Meeting up a friend pre-dinner and looking for a nice, hopefully quiet, place with some cool by-the-glass choices. Less than 10 minute walk from/to Centraal Station a +.
Not 10 minutes away from Central, but close:
Cafe de Klepel - 14 mins
Bar du Champagne - 11 min (downstairs from the shop - L’Atelier du Champagne)
Cafe Parlotte - 20 mins
de Klepel had a dozen wines BTG on the chalkboard, a few tables out front, and nice seating inside.
Parlotte is convival and loud, has a few tables out front, but a fantastic wine list. de Klepel more quiet than Parlotte.
Margot, one of the owners of Parlotte, was just awarded the best sommelier award in the recent Netherlands Gault Millau presentation. She’s super nice and very passionate about the list they have. The whole team is fantastic.
You can check out the Star Wine List website for quite current lists.
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Where will you head for dinner?
Central station is one of the less good options for wine bars, but there might be a few restaurants where you can pop. Easiest is maybe if they are your direction as well… Choux has some wines, not sure you could sit by a table though for a few glasses, maybe the waiting area chairs/table (I did that once, long story…).
Domenica, might be possible to get a seat by the bar counter (or if they have tables outside a sunny day - far from it at the moment but the weather can change fast around here!), and that’s a very cozy nice area where you are more away from the touristy buzz. Nice to stroll along on a Saturday when it turns into a street market btw.
Toscanini nearby there also have a good wine list but I don’t think you could just pop by for a couple of glasses.
Saw a a place that I thought of checking out called bar Pif a few minutes further away from the central station but haven’t been there myself.
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Thanks.
Klepel was reserved for the next dinner.
But wil look up Parlotte and Margot.
Thanks.
Friend and I recently communicated that we’ll both be in town and can only schedule that short window. We have separate dinner plans with respective families and found a quick 30 min - 1 hr meeting window.
Domenica already booked for my group’s dinner 2 days later. Appreciate the added endorsement.
Will check out Choux and Pif.
Margot is the person, not a restaurant. 
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Great, great time in very tourist-busy Amsterdam and I appreciate the suggestions made here and a few made it to our group dinners during our 4-night stay.
Cafe de Klepel was excellent on all fronts. Prix Fixe menu was very, very good, French-heavy wine list complemented, with every price point covered, all at reasonable pricing. We had 4 bottles, including a beautiful-drinking 2020 François Cotat “Caillottes” Sancerre (I thought I’ve already been through the Cotat lineup and was surprised that I’ve not come across this particular bottling before), 2021 Domaine Pinson Chablis 1er Mont-de-Milieu, and 2016 Domaine Tempier Cuvee Domain. Excellent service all around.
Domenica’s Italian-influenced food proved to be quite memorable, service was efficient, albeit slow with a full house on a weekday dinner and very friendly sommelier coping with the busy demands. Wine list was heavy in Italian and Burgundy, which when I inquired as to why, our sommelier explained that one of the owners had strong affinity with the region and loves collecting them. 4 bottles later and the 2019 Passopisciaro “Passorosso” Etna Rosso was a highlight. Recommended.
Wolf Atelier, a restaurant that is a sentimental favorite for my wife and I, impressed with the 4-course prix fixe that our group went for, with the fish and vegetable dishes being the stronger among the courses. The restaurant may be a little dated in ambiance and the wine list is not as robust than either Klepel’s or Domenica’s.
Restaurant Lucius is, imo, such a hidden gem and at our 2nd time here since we last visited pre-pandemic, there was no letdown with the freshest, delicious execution of the all-seafood dishes that we had. Wine may not be the primary reason for dining here, but among the 4 (or 5) bottles that our group had, we were pleasantly surprised with a couple of crowd-pleasing local bottles from Maastricht:
2022 Apostelhoeve Riesling Louwberg Maastricht
2022 Apostelhoeve Muller-Thurgau Louwberg Maastricht
Foodhallen lunch and street-side snack at Albert Cuyp were a couple of our enjoyable casual eats.
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