In May I wrote about Los Pilones in Kerkstraat – a simple and honest Mexican place that delivers exactly what it should: Good enchiladas, tacos, salsa and guacamole in a bar-style atmosphere with small tables, Inca style symbolics and Corona and Tecate commercials.
On a recent trip to the Jordaan, I finally managed to check out the second Los Pilones restaurant in the Jordaan. It’s on the 1e Anjeliersdwaarsstraat, near Westerstraat and close to Jordaan drinking institutions like De Blaffende Vis and Cafe de Tuin.
Los Pilones in the Jordaan delivers the same no frills Mexican food in a similarly authentic but more light and modern decor. The menu and drinks lists are identical. The design is similar, making the Jordaan location the cooler and more urban sibling of the original Los Pilones. There are large cartoon style drawings on the walls and quirky figurines on display.
The food is just as simple and good – tacos y cerveza!
I have complained extensively about the lack of quality neighborhood Italians in Amsterdam. And I would certainly not have suspected them in de Pijp with its focus on trendy concept restaurants with a short lifespan. But I have just been proven wrong again! Fa. Pekelhaaring joins l’Ozio, an artsy Italian with a rural Piedmontese menu, and Renato’s, one of the top pizzerias in Amsterdam, as the third quality neighborhood Italian in de Pijp!
To add to the confusion, the name “Pekelhaaring” is rather misleading, suggesting pickled herring rather than rural Italian cuisine. A quick look at the menu reassured us that we were in for a broad and non-standard selection of Italian dishes. There are sandwiches, salads and deep-fried snacks of which we liked the arancini – small deep-fried saffron balls with a pepper mayonnaise. We almost missed out on them since the deep fryer was broken the day we went. But the chef managed to produce fantastic arancini anyway using some combination of shallow frying pan and determination.
Menu at Fa. Pekelhaaring
The focus of the menu at Pekelhaaring is antipasti, pasta and grilled meat. The antipasti are standard choices like Parma ham and vitello tonato, presented nicely in a glass showcase. The pasta variations are more daring. We liked the ravioli with haricots and ricotta. The gnocchi with salted cod also sounded interesting. All pasta is available in small and large portions – ideal for lunch also. The mains off the grill include rib-eye, mackerel, and an enormous hamburger made of tasty meat and cooked just right.
The design is clean and modern and creates some sort of über-dimensional living room atmosphere – stylish and welcoming at the same time by way of a rather idiosyncratic combination of styles. The dining room feels spacious with its open kitchen and is very light because of the large windows on the entire Van Woustraat side.
I find Fa. Pekelhaaring a perfect all-day long destination. You can enjoy sandwiches, salads or a small plate of pasta for lunch, have a multi-course dinner or enjoy a cappuccino or some snacks any time in between. They advertise free wireless on their site, although I have not tried it.
Restaurant De Kas is one of dutchgrub’s four best restaurants in Amsterdam. Apart from the locally produced ingredients, we especially love the fantastic setting in a former greenhouse.
Last week design blog toxel published its list of the 10 most unusual and creative restaurants in the world. De Kas is featured on the list alongside a dark restaurant in London and an underwater restaurant in the Maldives. You have to love the pictures!
As always there are some inventive dishes on the menu that combine summery ingredients from the Dutch, French and Asian cuisine. Smoked Chinook salmon from Frank’s Smoke house is an old favorite that has made it back onto the menu. It’s served with cantaloupe, watercress and mint and has always stood out for the quality of the salmon. It really has nothing in common with the tasteless whitish bits of farmed salmon served all too frequently in Amsterdam. The crème of fresh corn with home smoked mozzarella and a wonton and served with chickpeas, coriander, cumin, lemongrass and ginger sounds perfect for a warm summer day on the terrace. As does the tartar of white tuna with shiso, avocado, watercress and a poached egg.
The terrace was opened two or three years ago. It’s basically tables and chairs arranged on the sidewalk, but quite nice as the Frans Halsstraat is quiet and charming. And quite in style, hostess Annemieke has some great summer white wines on her unbeatable wine list!
I admit that I was sceptical on my first trip to recently opened restaurant l’Ozio in de Pijp. Amsterdam is full of restaurants with stylish interior designs and low quality food. Especially in hip neighborhoods like De Pijp. And in general, Italian food in Amsterdam is sub par with boring menus and cheap ingredients. So what to expect from l’Ozio, a stylish Italian restaurant in a prime location in de Pijp?
To make a long story short, I was pleasantly surprised!
Restaurant l'Ozio Amsterdam - Dining Room
The interior design is modern and simple, made of quality materials and utilizes the available space perfectly. The walls are white. And the back half of the long dining room is lit through a skylight that covers the entire ceiling. The restaurant also serves as exhibition space with new shows every few months. The current exhibition by Armida Gandini is interesting. Much better than the usual restaurant art. Probably worthy of an exhibition in a gallery.
Everything went smoothly with the reservation and we were welcomed in a very friendly way. So surely the food would have to be expensive and disappointing…
Far from it! The dinner menu is varied with a distinctly northern Italian character. Starters include a fried cheese with pancetta as well as mountain speck with ricotta and tartufo. We enjoyed the antipasti platter of parma ham, bresaola, pancetta and salume. And the mains were even better! We went with crespelle artisanal style with a sherry sauce and a mozzarella in carozza – mozzarella on bread, deep fried. The wine list was equally inspiring with a focus on the northern Italian Alto Adige and Piemont regions. We settled on a Lagrein, one of several unusual grape varieties on offer. The wine was good, dry with rich fruit flavors.
Service was friendly and knowledgeable throughout the entire evening. And the bill at less than € 100,= for two including starters, mains, wine and coffee was quite tolerable. I’ll definitely be back!
Restaurant l'Ozio Amsterdam - Art Exhibition
Restaurant l’Ozio is located on Ferdinand Bolstraat, by Heinekenplein, next to where 18-Twintig used to be.
I admit that I was sceptical on my first trip to recently opened restaurant l’Ozio in de Pijp. Amsterdam is full of restaurants with stylish interior designs and low quality food. Especially in hip neighborhoods like De Pijp. And in general, Italian food in Amsterdam is sub par with boring menus and cheap ingredients. So what to expect from l’Ozio, a stylish Italian restaurant in a prime location in de Pijp?
To make a long story short, I was pleasantly surprised!
Restaurant l'Ozio Amsterdam - Dining Room
The interior design is modern and simple, made of quality materials and utilizes the available space perfectly. The walls are white. And the back half of the long dining room is lit through a skylight that covers the entire ceiling. The restaurant also serves as exhibition space with new shows every few months. The current exhibition by Armida Gandini is interesting. Much better than the usual restaurant art. Probably worthy of an exhibition in a gallery.
Everything went smoothly with the reservation and we were welcomed in a very friendly way. So surely the food would have to be expensive and disappointing…
Far from it! The dinner menu is varied with a distinctly northern Italian character. Starters include a fried cheese with pancetta as well as mountain speck with ricotta and tartufo. We enjoyed the antipasti platter of parma ham, bresaola, pancetta and salume. And the mains were even better! We went with crespelle artisanal style with a sherry sauce and a mozzarella in carozza – mozzarella on bread, deep fried. The wine list was equally inspiring with a focus on the northern Italian Alto Adige and Piemont regions. We settled on a Lagrein, one of several unusual grape varieties on offer. The wine was good, dry with rich fruit flavors.
Service was friendly and knowledgeable throughout the entire evening. And the bill at less than € 100,= for two including starters, mains, wine and coffee was quite tolerable. I’ll definitely be back!
Restaurant l'Ozio Amsterdam - Art Exhibition
Restaurant l’Ozio is located on Ferdinand Bolstraat, by Heinekenplein, next to where 18-Twintig used to be.
De Witte Uyl
