Dine al fresco at Op De Tuin restaurant (the garden restaurant) Amsterdam
I’ve been wanting to go to the Op de Tuin restaurant in Amsterdam for ages. But I’d been waiting for a sunny day so we could dine outside at the Op de Tuin restaurant (it has a cute little outdoor area). With the recent heatwave it seemed like there was no time like the present to check it out, although typically the day we went to eat there the weather didn’t hold out.
Op de Tuin restaurant Amsterdam
Op de Tuin Amsterdam is definitely an Amsterdam hidden gem. Tucked away in a little street in De Pijp Op de Tuin restaurant has a distinct neighbourhood restaurant feel about it. Our waiter who I have a feeling may also have been the owner asked how we’d heard about Op de Tuin, as if surprised we’d wandered off the beaten track.
Sharps’ starter of guinea fowl pate
To whet our appetite a dish of creamy beetroot hummous arrived, served with crusty bread. This gave us time to deliberate over the menu. Op de Tuin means garden and this Amsterdam hidden gem tries wherever possible to use organic ingredients. The menu at the Op de Tuin restaurant changes each month to try and keep dishes seasonal and as fresh as possible.
Where possible, Op de Tuin restaurant uses organic ingredients
Sharps decided on the set menu, three courses for €29.50. As I’m not a fan of pastry (the vegetarian main dish was curried vegetables in puff pastry with goat’s cheese) I ordered off the main menu. Up first was my starter. Warm mackerel was marinated in five spices and citrus in a kind of sweet and sour sauce, served with cold pickled cabbage. There were no complaints from me. Sharps’ starter from the set menu was guinea fowl paté with onions and date bread that Sharps said almost tasted a bit like Branston pickle.
My fish main
I’d chosen fish again for my main course. A huge hunk of soft cod topped with a parsley and anchovy crust, on a bed of garlic and saffron mash with cherry tomatoes, capers and pickled cauliflower. Again the combination of sweet and sour hit just the right note.
Posh KFC? at the Op de Tuin restaurant Amsterdam
Sharps’ dish was slightly less dainty. His poisson stuffed with clove sausage and barley, served with blackened carrots and lime butter sauce was a massive bird. He’d also ordered fries on the side so in effect it was a bit like a posh KFC.
Trifle which was more like a boozy cheesecake
I decided to skip dessert. Sharps’ trifle of cookies, mascarpone with Sambuca and raspberries looked, and tasted, more like a very alcoholic cheesecake. The aniseed flavour of the Sambucca was quite strong.
Op de Tuin restaurant from the inside
The service at the Op de Tuin restaurant Amsterdam was friendly and relaxed with not a tourist in sight. There was an older vibe to the place, with lots of couples and over 40’s enjoying a casual, local evening out. I’ll definitely be paying another visit to Amsterdam’s Op de Tuin restaurant. You never know, next time we might even make it out into the garden.
