Fresh tastes, clever design and a relaxed vibe are the order of the day for Amsterdam’s innovative and pop-up restaurants
&samhoud places street food
Steps from Centraal station, the original &samhoud places has two Michelin stars thanks to Heston Blumenthal-esque molecular maestro Moshik Roth. Now, a more affordable sister venue has opened below, with the Israeli chef still at the reins. High-quality plates to share ape global street snacks: the delectable Sam (€13) – chicken, oyster and kimchi in a lettuce wrap – is Korean-inspired, while the Tomeato (€9.50) is a US-style burger in which the yummy “mince” is actually, miraculously, tomato concentrate.
Instock
Holland’s first “food waste” restaurant, Instock serves a daily changing, three-course menu for €20, making inventive use of supermarket leftovers “rescued” that morning. Open until 2 November, it is the result of four retail industry workers’ dismay at society’s profligacy. “We wanted to show that lots of produce that shops throw away is perfectly fine,” says Freke van Nimwegen. With two full rooms – part of an old gas factory fringing the stately Westerpark – and a packed patio each night, they seem to be succeeding.
Pllek
Pllek is reached by a ferry across the IJ (bay), which takes you to Amsterdam-Noord – the city’s upcoming area. This playground of abandoned shipyards is now filling with creative types, and its patron saint is Pllek, a bar-restaurant assembled from scratch two years ago. Inside are cushy sofas and a disco ball; outside there are reclaimed petrol containers, cushioned decking, picnic tables, ivy-lined scaffold pipes and a sandy terrace leading to the IJ, in which visitors can swim. Yoga classes are common, as are exhibitions. Amid all the fun, chef Dimitri Mulder serves organic food all day: the pan-fried mullet with samphire (€18.50) is especially nice and fresh.
Baut
If the north of Amsterdam is upcoming, the east has already arrived. Baut, a pop-up bar-restaurant occupying old newspaper offices, typifies the revived area. Michelle van der Vliet, founder of Amsterdam food blog Story 154, has tactical advice: “Arrive early and head skyward: OpBaut, a grassy first-floor suntrap, has just opened. After cocktails, descend to a dining room of mis-matched furniture, fairy lights and international sharing plates (from €8.50), and splash out on the chef’s four-course surprise menu (€44.50) to get all the best dishes.” Do this soon, though: Baut will close after New Year’s Eve 2014.
Trouw
Next door to Baut, in a former printing warehouse, Trouw is a temporary restaurant, club, record label and gallery all rolled into one. The Mediterranean food is reason enough to visit: generous, funky dishes emerging from an island kitchen into a long, low-roofed room of pot plants and industrial piping. Order the extensive vegetable tasting menu (€22.50) for maximum delight, and hope that the eggplant, feta and pomegranate salad is in season. Like its neighbour, Trouw shuts for good on 31 December 2014.
The Guardian