The worst food and the worst service I've ever experienced in Amsterdam. The second course of my food had an insect in it. There was no attempt made by the staff to rectify this in any way, whatsoever. I understand that these things happen. Any attempt at a genuine apology would have prevented me from writing this review. There wasn't an offer of a beverage, or any discount to the meal. They could have chosen not to charge us for the two bottles of water. There was an optional course ordered which I attempted to cancel (naturally, I lost my appetite after seeing a live insect crawling in the second course), which they informed me that they could not cancel without charging me. They could have offered the extra course for free. There was the option to add a spoon of caviar to another dish for extra charge. I explicitly asked whether that could be on the house, you know, given the aforementioned insect on a previous course. Not only was this denied, the server did not even bother to acknowledge the comment. Lastly, when the check arrived, I informed them that there was zero attempt made to rectify the mistake of the insect. All we got was an apology that the staff was not able to pick up on the signals of our dissatisfaction- as if the bug, the request to cancel the optional dish free of charge, the willful ignorance over the caviar, and my complaint after getting the bill were not enough. Even without the insect incident, the food was phenomenally subpar for this city. My recommendation would be to never visit this restaurant. The food is terrible, the conditions are unsanitary, and the service is appalling. read more

Absolutely spectacular meal from start to finish at Bolenius. As part of our vacations, we like to dine at a michelin star restaurant for at least one meal. I am a little bit restricted by my vegetarian diet which is what ultimately directed us to Bolenius as they have a plant-based option. If you're visiting Amsterdam as a tourist, it's a bit of a trek from the city center but pretty quick and easy to get there by the metro, which was our mode of transportation. Our reservation was at 7pm but it was such an incredible experience, we literally did not leave the place until, I want to say like 10:30pm. The interior decor is unique and vibes with the brand pretty well. The service was excellent from start to finish. It is definitely a team effort as we interacted with many different servers who were all kind, wonderful, and welcoming. Everything was thoroughly explained to us. I went the vegetarian tasting menu route and GF did the standard tasting menu. We also accepted most of the additional add ons like wine pairing, their recommended beet dish, and cheese selection at the end of the meal. I was grateful to see a variety of ingredients used for the vegetarian menu instead of just the standard mushrooms 100 times over and over again that is common at other establishments. They also employed many different textures and innovative presentations to the dishes including the foam, which I'm pretty sure is required for a restaurant to get a star, but also things like a shaved and latticed ASPARAGUS dish. The dishes were, as you would probably expect, like works of art. Like I said above, I have somewhat of a history dining at Michelin starred restaurants but I think it's safe to say that this was the best experience I have ever had and cannot recommend it enough. read more

Where can you go to get a 3 Michelin star dinner for the price of a 1 Michelin star? Look no further. We were looking at a few Michelin starred restaurant in Amsterdam and came across this place. Immediately booked a dinner for 2, the day after Valentines day. To start, this place was pretty hard to get too. Off of some major roads that the uber had a hard time to figure out how to get too. Upon entering the establishment, we were welcomed by the hostess. They found our reservations and seated us at a large table, with another couple on the other end of the table, but separated by a large vase with flowers. I didnt really care, it felt pretty secluded to me. The moment we sat down, we were asked if we wanted to start the night off with Champagne, and of course we did! I was a little disappointed that they served Veuve Vlivquot, it was good but they are so well established I felt like they should of looked into a more smaller Champagne house. Our waiter came by and told us there was just one set menu tonight because it was still Valentines. We were okay with that. To start, they gave us three hors d'doeuvre which was delicious. - Potato mocha and old cheese - Puffed bread and goat cheese - Radish and sealettuce Most of the dishes served that night was sourced from their local garden that they grow themselves. I was impressed! To start, we had The kitchen garden from Zuidas. Im assuming someone by the name of Zuidas grew some really delicious vegetables. They were tender and flavorful! The second course, WHICH WAS AWSOME, was North Sea. They changed the lighting above us to shine a blue light, which felt like I was really taken to the North Sea! It had Sea scallop, some crab and other things I cannot remember. It was delightful. Third, we were given North sea crab, sauerkraut and crusty crab and added a spoon of Caviar. In the Champagne cup, was a mixture of the above mentioned, my favor part was that it was crunchy with a nice foam texture. Had a really strong crab flavor. They wine pairing - I mean cocktail pairing for this - was a carrot juice with some cognac I believe. It was light and refreshing. For the main course, we got the Captains dinner with beetroot and mushrooms and added a topping of shaved black truffles. The steak was cooked perfectly, medium rare. The beetroot was really good, they fried it and rolled it in a rose. The truffles was delightful, really brought out the earthly flavors and complimented the steak. Then we were asked if we wanted to add an additional course of cheeses. Couldn't say no, so they rolled out a cart and I got a selection of hard and soft cheese. BF got 2 different kinds of blue cheese and some hard cheese. For dessert, they really out did them self. They came out and rolled a thin film sheet on the table. Then a pastry chef and waitress came and started to build our dessert on the table in front of us. There was white chocolate and raspberry puree, they made a creme brûlée and tossed some freeze dried fruit and chocolate on the table. Then laid a heart shape candy filled with more candy in the middle and asked one of us to smash it open with a hammer. Overall, I really love this place. Highly recommend this place to anyone looking for an "affordable" Michelin star restaurant. The service was impeccable, the food was delicious and engaging. read more

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We came here on our one Saturday night in Amsterdam for a family dinner. It's in a quieter area or a lot of corporate offices at the end of the M52 line. The decor is very clean looking and modern. They have two tasting menu options available, including one vegetarian. The focus for the season was asparagus. We started off with flatbread and hot crusty bread with butter and olive oil and salt. AMUSES: - Pickled kohlrabi with sea lettuce - Seaweed with pea purée - Radish with ginger and quinoa - Mini cone with Amsterdam onion ice cream with ham - White asparagus marshmallow with gold on top ASPARAGUS MENU: 1. Kitchen garden: everything is from their garden 15 meters away - asparagus, cauliflower, white been purée, 18 vegetables (listed on a separate menu) 2. Spaghetti of asparagus with cockles - like noodles. It came with a cup of whipped white asparagus, ultra thin sourdough crisp 3. Halibut with asparagus and hazelnut/coffee crust 4. Ham in hay: ham pickled 72 hours, dried for 24 hours, cooked in hay , then rested. The meat was tender and still pink inside. It also came with a bunch of accompaniments: - White asparagus with flowers and herbs from the garden and vadouvan emulsion. - Roasted potatoes - Fried quail egg - Apple syrup - Hay salt - Asparagus liquid - Shaved asparagus - Poached quail egg - Dry ice with hay Add on: cheese course - with dried fruits and nuts, apple syrup, and a fruit bread. 5. White asparagus ice cream with a compote of rhubarb and strawberries Petite fours: - Mini apple strupwaffle - Licorice - Gummies shapes like Dutch shoes It was some of the freshest, sweetest asparagus I've had. It's picked around 4-6am each day from a special purveyor. Apparently, this asparagus and ham menu was available only for these two days. Service was super friendly, and they let us longer without feeling rushed even though we were the last ones. At only €79 per tasting (before wine, water, cheese), it was a pretty good deal! read more

My sister is vegetarian and we were hungry I thought to give this restaurant another try. This time I came with the knowledge that it will be a vegetable-focused meal. We both got 5-course dinner, she, of course, got the vegetarian and I ordered traditional. So I had one course of eel and one course of steak. The starters, followed by the salad from the garden, then I had eel - which was amazing, followed by the toughest meat I ever had on my plate and finished it all with the cheese course - beautiful cheese selection. My sister had a course she did not like, the main course for her was a slow roasted beet in clay, she had a bite and did not want to finish it. No wine this time, as we both quit alchohol this year and with 180 euro for two people, I must say, its a intereasting concept, but I think this was my last time dining here. read more

High end, beautiful dining. This restaurant was voted best vegetable servings of all Amsterdam restaurants last year (interesting award, but I do say, it was amazing). I've eaten here twice now and both times was a fantastic experience. They even served one of the courses on my own wrist... Haven't seen that before. Quite modern Euro environment and culinary- not ultra modern- not molecular culinary but still very creative and elegant. Highly recommend. read more

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Maybe it's me. Maybe it was the weather. On a rainy Tuesday night, this was my third choice of restaurant. I was getting a little bit weary of restaurants that put more effort in how food looks than how it tastes, but based on some nice reviews decided to give it one more go. Also, the other two restaurants I had in mind were fully booked. This one had a table. Actually, there were only two other diners, so our experience can't be caused by the restaurant being too busy... The good news: the wine is great. Excellent. The bad news: the food isn't. There are a number of dishes that are just plain show only: a piece of vegetable/herb mix carefully crafted to look like a meadow looks fantastic, but tastes like what I imagine a meadow to taste like. The main course fish was covered in a large amount of foam that did nothing to add to the taste. There was an appetiser that really had no taste whatsoever. And then there were execution problems. The lobster-and-pumpkin had undercooked pumpkin which completely killed off the dish. All minor flaws, maybe, but at this level of ambition and attention to the visuals and price (not cheap!) this made for a thoroughly disappointing dining experience. For the foreseeable future, I'm sticking to places where the food looks like, you know, food. read more

So called new Amsterdam style. Impressive design and very inspired idea. 'weird' but worth trying! read more

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Very good courses! Fresh veggies from their garden. Presentation is fantastic!! There are many courses...have them all!

Very nice nouveau European cuisine dinner. Excellent service. Nice wine pairings. Not too expensive for the upscale semi-formal/smart casual decor. Cool room OR peaceful outdoor seating in nice weather. Very inventive dishes and, as usual, tons of post-desert deserts. (€155 without tip and with 6 total glasses of wine). read more

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Beautiful and bright interior is welcoming. Staff are amazingly attentive. Good is mouth watering with every bite. The fish with tomatoes that I had for my main was over the top delicious. Truly memorable. Highly recommended! read more

Bolenius - Open kitchen - Modern European Near Me - Amsterdam, New Hampshire

I ended up eating at Bolenius on the last day of a business trip to Amsterdam choosing the restaurant simply because it was the closest one to my hotel and I was hungry and tired. I can't believe it ended up being one of the best restaurants I have ever eaten at and a superb eating experience. I was with a friend and we chose to take the tasting menu - this was a great choice. A full 12 course tasting menu with a few additional "treats" thrown in. The food was excellent - the taste was good, the portions good and the arrangements really creative. I should be saying a lot more about food but can't quite figure out how to sum up a tasting menu that was just so great. The restaurant was modern and clean and the wait staff provided a perfect blend of tentative, helpful yet unobtrusive. For sure this is not an inexpensive restaurant - be prepared to pay 99-Euro per person for the tasting menu with wine and coffee additional - but really worth it if you ever get the chance to be in the neighborhood. read more

We just got home from a four (4) hour dining experience at Bolenius. If my sister in law does not come here next month I may have to consider disowning her forever. I would say this is one of the top dining experiences ever for both of us. Anywhere. Ever. Don't miss it. OMG! I can't even begin to describe the genius of the food, the presentation, all organic and local. I have to stop now. I'm in gastronomical heaven. Chef Luc and partner Xavier Giesen have put together a staff of chef and wait staff that entertain as well as educate. We had so much fun. read more

After going to Ron Gastrobar, we were keen to eat more Michelin star food in Amsterdam. We couldn't help, but compare Bolenius with Ron because we had just been there the night before. Although Bolenius had well-trained waitstaff and flamboyant food presentation, we did not enjoy the food or the service nearly as much as expected. The food timing was inconsistent, and we spent 3 hours at the restaurant. 30 minutes of that was waiting for the check, which we had to ask for eventually. Maybe Dutch food isn't our thing, but each course, save for 2, was tolerable at best. As young tourists, I felt as if we were not valued like the Dutch customers. Honestly, my favorite part of the meal was one tall, muscular waiter whose English I could barely understand. If you choose to eat here, order alcohol or some beverage--they might treat you better than us. read more

Truly a gourmet experience. Outstanding service. Friendly and warm ambience. Each course maticulously created with the freshest ingredients, bright colors, and so artistically designed, it was difficult to disturb it by eating it. However if you have to ask the price, beware. read more

Creative and meticulously crafted cuisine, wonderful surrounding with a mix of tranquility and occasional whispers and murmurs from passers-by, all knowing and all approving, splendid vegetable dishes is a must try, so are the fish and meat dishes, exceptional wine list too with good selection of Burgundy, ask Xavier the owner for recommendation. read more

Ridiculous. Ridiculously amazing food! We decided to stop in after reading a quick review on a vegetarian site. The only issue is that whoever described this restaurant as vegetarian is incorrect. They serve vegetarian food. Yet this is not completely vegetarian. The restaurant has a limited menu but the selection is incredible. This isn't an every day restaurant. They pride themselves in the selection of ingredients. Our food was fresh with a part of our dish grown in their own garden. All of the tastes were complementary- they recognized which flavors went well with others. Their cheese selection was also outstanding. Don't be fooled with the size of the plates. A five course vegetarian menu will leave you feeling like you ate a thanksgiving dinner( I'm from the US). The staff was friendly and very knowledgeable. The price was reasonable but this is not a place you'll want to grab a quick bite to eat. Well worth the cost however. Note * check out the cheese selection. Their cocktails are also superb. read more

WARNING. We all got sick. Two of us got food poisoning . Food looks good but deadly. I am sure it was not intentional, but they need to listen to the it customers. read more