We were young and in love and we were in Amsterdam being liberal. Strenuous business it is, being liberal in Amsterdam, but we managed it for whole swathes of the weekend as you might imagine – even the pumping Gloria Gaynor penetrating the walls of Anne Frank house couldn’t dampen our ardour for relaxation.
Good hotel location, placed, as we were, on Prinsengracht in the tardis-like Pulitizer. Long a favourite city for agenda-less strolling, pausing on bridges and ambling along canal banks. Definitely best approached by nibbling, both literally and metaphorically, the best bits around its edges. At lunch we escaped the heat of the day into the coolness of Envy. Darkly modern décor and a hotch-potch of contemporary dishes on the menu. One delicious rabbit salad, one over-salted cabbage and pea soup; bread to die for and a cheese selection that looked the same. Although, I’m not sure this restaurant knows what it wants to be at all…
Much, much later that night, and via a meal elsewhere, we returned to visit Envy’s sister next door, Vyne (see what they’ve done there). Great concept, fantastically executed, it was hard to fathom why this place was not rammed full of the beautiful people (apart from us, of course).
Restaurant Sophia, location of our earlier evening meal, was a 15 minute taxi ride out from the centre of the city. Relying on the trusty European Cities Michelin guide to find us somewhere off the beaten track was a good choice. Always nice to get out of the hubbub of a city centre and experience a local’s favourite, Sophia drips the sort of urban chic one might find in the nicer quarters of London’s Notting Hill. Sleek modern design is softened with bare-brick and rich fabrics; a large covered outside terrace provides the perfect evening setting, although the view isn’t the best.
The menu was eclectic, teetering between haute and modern European, with an asian influence. Presentation was borderline molecular and adopted the popular lots-of-smaller-dishes-so-you-can-try-lots-we’ll-call-it-tapas style. An amuse of gazpacho shots and wasabi-dressed watermelon did the job on the tastebuds.
A nice touch was the ‘Sophia Experience’ 5 course tasting menu, reasonably priced at €42.50, which comes with a ‘surprise’ menu presented in a silver sealed envelope. This started promisingly with very fresh, light marinated salmon, followed by a rich but interesting combination of lobster and Moroccan spices, served in a ‘brique’.
The gorgeous fiancée started with some oysters decorated with funky green Tobiko. Pretty unremarkable apart from the colour.
The tasting menu stumbled from its early heights via some slightly faulty execution. The potato fan that came with the halibut was beautiful, but the fish was over-cooked. While the farm chicken was very tasty, the application of the cream sauce was somewhat heavy-handed. Finally, to experience the last dish of the menu would require a €7.50 supplement, meaning the 5 course menu is not really 5 courses at all!
I think, in general, we would return for the atmosphere and style of the place. I’d also probably recommend to friends who had been to Amsterdam once or twice before and fancied something new. The food has ambition, but execution falls short. The staff were lovely and helpful (esp. to non-Dutch speakers) and were liberal with their wine, letting us taste before choosing. Liberal wine, liberal weekend.
SophiaSophialaan 55
1075 BP Amsterdam
Netherlands
020 305 27 60
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