wine Archives - Page 4 of 6

Restaurant l’Ozio Amsterdam – New Italian in De Pijp

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.

Restaurant l’Ozio Amsterdam
www.ozioamsterdam.com
Ferdinand Bolstraat 26
1072 LK Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0)20 470 81 83

Best Amsterdam Wine Shop – Vote for Ton Overmars

Dutch wine magazine WijnPers is currently having a competition where you can vote for your favorite wine shop.

My favorite wine shop is Ton Overmars on Hoofddorpplein in Amsterdam. Ton has been in business for many, many years and knows more than anybody about wine. His staff is giving great recommendations, always giving best advice even if that means less business for the store. Ton has many special wines that he imports directly. And all those great wines are available for very competitive prices.

If you have a moment, please cast your vote for Ton. I just did! All it takes is an email address.

Restobar Knus – Empty on a Friday Night

restobar knus amsterdam - lounge Knus is a combination of restaurant and lounge spread across three cozy floors of an old Dutch house in the Leidseplein area. The menu is small but versatile – a meat, a fish and a vegetarian fusion dish and a large selection of montaditos, Basque style tapas served on a sort of bruschetta style bread.

Against better judgement, we went to Knus last Friday after a company BBQ, thinking that it would be the perfect place to continue drinking and to enjoy some snacks later on. We quickly noticed that this was a mistake as we were the only guests that evening. The food was mediocre and while the staff tried to explain that the emptiness was unusual we could not help but think that Knus will soon make room for a new concept.

While I still think that Knus is one of the better restaurants of its kind, there are two important lessons that foodies should remember: Avoid the Leidseplein area, which is touristy, over-priced and laden with poor quality restaurants. And don’t bother with “restobars” or “gastropubs” that promise to be a one-stop-shop for a whole night out, aim high with fancy fusion or bistro menus and ultimately fail miserably.

Wine Garden Opening at Vino di Pino

Italian wine merchant Vino di Pino opened its doors in late 2008. I stopped by a few times for the January February March special – of 50% off every second bottle.

This Sunday, 29 March 2009, Vino di Pino is throwing an opening party for its wine garden with free wine sampling and an Italian buffet.

I hope they also keep extending the 50% off special!

Tempus Two Recommended by Het Parool

Just read an article in Het Parool in which wine expert Harold Hamersma recommends Tempus Two – one of my favorite white wines.

The article is a write-up of a three day event for wine professionals organized by The Winesite as part of the Horecava 2009.

There are a number of rather standard recommendations for Alsace Riesling or Champs des Murailles Corbières. But Hamersma also recommends a new Tempus Two Moscato – available at wine store Ton Overmars. I can’t wait to try it!

I buy a lot of wine from Ton who personally has made several great recommendations. About a year ago he suggested a Tempus Two Verdelho. I have had several good Verdejo wines from the up and coming Spanish Rueda region and decided to try out their Australian cousin. The Tempus Two Verdelho Spring Rock is amazing. It sort of has it all: a full body and plenty of spicy flavor of the Verdejo grape; fresh fruity acidity; and great balance and finish.

I think it’s definitely worth a trip to Ton to pick up some Tempus Two Moscato alongside some Verdelho and maybe some other suggestion he surely has!

kek – New Organic Lunch Place with Wireless

Update: Kek closed doors in late July 2011. A sign on the window says that a new restaurant called “Doordagt” will open in late August.

Hoofddorpplein has a new organic lunch place with free wireless. kek – short for “kant en klaar” or ready to eat – opened doors in January and has frequently looked busy!

Hoofddorpplein is a square with shops and restaurants in a working class neighborhood just past the far end of Vondelpark. It won’t make it to the top of Amsterdam tourist sights. But it does have a number of interesting food stores and restaurants including well-known wine store Ton Overmars, recently opened Italian wine dealer Vino di Pino, eetcafe Gent aan de Schinkel, a kitchen store, an organic food store and now kek.

The interior of kek was completely redone. The owners turned what used to be a gift store into a modern and bright lunch location. The design signals healthy and the furniture is simple with a lot of wood and country style folding tables. There is a long bench along the side wall that nicely connects the small tables.

Owners Piet Hein and Frederique run kek and create a very friendly atmosphere. When I visited for the first time, Frederique found time to sit down and explain the menu choices and Piet Hein appeared from the kitchen to personally deliver the food. Other guests, including the owner’s parents, shared their positive thoughts about the food and decor.

The food is simple but good. The sandwiches are made from fresh ingredients on thick slices of dark bread. While not masterpieces, a nice step up from the all too frequent bread and cheese. kek also serves simple dishes such as soups and pasta. All dishes are available in the restaurants and also to go – hence the name “kant en klaar”.

Besides the welcoming service, my highlights were the house wine and the free wireless. The wine is provided by Ton Overmars – a nice touch to help your neighboors. And the bright and open design combined with free wireless makes Kek an ideal destination for checking email or writing a blog post while enjoying lunch.

kek
www.kek.nu
Hoofddorpplein 29, 1059 CW Amsterdam, Tel +31 (0)20 753 94 03