Amsterdam Foodie

02/09/2024

New addition to my Greek restaurant tips: Massalia.

"A mashup of Marseille and Greece is what Massalia purports to be - the sister restaurant of Gitane, which I've not been to but had heard good things about. It's on the Beukenplein, opening in August 2024 to replace a former pizza restaurant, and has a spacious terrace and air-conditioned interior. The menu is largely small plates to share, but they felt like relatively good value by Amsterdam standards. BBQ-ed artichoke was smoky and savoury, matched with a creamy green puree "a la polita". The tarama was delicious - served with wild garlic oil and mopped up with a ring of sesame studded Greek bread (koulouri). I also enjoyed the savoy cabbage-based dolmas, which were fragrant with preserved lemon and dill. The wine list featured plenty of wines by the glass, many of which were natural but only one of which was Greek. That said, the evening we dined there, they had a couple of extra bottles open, so we actually ended up with a fabulously aniseedy, violet-floral Xinomavro (red) from Naoussa. The service was still a little rough around the edges, but Massalia had only been open a couple of weeks so I assume they're still smoothing things out."

29/08/2024

Musings on makeup, oak maturation and why less is generally more... (Plus three fresh-faced, oak-free wines for you to try!)

(Plus 3 oak-free, fresh-faced bottles to taste)

26/08/2024

Usually these kinds of articles come out in February, for obvious reasons... So I don't entirely know why I felt like writing this now but I did. Perhaps it's something about reconnecting with Amsterdam after 5 months away!

Whether it’s a posh evening dinner, a bubbles-fuelled afternoon tea, or even just a casual drink, Amsterdam’s restaurants are ready for romance.

23/08/2024

Do you have a pairing problem? A drinking dilemma? Let me know via Substack! This was a particularly juicy wine pairing challenge I tackled recently:

A reader’s request for wine advice, and my #1 pairing principle

19/08/2024

"Occupying arguably one of the most romantic little canal houses in Amsterdam, restaurant Watergang makes efficient use of its diminutive space. We were sat tucked up on the mezzanine level, overlooking the rest of the restaurant below (perimenopausal women be warned: this can get warm). There’s no menu: just five fixed courses, plus wine pairings if you like, although dietary restrictions seem to be easy to accommodate (within reason). I thought all of them were very accomplished, and the wine pairings were absolutely spot on. But my favourites were the salmon tartare with a herby beurre blanc, and the pork belly with mussels and a Thai coconut milk broth. The latter paired perfectly with the “Par Amour” white wine: an Auxerrois (lesser known grape that does well in cool climates) from a French region I’d never heard of: Champlitte. It was mineral and delicate but with a juicy full body that really offset the spice and sweet savouriness of the dish."
New addition to my article about fine dining restaurants in Amsterdam! https://www.amsterdamfoodie.nl/amsterdam-food-guide/best-fine-dining-restaurants-in-amsterdam/

16/08/2024

Of course, I publish this article on the one day so far this month that it's very much NOT rosé weather in Amsterdam 😂 Although, I think I would argue that all weather is rosé weather, depending on the style of wine... Read your rosé primer here: how it's made, where it gets its colour from, and six styles to try!

Bye bye blushing Whispering Angel, see ya sweet Zinfandel

15/08/2024

I'm too exhausted to do a full write-up of Madre (Mexican restaurant in the Jordaan) right now. But suffice to say that if I order the chef's menu and don't even realise it's vegan until I come to pay the bill, it's like the best kind of magic trick: I don't know how they did it but I loved it 😆

More shockingly, I even liked the orange natural wine! (a Grüner Veltliner from Niederösterreich in Austria, in case you're wondering)

09/08/2024

Finally posting about a Portuguese restaurant in Amsterdam, not in Portugal 😆 Plenty of sardines, mussels, salt cod and Encruzado wine certainly made Restaurant Dona in Oud-West feel like coastal Portugal. But gosh, those Amsterdam prices 😱 (Not a criticism of Dona, btw, it's a general issue. But it's one that's going to result in fewer restaurant posts from me, sadly!)

08/08/2024

In depth on 5 of my favourite French wines right now... all under €15 a bottle!

(And which regions provide the best value)

06/08/2024

It was back in the depths of last winter that I took my WSET level 3 wine exam and found out I'd passed with distinction... But a stint working abroad meant I only picked up my certificate and badge yesterday! A lot has changed since getting that qualification: I've stepped up my wine writing considerably, and I'm in the process of starting my own fledgling wine business: Truffles & Tannins. It's still very early days, but you can see a preview of what I'll be offering on https://trufflesandtannins.com/ (the wine tasting events and wine writing are good to go - the restaurant consulting is still a work in progress!) If you're interested in talking to me about any of these services, I'd love to hear from you 🙂

05/08/2024

If you thought the north of the Netherlands was all about beer and frikkandel, think again. Friesland is undergoing its own wijn-spijs revolution, with Frisian wine, fine dining and lots more to taste... I wrote this article for DutchNews.nl over the month of July, while living in Aldeboarn, and I was impressed by what I found!

Until recently, the Netherlands’ northernmost province wasn’t exactly known for its gourmet food and fine wines. Even the Dutch language uses the term Bourgondisch to refer to the luxurious dining in the south of the country. But now, Frisian chefs and wine makers are returning to their roots, r...

01/08/2024

An article that's sort of about Chardonnay but really about coming home to Amsterdam...

(Or: the Chardonnay that made coming home bearable)