On the same day that I booked my trip to Amsterdam, I also rushed to make my reservation at Tempo Doeloe. One of my Yelp Elite friends highly recommended coming to dinner here because (1) it was featured on Anthony Bourdain's "The Layover" which will forever hold a special place in my little travel-loving heart, and (2) she came here a few years earlier with her BF and had a really nice experience. I was super excited to try Indo-Dutch food and to dine in the same restaurant as Anthony Bourdain. I didn't realize I would be feasting so hard though! We ended up ordering a Rijsttafel @ 37€ per person. Because they don't have an English menu, we just pointed at what we *thought* we wanted and asked our waiter if this would be enough food for 2. I also let him know of my sesame seed and dairy allergies and he was able to make accommodations. This could be why all of our little dishes were actually vegetarian/vegan, but I guess we'll never know (and I definitely don't care). The first round was pretty mild, but our second round of dishes was spicy AF. The problem is, although too spicy for me, every bite was delicious so I kept on eating beyond my body's tolerance level. My tongue almost fell off in the best way (?) possible. Also, big shout out to whoever is making the coconut rice back there in the kitchen. It was so, so good. we couldn't stop eating it, even when we were full beyond belief. In hindsight, I probably should have asked our waiter what we were actually eating, but everything was so good that it didn't matter to us. We had a lot of vegetables and a lot of tofu, but I've never had better tofu in my life. I honestly didn't even miss the meat here. Service was slow, but again, we didn't care. It was our first night in Amsterdam and our evening revolved around this experience. The only time I actually flagged our waiter was to get some more water to put out my mouth flames which is reasonable, I think. Otherwise, our server was nice enough and the woman who was answering the phones was super sweet. I actually called the next day to see if I had left my hat behind and the woman was really nice about the whole thing (AND I GOT MY HAT BACK, YAS!). We had a great experience here. Be sure to make some reservations and get on over to Tempo Doeloe. read more

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Food was very good with good portions for our party of 3. We got the Rice table and were not disappointed. Food was hot and properly spiced from mild to hot. Surroundings were fun and service very hospitable and efficient. Waiters came by to clear plates and refresh drinks without being solicited. Overall an experience we should expect at quality restaurants. read more

**AWESOME INDONESIAN FOOD IN AMSTERDAM** Reservations highly recommended. Ordered a simple cocktail at the bar, but was made poorly. Cocktails were NOT their specialty. We were seated near the bar area. Saw many locals and some travelers. Simple ambiance. A bit noisy, but acceptable. ORDERED: *MENU SERBA IKAN CONSISTED OF: *BEBOTOK - Codfish mousse in cabbage leaf was simply delicious. Unique and memorable. *SOP TOMAT DAN OEDANG - The creamy tomato sou with shrimp and basil was a definitely different from most Asian soups. Heartier and bolder in taste, but delicious all the same. *OEDANG RAKASA KOENING - The grilled giant shrimp were my favorite. Very big and very good. *IKAN WOKOE BELANGA - Wow, their main dish fish specialty was wonderfully flavorful and fulfilling. *ES PANILLE DAN ES KAJOE MANIS - Combination of coconut and mango ice cream . . . and the coconut ice cream was out of this world. We almost passed out from too much food. Solid Indonesian food and probably the best I've had. RECOMMEND. read more

Tempo Doeloe - Delicious soup - Indonesian Near Me - Amsterdam, New Hampshire

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Make sure you make ressos! My boyfriend and I tried to come here on our first night without reservations at around 9 pm on a Saturday, and they said they were completely booked for the rest of the night. So we made it for another night and finally got to try it. I found out about Tempo Doeloe on Anthony Bourdain. I had no idea that Indonesian cuisine was popular in the Netherlands but I'm glad I found out in time. Rijsttafel means rice table and it's a variety of side dishes served with rice. We ordered the deluxe rice table, which comes with 22 dishes, ranging from mild to extremely spicy. The spiciest one had three dishes and it was too spicy for my boyfriend, who can handle spicy. I tried the next level down, and it was still spicy for me. They say you're supposed to start at mild and work your way up. Service was pretty good. When we called to make our reservations, they gave us an allotted amount of time. We showed up a little late but still never felt rushed. Although pricey, overall, it was a great rijsttafel experience. read more

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The name of the restaurant stands for "the good old days" something like that. It is a restaurant that was visited and featured on one of the Anthony Bourdain's shows. I am giving 4 stars only because I personally don't like Indonesian food, I have tried twice while visiting Amsterdam at two very famous restaurants and I don't care for it. If you are a fan of this type of food, I am definitely recommending this place. We got the opportunity to meet the owner, a very energetic and enthusiastic person. He served us a bottle of red wine that all people from the "USA" like and it was very good, dark, rich and bold with a dry finish. The restaurant currently has a Michelin star and has been on the list for a Michelin star several years in a row. The place is small and intimate with lots of decorations and art from Indonesia a reservation is a must even during weekdays. read more

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We really enjoyed the risttafel (rice table) at Tempo Doeloe. Make a reservation ahead of time, show up, ring the doorbell, be greeted and seated, and prepare yourself for intense flavor. We opted for the rice table option that comes with about 25 small tastes of different dishes because we wanted to try them all. Porks, beefs, chickens, shrimps, tofu, tempeh, liver, veggies - there is a lot going on with this meal and the menu has a very helpful section that explains two important details: take your time and don't mix the dishes but rather eat each one separately. This way the subtle and not-so-subtle flavors don't get muddled and lost. With the dishes come sides of white and yellow rice, as well as some shrimp and nut crackers. This will greatly help with the spicy dishes. The servers explain each little dish and the progression from mild to medium spice to extreme. It's a very memorable, fun, unique experience and we are so glad we tried it. As in all the restaurants in Amsterdam, we found that we were not rushed at all and spent two hours enjoying this meal slowly and happily. read more

Tempo Doeloe - Risttafel for two - Indonesian Near Me - Amsterdam, New Hampshire

Reserve first before come here. We came on thursday night and it was very full. Their menu is really extensive you can order the packet or ala carte. We ordered the ala carte and trully enjoy the food here. It is almost similar to the indonesian food we had back in Indonesia. read more

Tempo Doeloe was featured on Anthony Bourdain's series, The Layover. Although I wanted to stick mainly with Dutch fare, I made an exception due to how highly recommended Tempo is. I got a rijsttafel, which is a multi-dish experience that is supposed to represent Indonesian dishes from various regions of the archipelago. One of the rijsttafels is vegetarian, the other isn't. I got the non-vegetarian set. Most of the dishes were brought out at the same time. A side of hot pepper paste was provided along with a warning about its heat. Pepper paste has a nice pungent taste. Hot and spicy. Nice way to add heat, spice, and flavor to dishes. Has seeds in it! Here are the tasting notes on each dish: Pork skewer--Covered in a sweet peanut sauce. Tender. Slight char taste. Mild spice. Yellow rice has a coconut flavor. Some coconut fattiness in the taste. Cooked al dente. Dish #1--Stir fry cabbage. Asian cabbage., napa probably, that has been stir-fried briefly. Not much going on here but nice soft texture. Half cooked so nice crunch. Dish #2--Cucumber and green beans in a spicy peanut sauce. Like the heat and the peanut space. Goes well with the puffed crispy cracker provided. Dish #3--Cabbage and green bean in spicy peanut sauce. Dish #4 --Coconut stew pork. Tender pork in a coconut peanut sauce. Nice with rice and pepper paste. Savory. Dish #5--Coconut. Chicken. Dish #6--Shrimp. Shrimp is too bitter and has that taste that isn't fresh Dish #7--Cabbage and shredded coconut. Interesting. Taste like coconut. Dish #8--String beans. Boring and overcooked. Dish #9--Braised pork belly in anise--anise flavor in juices is nice. Tender meat. The highlights of the meal were the pork skewer for interesting complexity between the salty pork, peanut sauce and charring on the meat. The stew coconut pork hit the mark for me as well with its hot peanut and coconut complexity. And the pork belly in anise was another standout. The other dishes, for the most part, are satisfactory, but sometimes bland or monotonous because they often repeat the same theme or ingredients. Coconut, peanut, and pork are major players here. If I knew the names of the dishes I really liked and ordered just those, I would do so on my next visit. The rijsttafel as a whole experience left me only relishing a few of the dishes served to me. Again, a satisfactory diniing experience. read more

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Amsterdam has a large Indonesian population so, of course, we had to try Indonesian food! Tempo Doeloe is a small restaurant that you definitely need to make reservations in advance to get a table...luckily we did! The door to the restaurant is locked, so you need to ring a doorbell to get in. Also, most of the meals take a long time to prepare and eat, so be ready to have lengthy dinner. We were all adventurous, so we decided to do the 25 dish rice table. It's 25 small sampling of select dishes that progress from very mild to extremely spicy. And they are all served in the center at once. We decided that the best thing to do was see the spicy progression, so we all started with the mildest dish and slowly enjoyed each one, progressing forward towards the spiciest dish. I really enjoy spicy foods but the spiciest and final dish is REALLY hot. That said, it was tastefully done. You can tell they don't smother the food with spiciness without purpose. The final dish hurt to eat but tasted very good. And all the dishes in between the mildest and the spiciest were all amazing. It was fun to see how the dishes progressed as we moved along. I hope to go back one day! read more

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Was not impressed by my meal here. Came here and snagged a table after we were told Tujuh Maret next door was full (and that the next table wouldn't be free until 2 hours later). It's got a more upscale vibe but unfortunately the food didn't match. We ordered the full rijsttafel (which was quite pricy at €40), but since it seemed like too much food for one person we asked if we could split it. The answer seemed to be that only if we also ordered another main and the waitress recommended a fish / shrimp combo dish and quickly whisked our menus away. Then we waited for quite some time for our dishes, which made sense given the kitchen essentially had 2 people making food for the entire restaurant. Finally after 30+ min we got our food. The rijsttafel was neat in concept but very underwhelming. Most of the meat dishes were dry and over cooked. The veggies were better but fairly simple and nothing that interesting. The skewer was also dry. I was worried given the warnings of spiciness I had read but I thought the dishes were spicy but not unmanageable. On the other hand, the rijsttafel was much better than the a la carte items we ordered. The shrimp was extremely dry and over cooked, the fish I wasn't a fan of but my dining companion seemed to enjoy so maybe I'm just picky. Also fairly pricy at €30 euros for 2 shrimps and a slightly larger piece of fried fish. All in all, a disappointing rijsttafel experience. read more

I've been Yelp Elite for ten years and posted an even 700 reviews, and was really happy just minding my own business, considering my chapter as a Yelp reviewer closed. However, my recent experience at Tempo Doeloe this week propelled me to write just one more review so I could share with you how disappointed we were in our experience and to prompt you to avoid making the same mistake we did. My Dutch friend recommended we dine here for my husband's birthday as we flew in from Zürich to celebrate. I'm Indonesian Dutch and I can discern good Indo from average Indo food from bad Indo food. The food was average at best and the waiter could not even tell us what we were eating. We ordered the Rijstafel at various spice levels and when we asked him to explain each dish, he could not. He didn't even tell us which ones were spicy and which were not. Some dishes were served lukewarm and others were served hot, some of us got some dishes, some of us got others. No consistency in quantity or quality. Now onto the service. The service was awful. First, they don't serve tap water. My Dutch friend asked them insistently and they insisted on only selling bottled water. I'm told it is illegal to refuse tap water in Amsterdam. Second, it took thirty minutes and three different requests for the menu to finally be granted menus. When we asked, the waiter said "let me see if we have some." I didn't ask for hot sauce or champagne or something random; I asked for the menu. It should not take us three times to ask for the menu. Overall, I feel super bad for my friend who recommended the place and who picked up the tab. Tempo Doeloe means Old Time in Indo. Maybe this place should retire and should stay in the past because clearly they are not moving forward. read more

Service 2 Food 3 Overall 2.5 Reservations at 8 and was seated promptly. Waited 25min to order and bother 40for the food to come out. I was solo and it was busy that night but that's still no excuse for something that can be pre-made in advance. I get Amsterdam's service is notoriously slow but for a white table cloth and Michelin mentioned restaurant it's crazy how it can take that long! It's almost comical. The table next to me was waiting on their dessert for over 30min. Food was decent but not worth the wait at the end of the day. If they were to fix the service aspect, they'd do so much better... read more

My first time having Indonesian food. My local friend suggested this place, so we went! Had the 30-dish entree and it was very delicious. They are separated by mild, medium, and death. The hottest is seriously hot. H O T HOT! The type where you want to sob because your mouth burns ha! The dishes were chicken, some pork, and beef (I believe). They are small, and they come with rice. The 3 of us had this at €32.50 or €37.50/person. Add some wine, and the bill was €154.50. Well worth it and would do it again. The service was excellent! *IMPORTANT: it is a Small restaurant (for Americans), and very busy. Reservations highly strongly recommended ** read more

Tempo Doeloe - Indonesian Near Me - Amsterdam, New Hampshire

Great food highly recommend this place. Very flavorful, try the dessert too Right in the middle of Amsterdam. read more

Tempo Doeloe - Indonesian Near Me - Amsterdam, New Hampshire

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Solid example of Rijkstafel and I'm grateful that they let me order the big version (20+ dishes) single despite menu stated 2 person minimum. Clocked in one hour and 45 minutes and I left some of the side dishes largely untouched. It's a lot of food of varying quality. Some of the meat dishes seemed too lean taking on the flavor and consistency of spicy jerky. Some of the dishes were great (ok anything with a lot of garlic is pretty great in general). Compared to another Rijkstafel I had in Amsterdam on a prior trip, I'm glad there was only one stick of satay. The one thing that really upsets me though is that 1 L of still water is 6.25 EUR or 20% of the overall meal cost. WTF? In this day and age, I don't understand why nicer restaurants don't have their own double osmosis water filtration. I don't think I've ever been charged this much for water at Michelin 2 and 3 star restaurants... read more

We went there for the ricetable (rijsttafel) and thought it was very mediocre and underwhelming. We got one order of rijsttafel stimoelan (small) for $36 and rijsttafel istemewa (full) for $40. In terms of value, the $40 one was by far more worth it as it had double the amount of food and all the items in the smaller ricetable. However, with that amount of food, I would recommend to share a full rijsttafel and order an appetizer or an entree for 2 people (if you prefer variety like I do). The ricetable came with a crazy number of small dishes, 2 types of rice and 2 satays. Thus, I would highly recommend getting ricetable when you're super hungry. One thing I didn't like about this place is that they don't offer a drink menu. Instead, they would just ask you what you prefer to drink and offer a few options without a price. I was disappointed to be given a cheap glass of red that I've tried from Trader's Joe and charge close to 10 euros for a beer. Although I haven't tried other ricetables in Amsterdam, based on my research, there seem to be better options for it (I wasn't able to make it to those because of a lack of reservation). read more

Tempoe Doe-NO! This place is nasty--and that is putting it kindly already. bleggh..yuck! Anyway, like everyone has already mentioned, Indonesian food is kind of a big deal in Holland, so we were determined to try out an Indonesian restaurant. For a Michelin-rated restaurant, this place was really a disappointment. The food was pretty bland, and tasted the same. All the dishes were just the same type of savory, kind of like how in Korean restaurants, the "spicy sauce marinating the meats" are highly similar in flavor, if ya know what I mean... Anyway, the spiciest dish, was so spicy, to the point where you can't/don't even want to eat it. So even if you are a brave soul and want to sweat it out with the spices, the spiciest dish isn't really worth ordering. In the appetizers, they have shrimp chips that tastes exactly the same as shrimp chips that you can get in supermarkets around Amsterdam. I'm sure they fry it and make it fresh...right? :-/ This also brings up something funny, we made a reservation to eat as soon as the restaurant opens, and we were the first table to arrive (hence the photos with the empty restaurants). Anyway, as soon as we sat down, and haven't even had a chance to order anything, we hear the chefs cooking up a storm inside the kitchen...weird. I would say that it was because they were frying the shrimp chips, but because it smelled really fragrant, I'd place my money that they were cooking the main dishes already. No surprise since everything tastes the same...Did i mention that already? Oooops. Anyway the service was mediocre, so they get half a star added to this review (yay! a total of 2/5 stars). The total came out to around 300 euros for my family of 3 people. No big deal, I won't be coming back and I definitely would not recommend this place to anyone, not even my enemies. read more

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This is the canonical rijsttafel experience in Amsterdam. Rijsttafel, a colonial dutch feast, comprises a large assortment of small dishes served with white and turmeric flavored rice. Dry shredded coconut is used as a condiment to moderate the heat of the progressively spicy dishes. A reservation is required for this restaurant. Serving locals and tourists-in-the-know, the small dinning room can seat 30-40 people and it fills fast. The location is as easy quick walk from flower marker or a quicker ride on the tram line 9. The staff are friendly and fluent in English. The restaurant offers gluten free versions of their feast menu. Notice, however, that they do not serve tap water. Also be prepared for a closed-quarter experience: when full, the small dining room can feel really packed. It's always full and you'll be seating very close to your fellow diners. Whether they're locals or tourists, you'll find often an opportunity to share a few words and impressions about your food and your visit in Amsterdam. Tempo Doeloe's feast menu comes in three variations: small, vegetarian, and grand. I recommend that you skip any appetizers. The variety of dishes in the rijsttafel is very appetizing anyway. Since the food is already cooked, service is really fast and food arrives on your table within a few minutes after you ordered it. For three or more people, the grand feast option is the best. Two people could also tackle this option if they were sufficiently hungry, though the small variation may be a better alternative. In either case, the key strategy is to avoid eating a lot of rice as it tends to fill you up. Also avoid mixing the various dishes. Keep the tasting independent, working from the mild dishes towards the more spicy ones. Have the meal prepared to the preferences of the least spicy-tolerant member of your party, then ask for house sambal on the side to spice up your own plate. Fair warning though: the house sambal makes sriracha and sambal-olek, found in the US, feel more like ketchup. It's really hot and it should be used in very small quantities and hedged with shredded coconut. Because of the spicy heat of the food here I avoid ordering alcohol. After the meal I'd take a walk, return my taste senses to a normal plateau, and then head over to a nice bar (I like the Pastorie at the Radisson Blu and the bar at Cafe de Jaren) for a fix. I've been returning to this restaurant every time I travel to Amsterdam and I've found its quality to be consistent. In late June 2011 I returned to this restaurant twice and I am looking forward to my next meal there, hopefully in the near future. read more

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Outstanding choice if you live in or are visiting Amsterdam. Every time I come to Amsterdam, Tempo Deloe is on my list to eat at and introduce friends to. Tempo Deloe means "the old days" and that is how the food is prepared- in a traditional manner and served in a space that reminds me of someone's home. The space is tiny so make a reservation as it fills up fast with all the regulars who keep coming back for the great food and the outstanding service. During my last visit in September- I brought a large group of 10 into the restaurant. We pretty much took up the entire side of the place but they were great in putting tables together for us. And the service was spot on as always. Our server even remembered us from a previous visit even though it had been 6 months prior. They have a range of wines on their wine list- but usually we just ask them for their house wine and they keep it pouring all night. This is a dining experience, which means you need to take the time to enjoy the experience. And also know that if you ask for it hot, they have varying degrees of "hot" (I finally decided that the chef had no mercy as he left many of us at the table with tears in our eyes trying to cut the spice with anything within hands reach!) Because we were a large group- we had pre arranged a menu to include several starters, entrees and rice tables. Our server was quick to point out the "hotter" items so that we could pace ourselves throughout the night. My favorites of the night? They had to be the pangsit goreng (shrimp mousse wraps), the soto ajam (some kind of a chicken soup) the gadon dari sapi (a beef in coconut cream) and the spicy udang (spicy shrimp). (Sorry for any spelling issues) Great food, fantastic service all served up in a casual environment. Just one of the reasons a trip to Amsterdam is one of my favorite destinations. And if you live there- don't miss this place! read more

Was told that I had to try Rijsttafel when I went to Amsterdam and so I hyped it up to all my friends. Small restaurant. Had to ring doorbell to get buzzed in. Can choose to get the full or half set. We opted for full set mainly because I insisted. Seemed like a better deal and I wanted to sample everything. Food came out in tiny little bowls which I initially thought wouldn't fill us up. But we were all so full at the end. They had three different sets of six. Which seemed Iike essentially same dishes with different spice levels. Mild medium and hot. I love spicy food and the hot did have a kick to it. The temperature of food was luke warm which I found very disappointing. We all enjoyed the vegetable dishes over the meat dishes. Maybe it was because I hyped it up too much but wouldn't go again. read more

I'll admit, I wanted to go here because Anthony Bourdain did. It's the oldest Indonesian restaurant in Amsterdam, and evidently, they have been completely booked every day for like 30 years. And I see why. If you look at the photos, we got the tasting meal, and I've never seen so many different little tastes. All good, although some were way too spicy for me(I'm a wuss, fyi). And the staff was just SO nice and it's a lovely place. So call ahead and enjoy. read more

Tempo Doeloe - Indonesian Near Me - Amsterdam, New Hampshire

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Came here with my SO because both of us like spice too much to actually eat dutch food. We decided against the rice table, and ordered a la carte. The food was decent, although the spiciest option of the rendang decimated the two of us for days. We were warned it was spicy, but are honestly still appalled that a restaurant would actually serve something THAT inedible (there were actual raw slices of scotch bonnet dotting the plate). On top of this, our server took advantage of the fact we were American, and pressured us into tipping quite a large amount, which made me quite uncomfortable. read more

I went here with three other people and we ordered the Rijsttafel. There were tons of dishes. I love a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but sadly it wasn't great. The food was decent, but certainly not a place I would recommend. The service was outstanding! Our server was friendly, knowledgeable and on top of everything. We wanted for nothing and waited for nothing. The decor in this tiny restaurant is charming and was worth me a taking a couple photos. read more

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Yelpers did not let us down regarding Tempo Doeloe! We ate here two nights on a 6 night stay in Amsterdam because it was just that good. And that is saying a lot considering the plethora of great eateries in the Dam. We had the obligatory rice table the first visit and tried individual entrees the second time. Both were amazing. For apps, you must get the sticky rice with chicken. My second entree of beef with coconut and macadamia nuts was fantastic! read more

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Came in from California and was told to try this place out. It was a little hard to find but I think it was worth for the experience. It's really pricey, but the they give a lot more than I anticipated. Even the table next to us couldn't finish. The food is good to share with friends and the service is great, they spoke English and were really helpful. read more

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while I certainly enjoyed the food here, I couldn't help but feel a bit alienated at the rijstaffel 'rice table' format, and a bit pained at the price. There were two of us, we got one of the regular meat based rijstaffel and one order of the vegetarian rijstaffel. The idea was that we would have a lot of choices, not eat too much meat, and save a couple bucks. Eventually, 24 ramekins on 2 hot plates showed up and we were quite overwhelmed. To be honest, everything was very tasty. But after tasting 24 unique things, it started to feel like everything sort of tasted the same. I would have preferred ordering 4 or 5 larger items instead of having 24 tiny items. But it's true that I'm speaking from the perspective of someone who is very familiar with southeast Asian cooking, particularly Malaysian which is decently similar to Indonesian food. I couldn't help but feel like this style of serving was a bit of a white washing, like, imagine the ad: "Are you a Dutch person uncomfortable with ~~ethnic food~~? If so, try our Rijstaffel! You'll have the opportunity to have tried every single dish in our colonial Indonesian compendium in one single meal, be done with it, and never have to eat it again! And you can then tell your friends all the exotic things you've tried with just one visit to our restaurant." Supposing that is the value proposition, it certainly would seem to justify the high price, i think 30 euros or so for each menu. I understand that Tempo Doeloe is a historical place that has been around for a long time, but to me, the name and the food must match up, and i felt like because of the large quantity of similar tasting dishes, they felt like they could phone it in a little bit on each one since no one would be paying particular attention to any specific dish. all in all, i don't think i'd recommend going back to Tempo Doeloe to any person familiar with Malaysian/Indonesian food, but acknowledge that it could be a good place to go if you've never had any of it before (see aforementioned value proposition hypothesis.) read more

Loved the meal. A small place, about 14 tables, that has an old school feel. A sense of elegance. You have to ring a bell from the street to get in so there is not foot traffic in and out. RESERVATIONS are a must. Easy access from the tram. This was our second rijstafel on this trip and by far was my favorite, not an opinion shared by my companion. 24 dishes and a mixture of flavors and levels of heat Caution, I think I enjoy hot things but the last dish they gave and cautioned to try last--WOW was it hot. Wonderful flavor but could not eat more. Fun experience. Very professional service read more

I remember this spot from the mid 90's as being one of my favorite Indonesian restaurants in Amsterdam. It's still excellent. It's a bit small so reservations are recommended I couldn't get one for the day I called but managed for the following night. Four of us arrived and our table was ready. There was also a large party of 15 or more that night and it seemed to cause a bit of chaos with the staff. Things weren't the smoothest but we had time and the food was delicious. Everyone enjoyed rijstaffel (veggie and meat) and one of our party who was allergic to shellfish was accommodated easily (shrimp was taken back and substituted for another dish). I enjoyed the meal and would recommend it to someone in the area. read more

We saw this restaurant featured on a tv show and though we should definitely give it a try and though the food was just fine, though an issue with tipping left us having a bad night. It's always stressful knowing the tipping culture when traveling so we looked it up ahead of time and followed the guides we had found online. The owner who served us our bill practically yelled at us, making a scene in the restaurant, that we had not tipped enough saying that as tourists we are expected to tip more than the online guides were telling us. He guilted us into paying quite a bit more towards the tip and we left with what was supposed to be our lovely dinner ruined. I would avoid this place. The food is fine, but the service will ruin your evening. read more

The food is decent, however the service / attitude needs some work. I get it, you are a somewhat highly rated restaurant and featured on TV, but that gives you no right to jack up the tip when I have already given you a generous 25% tip. I only realize they did this after the fact that I signed the receipt and the charge showed up on my CC. Pretty sure this is illegal in many countries. An 80 Euro dinner became a 120 Euro dinner, because apparently 20 Euro tip is not enough. Do not go here if you are a tourist, they will rake you over the coals. read more

When my hotel's concierge suggested Tempo I thought that this joint had all the ingredients of a tourist trap. It was. However, despite it being a tourist trap the food was actually very good. We ordered the Indonesian rice sampler which provided an adequate sampling of almost the entire menu. Think buffet but instead of watching the guy in front of you on the line drop nose hairs on the platter, the food was brought to us in plates and placed on the table. I'd go back. By the way, the staff was incredible! Very efficient, well-oiled, attentive and smart!. Since I don't speak Dutch and I barely speak American I thought I'd be in trouble. However not only does the staff speak The Queen's English but they understand American pseudo-wit too! read more

a little bit overhyped. only because their Rijsttafel Stimoelan Small ricetable consisting of: (vs. Nasi plate very similar but not separated) - Sawi Toemis - Daging Semoor Gadon Dari Sapi - Ora Arie + Oerapan + Sambel Goreng Boontjes + Sambel Goreng Oedang + Kelia Dari Sapi + Sateh Ajam ++ Petjel - Emping - Seroendeng - Atjar Tjampoer - Kroepoek white rice problem was that multiple little dishes tasted the same. the chicken dish was very spicy. but they had a lot of pickled veggies. Perkedel Djagoeng were basically corn fritters, nothing special Soto Ajam chicken soup not quite as good as I had in Bali Pangsit fried wuth tiny centers a bit boring. lots of indonesian places to try, don't need white table cloth. read more

My tram got rerouted due to track work, and my wandering eyes fell upon Anthony Bourdain's layover landmark. Gave them a call, got a reservation 15 minutes later, walked back from the next tram stop, buzzed in, was greeted by the most charming of hosts, taken to the back bar for a warm up cocktail, then seated to the most hilarious yet charming of settings (mirrored ceiling for one). That was only the beginning. First a sampling of their delicious homemade sambals for sport, then shortly after, the most exquisite of Indonesian cuisine this mouth hath yet to have the pleasure of savouring. Be warned; this food is not tempered by the typical Dutch palate. Hot means hot. My friend learned the hard way and doused his flaming tongue with his own tears. In a word: awesome. read more

This place is soooooooo freaking good! If you've never had Indonesian food before, you should definitely try the "rice table," which is basically a gigantic sampler of around 20 of their entrees/sides and two kinds of rice. It starts out with appetizer-type foods and continues to mild items, then medium, then hot. The one at the very end (Daging Rendang) was like burn-your-face-off-and-run-around-the-room-like-you-are-on-fire hot. I seriously started to panic, but then the waiter offered me a tropical juice drink to quell the blazing inferno in my head. It worked like a charm and I returned to normal once again. The service was also very good here: the hostess took our coats upon arrival and since we had arrived early for our reservation they offered to let us sit at the bar for a few minutes and gave us beer and free appetizers. The decor was sort of Colonial Indonesian, which made it feel even more authentic to me. It was very comfortable and warm, and although the tables are a bit close together, I didn't feel cramped at all. We want to try some other Indonesian/Surinamese restaurants while we are in town, but I have a feeling we will return to Tempo Doeloe because it was really, really, good. read more

Ever ring a bell to try to get into a restaraunt? Ever get told go away after they open the door. Here that is the deal. So make a reservation. Now I can't fault a place for being super busy all the time and not taking walkins. Finally got to come here for dinner after making a reservation and my review starts here. It's a friendly, packed little space with a menu where you just say 'ricetable please' and they set you up taking into account of dietary restrictions and spice level you're asking for. It's all good. But it's not amazing. It's actually as good as the average place you could find that was A-OK. But with other more excellent Indonesian places like Soenda Kelapa just a few doors down that will take a walk in, it's hard for me to think I'd come back here. read more

They close at 11:00, not midnight. If you show up after 10:30 you are rolling the dice. Luckily, there are other options in town that are just as good and don't charge the Anthony Bourdain premium. read more

This is one of those places I come back to every time I visit Amsterdam. I found out about it from a friend who lived in Amsterdam for a year. This place is so full of flavor, it is amazing. With the rijstaffel you can try all of their dishes! I definitely recommend going with a group so you can get even more stuff to try. Gluten free notes: they can make their rijstaffel (rice table) gluten free -- it's mostly the soy sauce that is the problem. read more

Take a closer look at the pictures. It taste just like it looks.. bleh :( Did your hotel concierge recommend this place? Thats how my bf and I ended up eating here and I can tell you by experience that this place is a tourist trap! We ordered the international rice table, which I believe was 39 euros per person.. What can I say... stale shrimp chips, rice was all clumped together and tasted a day old, same dry chicken in multiple dishes, frozen small shrimp, peanut butter dressing that tasted like peanut butter from the grocery store.. really?? Oh and their house red smelled like vinegar and I couldn't even drink it :( Their food and service tells me that they just dont care what they serve people. The restaurant was packed but with only tourists. When we asked for recommendations because its our first time, the waiter let out a sigh and said its everyones first time. Oh noooo.. we knew right then our dinner wasnt going to be good..what a waste! read more

Whenever we visit the Netherlands we make a point to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants Tempo Doeloe on Utrechtsestraat 75. This is one of the best Indonesian restaurants in the city and in my opinion of all time! The Rijsttafel is the thing to order and it consists of small dishes from mild to insanely hot that are served with a number of condiments to tame the heat and add flavor. The small dishes consist of a variety of meats and vegetables all cooked in their own sauces served with plenty of rice to go with each dish both white and turmeric flavored. Shredded coconut serves as a way to calm the heat as the dishes progress to very hot. The service is friendly and efficient and the small, cozy quaint room is charming and inviting. We have enjoyed this restaurant for many years and will return on our next visit. Remember to make a reservation as the place is booked way ahead due to many fabulous reviews and of course Anthony Bourdain reviewed it on his show not too long ago which makes it even harder to get in to now. read more

I finally got to have a meal here. Hooray. This is damn good food. Super tasty, I went with the rice table for vegetarian. I'm happy (maybe I should be ashamed) to say I ate it all. The staff are super friendly and sweet. We had a table for an hour and a half. They block the times for each table which isn't so gezellig, but we called that day so that's fair. Anyway, the food came out very quickly and we managed to have a nice meal in the time allotted. It's a small space but they make it work. I really enjoyed the food! read more