Local tips deliver some noteworthy Dutch dining

A look at TripAdvisor's top 10 restaurants in Amsterdam clearly demonstrates the challenge of dining here.  It's a mix of snack bars, breakfast cafes and "foreign" cuisine.  This is not a place with a reputation for fine food, nor does it have a celebrated local cuisine.  (Although, frankly, bitterballen, stroopwafel and Dutch apple cake all deserve wider acclaim.)  There's a lot of cheap and cheerful stuff, apparently catering more to the hoards of young weekend tourists than to a more grown-up, serious dining crowd.

Here's where local contacts trump TripAdvisor hands down.  We bypassed the tourist recommendations and followed the advice of friends who lived locally, giving us an overall dining experience as good as trips to more "foodie" locations.

These were our best meals. And while all three appear on Trip Advisor, they wouldn't have been elevated from the throng without the local tips.

Impressive Fine Dining:  Blauw aan de Wal

Like those austere Dutch churches, the white walls and austere decor here focus the attention.  The chef has nowhere to hide … and he doesn't need to.  This is serious gourmet stuff, presented in a chef's menu.  There's limited choice:  three courses with two choices each; one additional course with no choice.  (Though they demonstrated admirable flexibility getting around Piers' tomato allergy.)  Between us we tried both starters: me a cauliflower panna cotta topped with a local oyster, fish roe and gin and cucumber jelly; he a lamb tartare with almonds and jalapeño.  The first  was lovely but the second a real stand-out.  So good, in fact, that we asked for the recipe and were pleasantly surprised when the chef emailed it at 1:30 the next morning after he finished service.  We will definitely be trying it at home.

The optional course was delicately smoked eel arranged artistically with a variety of other elements.  On to a perfectly-done steak in a foie gras laced sauce before ending with a dark chocolate pudding somewhere between a mousse and a flourless cake, accompanied by vodka-soaked cherries.  We went with wine pairings by the glass, which revealed some interesting new finds.

My only real criticism was the service.  It's a small place operating with a small team; they're senior and clearly know what they're doing, but sometimes they're clearly overstretched.  We waited a bit too long between some of the courses; not a problem for a leisurely dinner on holiday but if I'd been out for business (and this is the type of place you'd use for business entertaining),  I would have wanted a snappier pace.  The full works … four courses, wine pairings, coffee … came in at around 100 euro each, probably 15% less than you'd pay for the equivalent in London.

Introduction to Rijsttafel:  Sama Sebo
With time to kill between the closing of the Rijksmuseum and a performance at the Concertgebouw, this local favourite of one of my work colleagues was perfectly located for an early dinner.  The "rice table", as rijsttafel translates, is an abundance of small dishes served with rice.  As curry is to England, so Indonesian is to the Netherlands.  In both cases, overseas empire brought exotic cuisine home and then adapted it for local tastes.  Our server explained that the tradition started when Dutch landlords accepted a part of their tenants' daily meal towards rent.  The resulting variety of small dishes assembled on the buffet of the big house led to the tapas-like approach to Indonesian food that's now one of the few iconic local food experiences in Amsterdam.

We were quite overwhelmed with the quantity and, despite being both hungry and enthusiastic eaters, we couldn't quite power through everything.  But we made a good try!  Our favourites were the satay, several other curried meats and some delicate salads.  There was a good balance of meat and veg, and things were generally flavourful without being too spicy.  We sat at the bar so the barmen were on hand to remind us of what each thing was.  And to keep topping up our beer, which is the right accompaniment for this spicy smorgasbord.  (Note that there's a more formal restaurant beyond the bar, but we preferred the more casual with its lively buzz.)

The place is clearly popular with locals.  Despite being in the museum district, and therefore on a tourist flight path, we heard mostly Dutch being spoken.  Always a good sign.  This was a fine intro that's given me a desire to explore the cuisine more.

The deal of the trip:  Genroku

Another friend tipped us off to this Dutch-Japanese version of the "all you can eat" concept.  There's a typical sushi bar menu, plus some noodle dishes, dumplings, teppanyaki and Asian sweets.  You order five things at a time, and can't place an order for your next round until you finish your first.  Everything is prepared by hand, to order, so this isn't an option for a quick dine and dash.  It's actually a brilliant way to control the usual gluttony provoked by unlimited food.  As every Weight Watcher knows, it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to get the message from your stomach that you're full.  This enforced pacing allowed us to indulge without going crazy; we actually had a third savoury round order ready to go, but decided we were too full to need it.

Our 19.95 euro each got us a lovely selection of sushi, maki and hand rolls.  Not as good as a more formal Japanese restaurant, but better than Japanese fast-food winner Itsu.  We ended with a selection of fruit and Japanese ice creams; the black bean flavoured was a delightful discovery.  If this concept came to the UK, we'd be regulars.