Take a closer look at the pictures. It taste just like it looks.. bleh :( Did your hotel concierge recommend this place? Thats how my bf and I ended up eating here and I can tell you by experience that this place is a tourist trap! We ordered the international rice table, which I believe was 39 euros per person.. What can I say... stale shrimp chips, rice was all clumped together and tasted a day old, same dry chicken in multiple dishes, frozen small shrimp, peanut butter dressing that tasted like peanut butter from the grocery store.. really?? Oh and their house red smelled like vinegar and I couldn't even drink it :( Their food and service tells me that they just dont care what they serve people. The restaurant was packed but with only tourists. When we asked for recommendations because its our first time, the waiter let out a sigh and said its everyones first time. Oh noooo.. we knew right then our dinner wasnt going to be good..what a waste! read more

An interesting choice for Indonesian food. Having read much about it, we decided to try for ourselves. Having arrived just before the restaurant opened and without a reservation, the owner/matre d' was kind enough to seat us. The menu sounded delicious and had a variety of both meat, seafood and vegetable choices. I was undecided between the coconut curry prawn or the cod in lemongrass and ginger. The server told us I could do a half order of each and create my own "three course meal". I also opted for the appetizer sampler and was able to choose three items. I chose the shrimp mousse in crispy pancake, corn fritter and the Indonesian chicken soup. The soup was excellent with the right amount of heat and flavor. I enjoyed the corn fritter more so than the shrimp mousse. Both the cod and prawns were excellent as was the rice and side dishes. The place is rather old school or old world. The tables were also rather close. We appreciated being seated and the service was good but not great. Both my guest and I were in need of a second beverage which was never offered. read more

Tempo Doeloe - Half portion of cod with ginger lemongrass and coconut curry prawns! - Indonesian Near Me - Amsterdam, New Hampshire

We enjoyed our dinner here very much. I had a reservation and our party of 4 did not have to wait. The staff was very friendly and we enjoyed conversation with them. The food came out quickly and was delicious, we ordered the large rice bowl and thought everything was good. They did bring down the heat of the very spicy items for us at our request. It did take a while to receive our check. I recommend this restaurant. read more

Great experience. Seems like a more traditional rice table and many Americans but also Dutch too - we saw a family (birthday?) party of probably twelve, plus many pairs of business and date-looking Dutch people dining. Giving four stars because this is my first rice table and I have nothing to compare it to. Waitstaff was excellent - friendly and patient, and food was interesting and very good. We counted 28 dishes in all including the fried banana dessert (seriously, the best vanilla ice cream I have ever had). We were really freaked out about the heat level and asked our waiter for mild - but would recommend to go medium because there was literally no heat in any dish. Unique flavors yes, but we all agreed that we would have liked it spicier. Think twice about letting the waiter talk you into the +++hot meat dish. It is paralyzing and we watched a teenage boy ruin himself by trying it. The waiter admitted to us that it's a bit of a tourist stunt, but insisted that Dutch people come in and order/consume a full dish of it. If you do go for it, be sure to listen and follow the waiters instructions carefully (VERY SMALL BITE OF MEAT WITH RICE) and ask for "the antidote" and they will bring you a glass of passionfruit juice. For some reason they didn't offer this to us. Maybe we didn't look like sissies? But everyone else received it and I could tell they were relieved. Restaurant was near our apartment so I stopped in the night before to make a reservation, which I am glad to have done, seeing many people turned away or told that the wait was 1+ hour. Because the restaurant is small and there are so many dishes, it really does take a long time to dine there. Plus the whole Tony Bourdain thing, I am a sucker for him so I admit that is why I went, makes it a very popular restaurant. read more

My first review of Tempo Doeloe a few years back was excellent and included; Tempo Doeloe is our favorite Indonesian restaurant in Amsterdam. Great rijstafel in a living room setting. We always take our foreign guests here to get introduced to the delicacies of Indonesia. I went again last night and have to say I was overall much less impressed, though the food is probably among the best Indonesian in Amsterdam it seems to have lost some of its superior flavoring. The place overall is a bit worn and the previous colorful decorations seem to have disappeared from the walls. The addition of what feels too many tables made it impossible for the service to keep up with the room resulting in long waits and missed requests. Clearly the service and ambiance did not do the food any favors, neither did the lukewarm beer. Food 5 stars, Service 2 and Ambiance 3 read more

Lovely restaurant and service. I've been twice now. The first time, I got the rijsttaffel with a group of four. It was too much food, but delicious. There were a few vegetable dishes that looked the same, but I was surprised at their distinct seasoning. The second time I went on a date and got the five course fish menu. I was assured it wasn't too much food, but I had to leave some of the soup (too rich) and most of the main. The nice thing though is that there is the option to leave out any of the items. Don't skip the dessert though. It was gorgeously presented with a variety of tropical fruits. read more

I recently was lucky to go to this place, I first visited it nearly 4 years ago. So I thought I should have a return visit with three of my work colleagues on a recent visit to Amsterdam. The place seems as busy as ever, we managed to get a walk in table but I would recommend you reserve if you really want to eat here. The food is excellent, we have their famous rice table and we weren't disappointed. All four of us enjoyed the food and the cosy environment. If we have one comment the service at times seems slow, but this could be because they were busy. read more

Consistently the best rijsttafel you will ever have. Food and service is always impeccable. I was allowed to order the Rijsttafel Istemewa (normally only allowed for two persons), but you should have a big appetite to be able to finish it. Either way, it was the best. Don't miss this restaurant when in Amsterdam. read more

As most people visiting from out of town, came based on a recommendation. Small, tapas style Indonesian food, with varying levels of spiciness and flavors.Service was quick and attentive, and the food was pretty incredible. I didnt give 5 stara becaise I feel like there was a lot of hype built from the other reviews, but all-in-all a great restaurant that I would return to if back in the city. read more

This is a very very intimate restaurant (you definitely need reservations). The prixe fixe menu was fantastic. Beef Rendang, Pork satay, chicken curries and fresh vegan dishes that ranged from tame to outrageously beautiful heat. Decent wine and beer list and the servers were awesome. It is loud because of the size of restaurant. Because of size/bathroom capability it is not handicap friendly. read more

we love this place! will be on our permanent amsterdam list. the different small things on the rice-table were marvellous throughout! the staff is very friendly and fast. the food is fresh and very tasty! even the kids found enough different things to eat and try. read more

When coming to Amsterdam for the first time, one makes the realization that the ethnic gastronomy in the region is predominantly comprised of Indonesian and Surinamese cuisine. So it is with no surprise that an A'dam local took me to their favorite Indo place shortly after my arrival. Btw, you NEED to make a reservation or they won't let you in and you'll have to settle for plan B, which is the sloppy seconds Indo place next door. Much like the ingenious creation of CTM (chicken tikka masala) by the Brits and General's MSGC (monosodium glutamate chicken) engineered in the U.S., the Dutch constructed their own culinary invention of sheer brilliance that was derived from traditional Indo food. This Dutchie created magic is known as rijsttafel. While there are numerous reviews explaining and exclaiming rijsttafel, allow me to indulge in MY rendition of this Indo explosion of rice and spice! First, I must preface that my level of spiciness of each bowl increases much like the equation y = x^3. With x being the different bowls in the rijsttafel and y being the level spiciness of the food. The rijsttafel consists of several small sized bowls filled with various Indo delights. At TemDoe, you have the option to wuss out with eight bowls or to maximize your oral pleasure with 25 bowls! The bowls are then nicely presented in front of your spice greedy mouth above rectangular platforms ever so slightly emitting Indo flames to keep the food fresh and spicy! Accompanying the alphabet assortment of Indo bowls is saffron rice and white jasmine rice - after all, this is a rice table!! If the taste of standard rice bores you, let it be known that magical shards of tropical roasted shredded coconuts that you can decorate in inappropriate amounts on your rice are at your disposal. I highly recommend sprinkling the eff out of your rice!! There is no way, and probably max character limitations by Yelp, that I could possibly explain all dishes in the R-tafel. Luckily your assigned Indo expert/waiter(ess) will gladly explain the feast that lies in front of your drooling little bird beaks. They will also explain the spectrum of spice in which you will traverse during your travels across the 25 bowls starting with completely mild to almost inedible spicy as eff fire!! Often times when I'm told that an eating establishment has an item that simply cannot be eaten due to the "extremely high" level of spice with a corny name containing the words 'diablo', 'inferno', or five chili icons next to the name, I scoff with slight arrogance. The problem is that the names never live up to the spice level ultimately leaving me disappointed. At TemDoe, this is NOT a concern of mine... Now I come back to my math equation; y = x^3. Take a set of integers {1, 2, 3... 24, 25} Each integer represents the spectrum of bowls in your R-tafel. With the first bowl, the level of spice is at its lowest; y = 1. However, as you go down the spicy spectrum you can see how quickly and exponentially the spice increases with a grand finale at y = 4375. This is the best way for me to describe the spice spectrum as the difference between x = 1 and x = 25 cannot be linearly explained!! The y = 4375 bowl is so spicy that it basically has no other flavor other than "Wow! This sh#% is SPICY!!!" The first few seconds after placing a small parcel of spiced beef in your mouth is almost like a buffer zone. You don't feel anything and then... BOOM! it's hits you like a bad highway accident. The diabolic heat pummels you in the face and your sinuses immediately start to drain like forest animals escaping from a wildfire. Your face immediately turns alarming shades of red as your frantically reach for the nearest glass of water. The extreme spice is contributed by what is called Madame Janette; a member of the ghost pepper family. Let's just say that Madame J is the family bitch and you will agree with me when her seeds are in your mouth destroying any feeling it once had. What's worse is if SHE is in your mouth and not just her seeds. But Dennis, who in their right mind would ever put that G-pepper vixen into their mouth?!?!??? With a combination of pride and foolishness, I decided to cross that line of sanity by directly consuming Madame J, which normally is just put in the bowl for decoration and humiliation of those who underestimate her power... And my reaction??? First, I was met with paralysis as the spicy venom quickly spread through all quadrants of my mouth. After my body unlocked from paralysis, a backwards gasp like huff extruded out of my mouth as if emitting an invisible photon beam of spice. As tears began to trickle down my face, my consciousness slowly returned and I became aware that someone was asking me if I was ok. In an almost inaudible whimper I said "I'm ok... I'm just... so... happy....." Happy that finally there is a place with food that can bring me to my knees in tears. TemDoe, thank you for the delicious challenge. I shall be back for more! read more

So delicious and totally worth the hype. We came here because we love watching Anthony Bourdain, we love trying new foods, and Tony B. had me from the moment he said "spicy." We ordered the Rijsttafel Istemewa which comes with rice and 25 different dishes. Don't worry, they are really small portions (but do come hungry). The dishes range from meats to vegetables, mild to very hot. They recommend you start with the mild dishes and then work your way up to the spicy dishes. I ate a couple bites of the mild dishes, skipped over the medium dishes, and moved right along to the spicy dishes. Don't do that. The spice definitely takes a minute to kick in and you will probably be almost crying before you can finish your meal. Not that this happened to me, I'm just speaking hypothetically . . . We had a mango passion fruit dessert and it was super light and refreshing; the perfect end to our delicious meal! read more

On the outset, let me say the food is good. However the service is terrible. I've been here before and enjoyed an excellent meal. This time however I asked for the large ristaffel, and asked if I could get substitutes for beef. According to the lady taking my order she came back later to me and said 'no' and that she would serve me a small ristaffel instead. Funny thing however, this conversation did not happen at all. Here's the thing though - if you are substituting my order, make it clear and let me know what you're substituting it with by showing it to me on the menu (since, you know, the whole menu is in Dutch). That didn't happen here. The lady taking my order and the owner did not feel they did anything wrong at all and kept arguing with me. Oh well, decent food, bad taste in the mouth. Not going here again. You win some, you lose some. read more

The best Indonesian restaurant in The Netherlands. Make sure you make your reservation in time because it's always crowded. Ask for the dish you can taste a bit of everything. For desert order "spekkoek". It's home made! Enjoy read more

After discovering rice tables at nearby Sampurna, I had to have more. Luckily, I was able to make a last-minute reservation at Tempo Doeloe. The restaurant is lovely and has a classy ambience. I ordered the vegetarian rice table (as I did at Sampurna). The food was really good--perhaps even higher quality than Sampurna--but not as flavorful. Overall, I had a great experience at Tempo Doeloe; nonetheless, the next time I'm in Amsterdam, I'm going back to Sampurna first. read more

Great food...but you can find similar quality with a better price. Amsterdam is crowded by great Indonesian restaurants. This is one of them; just more expensive. read more

Put this on your "no" list. We went as a group of four. The establishment is nice if a bit run down. We were seated at a nice table and took some time to peruse the menu. We decided we wanted to order two rice tables for the four of us. We were told it wasn't possible. We had seen the rice table come out for the couple next to us and it was huge. The manager told us that every person had to order a rice table EACH or at least order $30 worth of food each. That was certainly not on their website nor mentioned to us when we booked our reservation. My pet peeve is wasting food. We had already ordered two bottles of very expensive wine and had been strong armed into their $4 of small water bottles (8oz) so we felt very put out when we were told of the dollar limit. If they have to make their margins by ensuring each table orders at least $30/individual, then they need to think about their business model and be more clear about it with their customers. They tried to excuse this by saying a rice table for two wasn't enough food for the four of us. I think I'll be the judge of how much I can eat, thank you very much. What was even more disappointing was that when our rice table for four came out, it was the same size as the one for two for the couple next to us. We ended up still leaving food in the dishes but at least I can be somewhat grateful that they cheated us out of proportions so we didn't waste as much food as we could have. What I disliked was that every dish was similar to each other and you couldn't even tell them apart. All some sort of cabbage and meats. The meats were all gloopy pools of mystery meat. As for the food being spicy, it was all heat and no taste. No complex textures of flavor, just pure heat. It was frankly inedible. I had just returned from a trip to Bali and Indonesian food is one of my favorite foods so I was pretty disappointed. It was an extremely high pressure environment. We had ordered two $80 bottles of wine and halfway throughout the meal, we were out of water. We decided to stick with wine but the manager came up to us again and made a huge fuss about us not having water. He pressured us into buying four more bottles of $4 water. A shame since we would have ordered another bottle of wine but by at this point, our dining experience was terrible anyways and we decided to just call it a night. Bourdain may have visited this place in its heyday but it's certainly fallen a long way from the stars since then. Avoid at all cost. read more

I can not believe that with all of the amazing food available in San Francisco, we only have one mediocre overpriced Indonesian restaurant in the city. Man, we are missing out on this whole Rijstaffel thing! We chose Tempo Doeloe because the restaurant came highly recommended. Given its popularity, you need to make reservations. Unfortunately, your reservation time does not necessarily mean that you will be seated then. This wouldn't be a problem, except that the restaurant is tiny and they have no waiting area. They do have a bar, but at the time we were there, they had people seated there to eat and even that area was too tiny to stand. Instead of telling us to come back or that they could give us a call to let us know when our table was available, they told us to wait in that tiny area while servers carrying large trays bumped into us and the guys sitting at the bar area eating elbowed us. We finally decided to leave on our own accord and hang out at a brown cafe across the street. Thirty minutes later, we finally had our table. The food was well worth the wait--the best kind of spicy that one could imagine, along with fresh vegetables and meats. Try to get a later reservation--after 9. You will probably be seated and served quicker. read more

Tempo Doeloe - Rijstaffel! These were the "cooler" dishes, but they were still spicy and I am used to spicy! - Indonesian Near Me - Amsterdam, New Hampshire

If eating a lot is your cup of tea, invest in the rice table. Between my mom and I we couldn't finish nearly half of the dishes. I'm sure I finished the gato gato because peanut covered anything is right up my alley. That said, be prepared to eat a lot. It comes all at once, so take little portions of what you order. The food also ranges from no heat to very spicy, keep the water flowing to along with the rice. The turmeric rice was my favorite as it had a gorgeous golden yellow color and no spice to it, while it paired well with the anise pork we had. I'm drooling here! Overall, a nice place to dine in Amsterdam. read more

We would not go back. The hubby and I wanted to order our food at their spiciest level, but the waitress dissuaded us from doing so, saying we would not be able to eat it - so it's all over their menu, but not recommended?- When our order arrived, the waitress said she "took the liberty" of replacing one of our salads with a meat skewer and that she made a deal with the chef to split one of our dishes with the medium spice and the hot spice... yay... should we have thanked her for making all the decisions about OUR meal? The food was decent, but waaaay overpriced. Oh, and contrary to what she thought, we were able to eat the extra spicy food with no problem... or water, which they failed to bring. :-) read more

The food was ok. Spicy but not fresh and flavorful. The service was certainly not worth a 50 euro per person bill. The place was busy but we couldn't understand why. They made us order water for 7.50 without the option of any other. I would not recommend this place. I'm sure there are much better places in terms of food, service and atmosphere. read more

Amsterdam has some great Indonesian and this is pretty good (I've now been on 3 occasions), however, I have a few pains that will probably lead me to seek a delicious rice table from other options in the future. First, many local restaurants are finally seeing the light and serving tap water free of charge to customers. Tempo Doeloe is NOT one of them. They will refuse, stating that its the owners policy. No big deal, a personal point of contention living in this city. Moving on...the service is fast. Emotionless, but fast. Minutes after you're seated, they will take your order and bring the hot plates in prep for the massive air-drop of 18-25 different dishes. They don't really explain much about the food beyond "mild, medium and hot" sections unless you stop them and ask you to walk through it all. The staff is friendly enough and speak great English (as long as you don't ask for tap water and then get a little irritated with "the policy") as it then gets a little chilly. If you're looking for something unique - try Blue Pepper - it's the best in my opinion. If you want traditional, this is a good option, but you'll pay a premium for an average meal. read more

Overpriced and underwhelming. Spend your hard earned money elsewhere. Not sure what Mr. Bourdain was thinking.

We celebrated a friend's milestone birthday here and service was top-notch. Said friend has been coming here for years, so he is well-loved by the owner and staff. We had the famous Rijsttafel service for at least 8 people, which offered a number of other delicious dishes. It was (and still is) my first and only experience with Indonesian cuisine, but that is not the only reason why the meal was memorable. While the dishes ranged from pretty good to spicy to wow, the homey atmosphere and happy people made this one of the highlights of my international adventures! Definitely make reservations in advance! read more

Such a great experience. My friend and I had the Rijsttafel Istemewa. None of it was spicy until the last three. The last one was... wow... insane. Spiciest thing I ever had. I couldn't take it, which is saying something about me because I am such a hot sauce addict. The staff were super nice and they had some free mango juice ready for me and I was dying from the heat. Everything about this place is amazing. read more

This place is a MUST when in Amsterdam! The risttafel (rice table) was simply incredible.....we lucked out and got a table without a reservation, but were told we'd have to be out in an hour.....wasn't an issue at all and the food was AMAZING! I would definitely recommend getting a reservation tho because even on a Wednesday night this small restaurant was packed to the rafters! read more

I think I seriously ordered one of everything on the menu. Everything had so much flavor. Definitely remembered by me as one of the best meals I have ever had. read more

Loved the food, and the service was amazing! If I make it back to Amsterdam I'll make sure to stop by for another round.

Discovered this restaurant in my Amsterdam guidebook (I always pick up a Rick Steves' guidebook whenever I travel!). Rick said the rice table is a "must", so my husband and I decided to go for it. It's essentially 18 small dishes (meats, veggies) that range from mildly spiced to medium (or you can make it spicier). You mix and match them on top of rice (white or coconut, which was my fave). I would say 12 out of 18 were excellent; there were definitely a few "meh" ones in there as well. One rice table is definitely enough for two people! But the restaurant will make you order something else in addition if you go that route - just pick a small side dish and you're good to go. We didn't have a reservation (walked in at around 8pm on a Thursday night) and were seated pretty quickly. read more

Tempo Doele is another restaurant I saw on tv that let me down. Being my first introduction to Indonesian fare i opted for the tasting menu which consisted of a bunch of different ramekins of Different dishes. The staff was very professional and attentive, more like western restaurants. The food wasn't bad but it wasn't great and quite overpriced for quality and quantity. Next visit I'd opt for some of the other more moderately priced Indonesian restaurants with as good or better food. read more

Good food and service. Rijsttafel Stimoelan - 8/10 - This was a great way to experience a wide array of Indonesian dishes. read more

Very good place to sample a rice table. Which is small dishes of 6 or more different things. Salads, veggies, soy products, and meats all spiced from mild to hot. They have a meat dish they tell you to eat last because it's so hot. They aren't kidding. Very good service. I think you should have reservations. read more

We had an amazing Indonesian culinary experience here. Transitioning your palette from mild to spicy, what great fun for our taste buds.

We learned so much about the Netherlands. Most importantly their native cuisine is not anything to celebrate. That being said, they've colonized sufficient parts of the world where a good representation of the vastness of Dutch influence is well represented in Amsterdam. This Indonesian spot was just that. The fixed menu was ABUNDANT. The rice table setting is a lot of food! Most of it tasted the same. Redundant little crucibles of food. I'm not sure I get it. The fixed menus also duplicated some of the smaller dishes from the rice table so beware of what you're ordered. It was a nice service and difficult to get a reservation but a solid introduction to Indonesian food none the less. read more

So good! The food was excellent with incredibly attentive, supportive service. Great options for my need for gluten free. An excellent night! Highly recommended. read more

Indisch afhalen doe je hier. Altijd lekker, snel en bediening met een lach.

Drop all that you have and go here immediately. We had a wonderful meal and enjoyed the Indonesian influence in Amsterdam. No slouch with the pros. This is a Michelin Bib Gourmand and it is every bit as good as any Indonesian food that I've had while visiting Jakarta. read more

This small restaurant serves the best Rice Table imaginable. The service was ideal with kind servers who really cared. The variety and quality was outstanding. I highly recommend this restaurant read more

This was a really fun experience. We picked the place bc we saw it on Anthony Bourdain's show. We got the "Rice Table" tasting menu. They brought out tons of food. I had the coconut ice cream for dinner which was delicious. The service was very warm and friendly. read more