Cost of Living survey 2009 – City ranking. The research investigates over 200 goods and services in 290 locations.

The ranking shows that overall Amsterdam is considerably cheaper than leader Tokyo or European capitals Milan, Paris and London. Food and drinks are another story, though. This is confirmed by the results of the yearly research on the average cost of drinks on popular terraces by Dutch gastronomy consultancy Van Spronsen & Partners.

Van Spronsen sampled the cost of two glasses of the legendary small Dutch beers, two glasses of regrettably trendy rosé wine and two soft drinks. Amsterdam is the most expensive city in the Netherlands with an average cost of € 16,= for the six drinks. Rotterdam and The Hague come next at € 15,20.

I ran a quick check of the prices against my list of best Amsterdam terraces. Not surprisingly, Cafe ‘t Sluisje in Amsterdam Noord is cheapest at € 12,60 – a significant saving. But even centrally located hot spots Cafe Walem and Cafe de Jaren charge less than the average – € 2,20 for a soft drink, € 2,30 for a small beer and € 3,00 for a glass of rosé. Even Gent aan de Schinkel, the most expensive on my list, is below average at € 15,80.

Pick your spot in the sun carefully as clearly some terraces in tourist locations are charging way too much for poor quality!

cafe de jaren amsterdam - terrace gent aan de schinkel amsterdam - terrace