August 2023
I think that most of us would agree that whilst hugely rewarding city breaks can be exhausting! I was reminded of that just recently when I went to Amsterdam for just two nights with my sister. Before going we did masses of research and ended up with a tight schedule which we tirelessly followed! One of the things that I always spend a lot of time researching is the restaurants. There is nothing worst, in my opinion, than wasting precious time eating in a bad restaurant. To get to the heart of a city, to really feel its pulse, is to taste its food at its best – and if possible away from the tourist track. So after much deliberation, I decided on two restaurants for our two Dutch dinners…
Our first dinner was a disaster, ok I’m probably exaggerating but let’s just say it was a disappointment – food so-so, atmosphere poor and service uninterested. So I was feeling rather anxious about the second restaurant…
In fact the following evening didn’t get off to a great start as on arrival at ‘Rijsel’ we were told they couldn’t find my reservation (later I realised this was my mistake!) and that there were no tables. I was gutted as on entering the restaurant I was excited to feel the buzz of happy diners (mostly Dutch). Perhaps, sensing my disappointment and disgruntlement they offered us a table an hour later, which with hindsight we were very lucky to have bagged. Fortunately, there was a ‘Brown Cafe’ just around the corner where we could pick up an aperitif whilst we waited. If you’ve visited Amsterdam before you’ll be familiar with these traditional bars which are a cross between a pub and a café, so our hour wasn’t wasted as it allowed us to immerse ourselves in a little more Dutch tradition! Returning to Rijsel, we rejoiced at having a table; the dining room has a modern industrial feel and with its open kitchen it feels relaxed and welcoming. We hungrily eyed the food that our fellow diners were tucking into and noticed that the portions were pretty large so we decided not to order starters, however, now that I’m writing this I regret that decision! The menu is a nod to French-Flemish cooking; no-nonsense dishes are simply prepared with honest flavours. For our main courses we chose ‘Spring chicken with Ratatouille’ and ‘Veal Cutlet with Morels Sauce’. The chicken was a whole poussin (I did mention that portions were large!), beautifully tender and roasted to perfection – there is a good reason for it being their signature dish. The veal was probably the best veal chop I’ve had – served sliced off the bone with a full-flavoured morel sauce and on a bed of delicately pickled white cabbage, it was fantastic. I should also mention the crispy roast potatoes with aioli that we ordered on the side, they were utterly delicious – I would have happily eaten just these! Desserts were a ‘Clafoutis with Cherries’, which was cooked to order and was wonderfully fresh and light, and ‘Marquise au Chocolate with Amarena Cherries’ which was beautifully rich with a hint of liqueur running through the cherries and custard to cut the chocolate.
This was the Amsterdam I had been looking for – Rijsel delivered a ‘foodie’ memory I could take home! There are many reasons we travel and this restaurant is definitely one of them. On my return when Nick asked me about our trip, the first thing I said was “I’ve found a restaurant that you would love… when do you want to go to Amsterdam?!”…
Menu Mistress 