Had such a memorable dinner at Brasserie Ambassade in Amsterdam on our last dinner of the trip. The…read morerestaurant is beautifully decorated inside, with a great atmosphere right along the canal. We were a family of five, so unfortunately there wasn't enough space for us to sit outside, but the interior was beautiful and made for a really nice evening. For appetizers, we ordered the caviar and seabass tartare. Both were delicious, although the real problem was that the kids kept asking for more caviar . Definitely a good sign! For the entrees, among other things, we shared the tomahawk steak and ordered the fish of the day. The tomahawk was cooked perfectly medium rare and was tender and flavorful, while the fish was simply delicious and beautifully prepared. Great food, beautiful setting, and a really memorable family dinner in Amsterdam. Definitely a place we'd come back to.

Top Notch Breakfast and Dinner…read more.. Brasserie is the restaurant inside the Ambassade Hotel. My wife and I...along with another couple...had 4 breakfasts and 1 dinner there so this review reflects our experience. - Overall: 5 - Location: 5 (for Old Town and the Jordaan) - Exterior: 5 - Interior: 5 - Atmosphere: 5 - Menu: 5 - Food: 5 - Service: 5 (though the head waiter at dinner was full-of-himself) - Price and Value: 5 Pros: - Location: Convenient to the Old Town and Jordaan parts of Amsterdam. - Exterior: Handsome. A beautifully restored and maintained property. - Interior: Contemporary. Brasserie is a high end spot across 3 rooms, yet remains comfortable where conversation is easily accomplished. - Menu: Very healthy buffet at breakfast plus some items which can be ordered. Dinner offers French fare with a relatively light touch...though very different from the wellness-oriented breakfast. - Food: Excellent. The breakfast buffet is not huge, but full of healthy high quality items. I had 3 unbelievable versions of granola spooned from large jars and covered my bowl with the best tasting light Greek yogurt. Fruit and fish was super fresh...bread and pastries baked on premises amazing. Others in our group chose made-to-order egg dishes. It's all part of staying at the hotel. Dinner transformed Brasserie into a bistro with a French twist on many favorite dishes. Check the menu online. Portions are small - as expected - but quality was high. However, prices were very reasonable with most items under $30. - Service: Homey at breakfast..."French" for dinner. Everyone could not have been more friendly and helpful in the morning. Things were a bit more formal at night with a different crew. The chief waiter was very knowledgeable, but we agreed a bit arrogant. - Price and Value: Worth it. I believe the breakfast buffet is only for guests of the Ambassade Hotel. Brasserie is open to the public at night and quite reasonable. - Parking: None. Who has a car in Old Town? Cons: - The only one readily apparent was the brusque, off-the-cuff nature of our main server at dinner. He wasn't over-the-top, but not in keeping with the friendly vibe of the hotel. And that's coming from 2 couples who grew up in New York City and lived for many years in San Francisco and LA. Anyone can...and should...get dinner at Brasserie. There are many reasons to make reservations for a stay at the Ambassade - including access to their breakfast buffet.

Great atmosphere, but underwhelming execution. As a local, I really wanted to love this spot in the…read morepark, but the service was lackluster and the portions were tiny for what they charge. My girlfriend's swordfish was served cold, and my lamb rack--while okay--didn't leave me full. If you go, go for a beer from their solid selection and enjoy the park views, but maybe eat somewhere else first. The 'cozy lights' can't quite make up for feeling hungry when you walk out the door. Update: This is now Ikaria Park

I find €4.75 quite a lot for a beer from the tap. Specially as I am cursed with an unquenchable…read morethirst. But at least I get a Ciney Bruin for that money. Where else will I find that on tap? And where else can I sit in a quiet park to chat and drink? And one can't have a Friday borrel without bitterballen. Oh, and are those bitterballen good? They're from Holtkamp, of course they're ****ing good! Uneven, made by hand, bitterballen. The day afer eating bitterballen here, I had some in another cafe. Mass producted, perfectly even, tasteless balls of goo. And for the same price! Back to De Liefde the next day for more beautiful bitterballen. Did I just go off on a tangent about bitterballen? Oops! Come here because of the location (it's in a mini-park!). Come here because of the great service. Come here for the bitterballen. Come here for those sofas at the back. Come here for the Ciney Bruin. Come here for the friendly service. Come here because you deserve it. I'm going back!

This place has been on my "to try" list for about 5 months. It's nearby, but the fact that they are…read morea hotel restaurant, did not appeal to me, so I postponed it till later. Tonight was the perfect time to give them a try. I had a dinner with two friends who are not afraid to share and try new dishes and I did not to venture out into the Centrum. We made a reservation, and for Friday night the place at 19:30 was empty. We were seated promptly, and that's where the service ended :) We ordered the oysters, sparkling wine for the appetizers. Followed by 6 other dishes (starter size) which surprised us with the presentation and the flavor composition, especially the risotto! Kitchen staff made a huge effort with the menu. My San Francisco / Los Angeles foodie friends were impressed with the quality and creativity, but WTF is wrong with the service?! We couldn't order a follow-up wine, we got zero attention to our table, we had no interaction with the waiter what so ever, and he gave us this loud long exhales every time we asked for anything. We laughed, but it was uncomfortable, and I felt bad that I brought my friends here, I felt embarrassed. I overcame it - food was worth it. But if anyone from the management team is ever reading those reviews - please, train your staff, you could have much better foot traffic if you trained your people to be good servers. Dinner for 3, with no tip, (because service sucked!) was about 300 euro

Second time around I give this place 4 stars only. The menu was good but not as good as last year…read more We celebrated our anniversary here and it was good but not GREAT. We were here with friends and opted for the chef's menu which is 4 courses paired with wine. The "mouse bouche" was a refreshing salmon puree and white citrusy foam. For the first course we had brown shrimps, which is a local small shrimp that tasted very meaty and delicious, served with fresh King crab, sesame seeds and citrus. The entire combination worked very well, it was paired with a white Savion Blank. Second course was a fried sea bass on brioche bread, served with Bauchat mussels and fennel, he fish was very fresh and the fennel added to that spring sensation of freshness in your mouth. Third course served with red wine, medium body consisted of "Poulet Noir", translated black chicken with crispy skin, confit stew of the leg, open ravioli, truffle, lime and smoked butter sauce, very tasty, an amazing experience, my taste buds were very happy. For the last course a sparkly sweet wine served with a trio of Tanka bean, chocolate and banana, whipped, foamed and crushed, not sure what the exact technique was but it was a very nice light dessert. The staff was new and not aware of the chef menu and wine that needs to be served with each dish. They brought someone from the kitchen to walk us through the menu. Unfortunately the chef was not there however we met one of the Sous chefs, he was very pleasant.

This little cafe has some great food. I agree with the other reviewer about the chef. He is…read moregreat! I had the vegetarian quiche with pumpkin and broccoli, delish!! The balsamic onions that came on the side were some of the best I've ever had. The deli case looked amazing too so I'll have to try that on my next visit. Lots of fresh roasted veggies. Luckily I live nearby so I can go often. Also they have free wifi and yes they are closed on Monday.

Tiny cafe with excellent quality!…read more We stumbled upon this cafe on a short trip to Amsterdam. We first dropped in for breakfast because it was right around the corner from our hotel. I decided to go a little different and got the Salmon omelet. It was simply amazing. My friend ordered the fruit and yogurt and said it was the creamiest yogurt she has ever had. I loved it so much that on our way out of the city, I ordered a Pumpkin and Broccoli Quiche to go. I ate it at the airport a couple hours later. Even though it was cold, it was still excellent! I searched all over the internet for a similar recipe with no luck! Just a heads up, it's a small place, so not recommended for large groups, but I highly recommend giving it a chance.

This place is so cute and we got the window seat overlooking the street for people watching. The…read moreservice was outstanding, friendly, profession and very personal. The food was outstanding, the Scallops were cooked to perfectionand some of the freshest I have had. The filet mignon was exceptionally tender. All of the sauces were delicious and the portions of each plate were generous, maimly due to the variety, there were 4 or 5 different foods on each plate sometimes 5 different meats! The desserts were made to perfection. Not overly sweet, with great pairings. My wife and I both loved it and would highly reccomend it for a romatic dinner.

Outstanding in every way, from food to service to atmosphere!…read moreBest Belgian French in Amsterdam.

This is a "hole in the wall"...literally. Both the Dutch and the Belgians have a reputation for…read morethe best french fries in the world and this place lives up to the reputation. The fries are perfectly cooked and served hot and tasty. They offer a variety of sauces to complement the fries (be wary, though, what the Dutch call "fry sauce" is mayo). The fries stand alone without any "enhancement" but most buyers did add some form of sauce. Worth seeking out!

This fry shop has been an Amsterdam staple since the 1950s and it's so easy to see why. The frites…read moreare incredible and we found ourselves going back time and again. Frites are double fried with a variety of sauces to choose from. 25 sauces to be exact. The fries have the perfect exterior crispness with a soft center. Properly cooked potatoes. Fries come in small, medium, and large cones. Small size is more than enough for one person. My boyfriend absolutely loves the onion, satay, and mayo sauce. The apple sauce was a surprisingly tasty complement to the frites. This is a super popular place with locals and tourists alike. Because of this, the line to the walkup window can sometimes be long. It's worth the wait and it moves pretty quickly. Friendly and helpful service (when you can't decide on a sauce, they make the best suggestions). Heads up, cash only.

Lovely place to eat in the heart of Amsterdam, on what is locally known as "gay street", near the…read moreBloemenmarkt. Cozy interior with funky decor. I got there fairly early by European standards - a little after 19:00, and had the place mostly to myself. No reservations needed at this time of the evening, and year (early Feb.), and service was great. Nice conversation for this solo diner. Had the Scallop fregola / samphire / beetroot puree / pancetta / champagne beurre blanc appetizer for dinner with a glass of white wine. Delicious combination of flavors that I was hoping to find a recipe for to make back home, but no luck. Aww, shucks, looks like I will need to go back to Amsterdam and visit Lion Noir again!

The place is beautiful but that is about it... the service was very slow and it made us feel…read more"inferior", ignored and as if they were doing us the favor of attending to us. The menu is very limited. The oysters were good, the corn chowder had no flavor and the blinis where just ok. We also had the fish which was ok, but the couscous was salty and the flank stake was also just ok. After waiting more than 30 min and no one even coming to see if we wanted a dessert (which we did), we decided to just leave and go have ice cream instead. Expensive, pretentious and the food is nothing special.

The bread and butter they offer in the beginning of your meal was some of the best French butter…read moreI've ever had. Our server, Mitchell, was helpful in explaining the menu and gave recommendations. The bartender working that day made an amazing Hendrix martini. And our other friend, from Bangladesh, was giving us lots of information about the restaurant as well as the local area, almost like a personal tour guide. The first course, escargot with herbed butter, was delightful to say the least. Save some bread to absorb the remains. The seasonal white asparagus dish with ham, hard boiled egg and petite potatoes was superb. We don't offer this style of cuisine much in the States; a treat to dive deeper in traditional cooking. The sea bass as a main was swimming with flavor. I appreciate this style of French cuisine in "the Venice of the North". The atmosphere and the staff made the experience terrific. I would enjoy coming back for a second visit. Atmosphere: 10 | 10 Service: 9.5 | 10 Food: 9.5 | 10

Place is super cute. Service was good and friendly. Food was fantastic. Bread was warm and…read moredelicious and they even brought more butter when she noticed I had run out. The shallot tarte was flaky and flavorful. The gnocchi was rich and buttery. Would absolutely come back

Dined here with a large group and had a wonderful time with tasty bites!…read more It's a pricey spot, but you get great service and it looks cool both inside and out. Water service is per person, not per bottle, and it's 5 Euros/pp. Cocktails run from 15 to 19 Euros, with small beer 5, large beer 9, and rose at 11. We ordered a bunch of bites and starters for the table and some of the hits were the Rendang Croquettes (4.50 Euro/pp) and the Taco Ayam (4.50 Euro/pp). Everyone who ordered the Spareribs (28 Euros) enjoyed them, and the two people who ordered the fish of the day (52 Euros) enjoyed it, but it was quite pricey. Good food, good conversation, and good service.

Very cool spot! I…read morewould recommend to get a bunch of the small bites. The taco was my favorite and a must. Also make sure to get the ribs. It's not a large portion but delicious.