As a Northwest Airlines A-330 Captain, this became my favorite AMS layover restaurant, and I've brought many other crew members here over the years. My wife still flies as a Delta Purser, and in late September, 2018 I accompanied her on a layover there to meet with friends who were on their way to Africa for a Safari. In total there were easily a dozen of us, and I'd made a reservation for a table in the courtyard behind the restaurant--open late Spring thru early Fall. It's delightful.
First and foremost understand that dining in Europe is often an affair encompassing several hours, and if you're expecting to walk in, order, dine and leave in 30-45 minutes make sure you're eating in a fast food establishment. Further, most European restaurants include service in their prices automatically, which explains the relatively high cost of dining. While diners still tip, servers aren't reliant on the generosity of their customers as they are in the U.S.
Van Beeren is traditional Dutch fare, and offers many seasonal and daily entrees that reflect both the catch of the day as well as heavier, less exotic cuts of beef, lamb and pork. In addition, they have a well stocked bar and some excellent choices of wine that have made it a neighborhood favorite for years. If you can't get a table, dine at the bar. If you see a couple dining at a large table, you might ask if you can share the table. Don't be surprised if they reply affirmatively.
Perhaps my favorite dish is a salad with a dollop of chevre (literally meaning goat in French, it is a soft cheese quite different than feta), which has the slightest bit of honey mixed into it, giving it a delicious flavor unique to this restaurant.
I've had several friends accompany me here for their first dining experience who had the rack of lamb, and all of them walked away raving that it was the best they'd ever eaten.
I tend to take advantage of the vegetables offered here: Dutch produce is usually grown in local hot houses, picked when it's ripe, always fresh and is by far among the best I ever find. Note that here in the states, it's nearly impossible to find great vegetables like tomatoes, which are picked before they're ripe and gased with CO2 to give them color so they look nice in the grocery store but have no flavor at all.
The entrees I personally choose here tend to be steak, ribs, chicken or Dutch variations that include a fried egg or a hearty stew. Many of my friends have ordered salmon, trout, sea bass and pork or lamb, and all of us agree that this place is hard to beat.
If you plan to dine immediately before, during or after a holiday you MUST have a reservation. This is a small establishment, and of course when the rear courtyard is not available (which it is not for most of the year) then you can often expect to wait for over an hour for a table. In any event, ask the concierge at your hotel to get you a reservation the night before you plan to dine, or as early in the day as you can to insure availability. Bon appetit!!! read more