Cameron_Clark

hard to beleive, but 3 courses, of almost Michelin Star level food, with a choice of meat, fish or vegetarian, costs an a recession busting 26 euros here. Each extra dish - you can have up to 8 courses - costs a very fair 8,50. Add in the fact that the chef has a wonderful understanding of how to balance a dish and how to use the "less is more" form of cooking, then you have most of the elements needed for a great night out. Its not all kisses and hugs though. Bread is an extra 4 euro (fine, but you just know someone is going to complain about it), the wine list is very short (order a bottle of the Chardonnay or the Gros Messang) and the out of the way location means somebody is probably going to have to drive. Still, these are minor when compared to the quality of whats on offer on the plate. There are lots of modern techniques on show and while there may not be some of the luxury ingredients you get elsewhere, all the dishes worked. Highly recommended and a shame that its not a bit closer to Leiden.

There are 2 types of men. One lot loves to go home after work, change their clothes and then start doing man work like, sawing, painting and hammering. Men like me though like to go home, open a bottle of wine and then head out of a relaxing dinner. Unfortunately for almost 2 weeks I had become a type 1 man and enough was enough: I needed the reassuring comfort of a top restaurant. Lunch seemed more attractive than dinner and so we ended up for the 2nd time in a few weeks in the sleepy enclave of Amstelveen. Set on the side of a lake, this very modern location has a wonderful location and I was really looking forward to relaxing to the sound and site of the water. For reasons I don´t get though, the set-up of the tables here is such that the guests sitting at the window are looking inwards towards the kitchen rather than out to the water – maybe worth renaming to “Aan de Keuken”. As well as the location, the other big plus point here is the price – its 46 euro for 4 courses at lunch and you can have a fine meal here in the evening for under 100. That’s a bargain at the 2* level. All the dishes come in starter or main size portion and as I ordered the lunch menu (plus 1 dish a la carte - chicken of course) they decided to make Trudi´s 4 a la carte dishes in a lunch size, rather than starter size, portion. Nice touch. What you get on your plate is not bad either. Its very modern, with lots of components, but the tricks are restrained and it’s a place that will seduce your palate rather than shocking. Not sure about the choice of plate though for all the dishes – I think pure white would have enhanced a few, especially my main course Monkfish. Service was fun and informal, with none of the stuffiness you can find at some places – not quite like you local, kisses and hugs Italian, but almost. Only thing that appears to need work for me was the wine list, that was classical, without any off beat or daring choices. Imagine it fits in with the cliental though. With a few rum and cokes, a wine arrangement and more than 1 glass of champagne for Trudi, the final bill came to 270. A friend described this as a 1 and a ½ star place, and while this may not be the hottest 2* place in the country, its got a lot of potential and it will be one to follow over the next few years, especially during the nice days of summer.

Just as my main course arrived Trudi called, we started to talk, I took a bite of kalfwang covered in red curry sauce and then stopped talking and listening. Boom. Nothing I could do but politely tell her I had to call her back and I then spent the next 15 minutes savouring every last morsel of my food. It was stunning - the best dish they have served here in the last 10 years and one of the best dishes I´ve eaten in anywhere. The combination of the knolcelderij puree, the ginger, the slowly cooked meat and the curry sauce was perfect and I hope this becomes a regular on the new card. I had a few other very good dishes as well and this was definetly a step up from my last visit in Feb.The menu card has been restructured with all the dishes bar 1 under 15 euro and his means you can eat well here for a very fair amount. Add in lovely decor, good service and a nice selection of wines, then you have a swinging restaurant. Well worth a visit. Lets hope its a nice summer so the terrace can be put to good use.