restaurant Archives - Page 9 of 20

Vegetarian Christmas Menu at De Witte Uyl

Restaurant De Witte Uyl Amsterdam is one of dutchgrub’s favorite restaurants in Amsterdam and has a yearly Christmas special.

De Witte Uyl is one of the more popular restaurants in town for vegetarians. They always have several vegetarian options on their menu and recently started catering more and more to vegetarian guests.

This year, owners Annemieke and Han decided to try something new and are offering a fully vegetarian Christmas menu next to the regular one. Like the regular menu, the vegetarian one has 6 courses. There is a carpaccio of beets, wok fried Jerusalem artichoke, chestnut tarte tatin, mushroom ravioli and a goat cheese soufflé. For dessert there will be yuzu ice cream with meringue, although you might want to persuade them to trade that for the amazing chocolate board.

The menu is available December 25 and 26 for € 75,=. I usually stay away from wine arrangements, but given the excellent wine list and great pairing skills of Annemieke you might want to consider spending an additional € 39,= for the surprise arrangement. The evening starts with an apéritif at 18:45.

For reservations, get in touch by email at [email protected].

Stars, Points, Thumbs and Toques for Amsterdam

Those are some of the ratings that critics award to restaurants and there recently has been a barrage of updates to the influential restaurant guides of Michelin, Gault Millaut, Lekker and SpecialBite.

There seems to be a lot of consistency and agreement when it comes to reviewing Amsterdam restaurants. Chic and formal French restaurants like La Rive, Ciel Bleu and Ron Blaauw top all lists.

SpecialBite is the only publication that dares to be different. Their list of 11 ‘very special’ restaurants in Amsterdam (Dutch) includes a number of more innovative and cooler places. Marius, which is also one of dutchgrub’s Best Amsterdam Restaurants is on the list. As well as Le Restaurant, which stands out from the Michelin stars by being small and located in De Pijp, and Blauw aan de Wal, which serves a fusion menu right by the red light district.

Dine Around the Okura 2010

Earlier this year the Amsterdam Okura Hotel launched the idea of offering a combined dinner at their two Michelin star restaurants Ciel Bleu and Yamazato.

To celebrate the renewal of the two Michelin stars at Ciel Bleu and one star at Yamazato, Okura is again offering the Dine Around dinners in 2010. The menu starts with three traditional Japanese dishes at Yamazato, followed by three French courses at two star Ciel Bleu. It promises quite different taste sensations and combines sashimi with venison and crab soup with compté cheese!

Dine Around is offered each Sunday in January and February of 2010. The set menu is € 120,= per person or € 200,= including wine pairings.

Two Additional Michelin Stars for Amsterdam

This week Michelin announced its stars for the Netherlands 2010. There were no less than eleven restaurants who received their first stars, two of them in Amsterdam.

Nothing changed at the top. Ciel Bleu and Ron Blaauw maintained their two stars while La Rive did not receive the second stars it had been rumored to receive. And there still is no three star restaurant in Amsterdam and surroundings.

Le Restaurant in de Pijp and Vinkeles in the Dylan Hotel on Keizersgracht joined the ranks of Amsterdam one Michelin star restaurants Aan de Poel, La Rive and Yamazato.

So in total Amsterdam now has seven Michelin star restaurants, most of them either part of hotels or located outside of the city. Le restaurant is the notable exception. It’s a fairly small restaurant that is run table d’hôtes style and located smack in the middle of party neighborhood De Pijp.

Da Portare Via Added to Best Amsterdam Pizza List

Until now there were three pizzerias on my popular Best Amsterdam Pizza list – Forno Communale, Renato’s and Yam Yam. Today I am adding Da Portare Via with its two locations in the Jordaan and De Pijp.

Da Portare Via didn’t make my initial list because it was mostly for take away and had some issues with consistency. Quality has been reliable over the last months and many people thought Da Portare deserved its place on the list. did post about them multiple times and indeed agree, because the concept of a no-frills shop with a great thin crust pizza and fresh toppings works.

The Jordaan location does take away only, whereas you can sit down to enjoy your pizza in De Pijp. It’s always busy and seats are limited, but somehow the order first and then pick a seat at one of the larger table idea works. And the pizza is great no matter whether you stay or go!

De Witte Uyl Fall / Winter Menu

De Witte Uyl, one of dutchgrub’s best Amsterdam restaurants, has switched to their fall / winter menu. The people who run De Witte Uyl are very eco friendly – they cook with organic meat and vegetables and pour organic wine and beer. Even the ice cream is made without any artificial aroma, color, flavoring or preservatives.

I especially like how they do the seasonal menu very well. On the fall / winter menu, there is sausage, smoked salmon, venison and pheasant. And lots of winter vegetables such as cabbage, salsify, Jerusalem artichoke and beetroot as sides.

That definitely helps when it’s dark, wet and cold!