Our cruise with Uniworld’s new luxury riverboat, the Emilie, ended in Amsterdam, and I never turn down the chance to spend a night (or four) here. Of course, the canals are lovely, lined by houses and palaces in varying states of subsidence, and the museums veritably burst with breathtaking art. The superb food ends up overshadowed.  

Brown cafés, often with wood paneling and stained glass, provide exceedingly cozy spaces to indulge in classic Dutch recipes, but I also love exploring what’s new. Amsterdam looks like a city frozen in time, belying the fact that it maintains a vibrant and ever-changing culinary scene. On this latest visit, we tried five recent openings, each with a different atmosphere and cuisine.

Boon & de Koot

» A homey brasserie for upscale comfort food

At this casual neighborhood restaurant tucked in Zeeheldenbuurt, northwest of the main train station, we heard only Dutch spoken at the other tables. With its local clientele, checkerboard floor, wood wainscoting and bentwood chairs, the dining room felt like Amsterdam of 30 years ago. But the flavorful food certainly suits a modern palate (this is the more casual sister restaurant of Michelin-starred Zoldering). We started with a selection of winter vegetables — crunchy watermelon radish, earthy sunchoke and sweet carrots and yellow beets — accompanied by a bowl of rich bagna cauda garnished with coffee dust, adding to its complexity. Next, a perfectly cooked soft-boiled egg came breaded and topped with silky sunchoke purée, crispy sunchoke chips and delectable fried chanterelles. For a main, we shared a tender grilled quail in zippy green-peppercorn sauce, plus a side of thick, flawless French fries. A simple dessert of soft-serve ice cream with whiskey-caramel sauce and blanched almonds gave me a wonderful Proust’s madeleine moment. I left impressed by this untouristy restaurant’s delicious seasonal food and friendly English-speaking staff, as well as by the lengthy by-the-glass wine list and the commendable classic cocktails. This spot is worth the detour.

Boon & de Koot
Barentszstraat 171-173. Tel. (31) 20-224-6425

The Marlin Bar

» A chic and friendly seafood spot

In a more central location just south of the Museumplein and Concertgebouw, this fashionable little restaurant focuses, as you might guess from its name, on seafood. Thanks to the Amstel Hotel’s concierge, we received complimentary flutes of superb Christopher Merret Blanc de Blancs Champagne. They paired well with two kinds of fresh oysters, a sweet and mild Fine de Claire and a heartier Irish Gold, as well as with some notably light oysters Rockefeller. The deeply flavored langoustine bisque with cognac also wasn’t heavy, leavened by crunchy shaved fennel. I couldn’t resist ordering the Dover sole à la meunière, and it proved to be a flawless example of the preparation. A white Côteaux Bourguignon, a mere 12 euro a glass, was a sensational match, just as promised by our two waiters, both Arnaud. Later, Arnaud the Smaller pointed out the concierge team from the nearby Waldorf Astoria, also there to evaluate the restaurant. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, and we certainly did as well. In warm weather, the sidewalk terrace tables would surely be lovely.

The Marlin Bar
Van Baerlestraat 120. Tel. (31) 20-205-1334

Ottolenghi

» Vegetable-forward Mediterranean dining in a glamorous hotel lobby

Just before our trip to Amsterdam, Mandarin Oriental announced it would take over the (recommended) Conservatorium hotel and hire acclaimed chef Yotam Ottolenghi to open a new Mediterranean restaurant in the hotel’s soaring atrium. As a longtime fan of his London establishments, I took this as an opportunity to revisit one of my favorite properties in the city. Needing a break from the parade of bitterballen and other deep-fried meat snacks during our lunches in the city’s brown cafés, we were delighted to see such a comprehensive selection of vegetable dishes on the menu. We started with the curiously satisfying bite-size beet pastrami skewers topped with pickled cucumber and mustard. Next came the celery root shawarma, a fine-dining take on fast food, served with an addictive fermented tomato jam. Finally, they brought out the burrata, which I’d forgotten we ordered (I suspect they’d forgotten, too). But it worked beautifully as a substitute for dessert, served atop rhubarb and blood orange and sprinkled with a coriander-seed crunch. Though we chose to keep our feast vegetarian, the menu has plenty of seafood and meat options. On my next visit, I’ll look for the Dover sole with burnt eggplant, capers, berbere-spiced butter and kohlrabi.

Ottolenghi 
Mandarin Oriental Conservatorium, Paulus Potterstraat 50. Tel. (31) 20-570-0000

Restaurant Hendrik

» Artisanal pancakes and other Dutch classics

About three blocks south of the Marlin Bar, Restaurant Hendrik may be less than a year old, but it already looks vintage, with pretty botanical wallpaper, candlelit tables and antique chandeliers hanging from elaborate plaster medallions. In its charming dining rooms, we saw mostly local families out for Sunday lunch. The menu includes Dutch classics like frietje stoof (beef stew with fries), shrimp croquettes and a chicken-meatball sandwich, but the pancakes are the stars. Made with fresh whole-grain flour from a mill in Vreeland, the location of Hendrik’s older sibling restaurant, they’re thicker than crêpes but thinner than American pancakes. They come with a broad array of sweet and savory toppings. We split the Bishops Choice, a pizza-like option with gouda, bacon, mushroom and onion. It was delicious on its own, but it was even better with a drizzle from our pitcher of stroop, a dark sweet-savory molasses (a far cry from the wan filling of most commercial stroopwafels). Our server promised that the apple pie was “the best,” and this thick-crusted version tasted undeniably delightful, especially with a dollop of whipped cream. For an unfussy and reasonably priced lunch of old Dutch comfort food after a morning of museums, Hendrik is ideal.

Restaurant Hendrik
Ruysdaelstraat 50-56. Tel. (31) 20-341-3586

V&A Bar – Bistro

» French comfort food and standout natural wines in a cozy bistro

In Amsterdam, I often find myself oscillating between fine-dining feasts and casual pub grub, both of which the city excels at. But it can be tricky to find great restaurants that occupy a middle ground, the type of place where you can walk in and have a nice dinner with a couple of glasses of wine, without making a reservation weeks in advance and spending a small fortune. At the recommendation of a local oenophile, we popped into V&A (Venus & Adonis), which had recently hired a new chef and been transformed into a French-inflected bistro. It’s ideal for a dinner of French standards — pâté de campagne, escargots and steak frites — but it’s also a fantastic place to stop for some wine and a snack. We shared a plate of steamy gougères, a creamy red onion tartelette with local cheese and a small serving of buttery scallops in a luxurious beurre noisette. The table next to us ordered the côte de boeuf with béarnaise sauce and french fries (this is not the place to come for health food). V&A is really more of a wine bar with great food than a restaurant with a great wine list. We eventually settled on a fresh and floral Crémant de Bourgogne from Domaine Brigand.

V&A Bar – Bistro 
Prinsengracht 274. Tel. (31) 20-421-1848