When I visited: August 2015

Location: Amsterdam

Rating in the Michelin Guide: Not rated

Dining Owl Hoot rating: 4/5

What to wear: Could go casual

Ambience: Fun, buzzy

Course of the meal: Scallops with chorizo, black truffle and mussels

If I could change one thing: Faster service

Review:

I happened upon De Luwte with my partner Owl when we were looking for a restaurant one evening in Amsterdam. We were attracted to the decor which is reminiscent of a ski chalet, with roaring fires. I’d already drunk quite a lot of wine earlier that day so wanted a healthy cocktail and really enjoyed the ‘Green tea elixir’ (green tea, ginger and lime) while we waited for a table. My partner Owl was more hardcore and had a gin and tonic with grapefruit and Amsterdam distilled gin. The service was not particularly fast but this is partly because the restaurant is very popular – there was a steady stream of people trying to get tables right upon until closing time.

We had an a la carte dinner and both had starters of scallops with chorizo, black truffle and mussels – even though my first choice of starter wasn’t available I’m never sorry to have scallops and these were particularly good. I then had cod with truffle polenta and beetroot which was tasty and light, while my partner Owl had tenderloin steak with triple-baked potatoes and salad, which was good if a little big. We shared a ‘rood fruit’ (red fruit) dessert with berries, vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche cream and chocolate sand – delicious. We also got a small waffle each with the bill.

I would definitely go back to De Luwte and would highly recommend it, but it’s a good idea to book a table to avoid waiting or being turned away.