Blauw or Tempoe Doeloe for rijsttafel. Blauw is more trendy; we like Tempoe Doeloe better for food. Fun to do with a group. Especially after happy hour at a coffee house…
The best thing I’ve ever eaten in Amsterdam is a portion (or three) of frites from Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx.
we liked Tempoe Doeloe. My daughter’s most vivid memory of Amsterdam is the frites at Vleminckx.
The fries sound intriguing…Is it a chain, a single restaurant or a stall?
Thanks!
Cheers!
Marshall 
I`ve copied a previous post to a similar thread:
Here`s a short list of very good restaurants: Bordewijk Restaurant, Blauw aan de Waal, Le Zinc, Chez Georges, Het Melkmeisje.
IMHO, the very best of all stam cafes [neighborhood hangouts], is the de Engelbewaarder [Guardian Angel]: Kloveniersburgwal 59, 1011 JZ Amsterdam
They serve good and reasonably priced food, but the main attraction is the beers on tap, especially the Palm Old Masters unfiltered. The service and people who serve are the best. Its peaceful, sneaky good and unpretentious. Jazz is on Sunday afternoons. The clientele is mostly students and professors along with locals who live nearby. Im there just about everyday and/ or night during the 3 weeks we spend in Amsterdam in the fall= upcoming: 9/25-10/16.
And, I just found some other notes with some of the same recs with more details:
"Restaurants of renown;
blauw- Acterburgwal 99 expensive, pre fix, good ambience and intimate; loved it. Reserve 330 22 57
bordewijk- Noordermarkt 7 expensive, very good, more open space with more noise when busy. Reserve 624 38 99
Open- Westerdoksplein 20 modern, on the water, pricy, good Reserve e reserveren@open.n;
de Groene Lanterne- the world`s most narrow rest., tare wines- pricy; reserve Haarlemmerstraat 43, 1013
Phone:+31 20 624 1952
Chez Georges- Herenstraat 3 small, pricy and good, Reserve 626 33 32
Others highly recommended:
Krua Thai Classic- great food Staalstaat 22 622 95 33
de Staalmeesters near de Engelbewaarder, same street- Kloveniersburgwal 127
Prego- Herenstraat 25
Best cheese shop w/ food: Cheese Factory Warmoesstraat 56 nearby and across the street is the next listing
Best breakfast/ lunch: Bakkerswinkel Warmoestraat 69
Touristy and good pannekoeken, The Pancake Bakery Prinsengracht 191
Local micro breweries: see http://www.awesomeamsterdam.com/articles/45/local-amsterdam-breweries
Best wine shops:
Cave Rokin - Rokin 60
Chabrol Wines- Haarlemmerstraat 7h close to the de Groene Lanterne
Jazz: Saturdays afternoon- The Cotton Club- Nieuwmarkt 5
Sundays afternoon- de Engelbewaarder [see above]
I’m also going for three nights in May.
I’ll be doing Rijstaffel one night
Cafe Daalder the second
While there are a lot of good suggestions, I need to narrow it down. I need a tip on a third (Wilf? Sarah?). Leaning towards fancy.
ETA A more careful read of the above elicits Librije 's Zusje at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel from Wilf via Sarah
Anyone been to La Rive?
Only for mid day champagne. This is a serious and very pricy commitment and one I would save for a special occasion. It`s not convenient to the Centrum where we stay and hang.
Blake; Thanks …we will be there a few days overlapping with your much longer visit. As of now, I am thinking of splurging and going for Le restaurant for our last night. It is not on your list…What do you feel is comparable or even possibly better. Looking forward to visiting as I have not been in Amsterdam for about 25+ years.
Cheers!
Marshall ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Marshall, I cant speak to either of the 2 being the place to "splurge" other than they both are known to be full on, high end accredited dining experiences. Since we go on for a week in Paris after each visit here, I save those occasions for that time and while in Amsterdam eat in more "modest" places such as Ive noted [and drink a lot more Belgium beer than wine].
For upscale, Michelin rated considerations, you have good choices with these 2 and none of those I listed are at this level although they are not cheap and are very good of what I look for when we dine out for more than local Dutch cuisine.
Should you go to either, I`d be very interested in hearing your experience.
True, but 100-120 Euro’s doesn’t sound so bad these days. The reason I ask is it’s in the hotel I’ll be staying and was recommended by someone (but whose taste in restaurants isn’t the same as mine).
Side topic - part of the reason that it doesn’t sound so bad is that it is inclusive of VAT, and the local tipping custom is modest. Am I right that it is 5%-10% for tip? Tax and tip in the US is almost (or is) another 30%
Staying in the hotel is a no brainer for dining at the restaurant. Youll love the charm, elegance, detail and history of the location. You are correct re the tipping custom. I always want to leave a lot more and am encouraged not to do so by my local friends. Its is customary for the tip to always be included in the bill [de rekening]
I do not know your taste preferences, but I can highly recommend Krua Thai Classic mentioned above if you like quality Thai food. If you go there, that puts you in the neighborhood of my stam cafe, de Engelbewaarder also listed above.
A stand.
BTW, I`m not sure what the 100-120 Euro mention relates to, but in the case of afternoon champagne at La Rive, it was actually in the bar next to the restaurant and the 2 of us had a glass of LP rose and a side plate of something they provided which we thought was gratis and it may have been and our tab was just under 100 Euros.
The best thing I’ve ever eaten in Amsterdam is a portion (or three) of frites from Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx.[/quote]
we liked Tempoe Doeloe. My daughter’s most vivid memory of Amsterdam is the frites at Vleminckx.[/quote]
The fries sound intriguing…Is it a chain, a single restaurant or a stall?
Thanks!
Cheers!
Marshall [/quote]
A stand.
[/quote]
This is definitely a winner and in my top 3 of the best frites anywhere in the world. In fact, I started a thread here about 3 years ago after having had those frites and this came in near the top from all participants.
Thanks for the info!
The price was the cost of the prix fixe (5-6 courses), of course that’s without any beverages. I am always wary of pre dinner glass of champagne, maybe they’ll have some nice Loire whites (I’m assuming white burg will seem too steep, but I’ll peruse the list).
For 5-6 courses at this restaurant, that`s a deal. I remember the wine list was decent and pricy. White Loire is a good thought. I always blow it and have champagne and red Burgundy and pay 2-3X the food costs with a smile on my face of course.
we liked Tempoe Doeloe. My daughter’s most vivid memory of Amsterdam is the frites at Vleminckx.[/quote]
The fries sound intriguing…Is it a chain, a single restaurant or a stall?
Thanks!
Cheers!
Marshall [/quote]
A stand.
[/quote]
This is definitely a winner and in my top 3 of the best frites anywhere in the world. In fact, I started a thread here about 3 years ago after having had those frites and this came in near the top from all participants.[/quote]
Looking forward to finding this place…As of now, my favorite frites were a couple of stands in Brussels.
Cheers!
Marshall
Last September, a buddy and I had dinner at Lieve, which is a Belgian restaurant with “three ambiances”. Very unusual format. We chose “Belgian Baroque” and had pairings with Belgian beers for each course. http://www.restaurantlieve.nl/
Also had a terrific Italian dinner at Incanto. Setting is multi-story dinning in the rooms of an old house overlooking the canal. http://www.restaurant-incanto.nl/ Nice wine list, but fairly pricey (we were on expense account).
Thanks to the board, I was three for three in terms of great dinners last week: Blaue for ristaffell, Daalder and La Rive.
All three at different price points; great value at each.
I was a little worried at Daalder as they don’t tell you the menu, you just tell them fish or meat. My “fish and fois diet” worked perfectly with the house style!
If you go to La Rive, they have a great Marsannay as their house wine (Fournier 2011 Clos du Roy); 75 euros a bottle, 15 euros a glass. Top for vegetarians, pescatarians and omnivores. Rare to find such a refined vegetarian tasting menu and the setting is just gorgeous too.
One downside- the fries at Vlemincx were not even the best in Amsterdam - overdone so not creamy in the center.