A Beautiful Mess - Amsterdam — Restaurant in Amsterdam

We went to the restaurant with friends- open to whatever the evening brought us.

I love that it is situated in the former Bijlmer prison and there are still reminders of those days throughout-

The atmosphere was lovely- each person there has a beautiful story and past- learning & sharing their cultures whole working towards a beautiful future for themselves.

The food was delicious- freshly prepared - a culinary journey to various countries - with the beautiful people who worked within the facility.

It was more than a dinner experience- it was a reminder of the common thread of humanity, how we can all thrive when encouraged and given a chance.

We will definitely be back again and again and again. Thank you ALL for the gift of this special place.

From the website- “Beginnings are always messy. Relationships don’t come easy. Outcomes are uncertain. Life is not perfect. Things are normal today. Abnormal and unfamiliar tomorrow.

We celebrate the beauty in the mess. The imperfections, broken parts and uncertainties. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and we choose to see the beauty in humanity. Wherever they came from and whatever path they had to take.

A safe space where we speed up integration for people with a refugee background and...

This place lives up to its name ! I don't know how it has gotten so many positive review but my experience there was completely different :

We were seated on a table made for 2 people even though we were 3. When we asked to have more space, the waiter said 'no' even though the place was not nearly full. The starters arrived at the same time a the main course, so by the time we ate them, our plate was cold The food was unseasoned, bland, poorly proportioned and WAY to expensive. You must know that you'll have no side dish included with your plate, you'll have to pay 6.5e (!) for fries on top of the 13.5e for a very small and untasty shakshuka filled with spicy sauce to 'hide' its blandness. Do not order the Hummus too, it'll be serve with only 1 piece of 'bread' (it has another name but I cannot remember it) which will not be enough to finish it. Don't waste time asking the waiter for anything as the answer will be 'No'.

There are much more tasty, cheaper restaurant with better service (Olijfje, Sea palace, The pantry...) than this one which seemed more to be a tourist trap than anything else.

I do...

I genuinely wanted to back A Beautiful Mess. I love supporting enterprises that aim to create positive social impact. Their mission to empower individuals through work and storytelling is meaningful and admirable.

However, our recent visit raised serious concerns about hygiene and kitchen practices. We ordered the kofta from their Middle Eastern menu.

Unfortunately, the kofta arrived severely undercooked. When we politely complained and asked for the dish to be cooked through, the staff confused by the request, eventually took it away and appeared to simply toss it back on the fire. It returned dramatically overcooked, and shockingly, the team couldn’t distinguish whose plate belonged to whom. That indicates a lapse in basic food safety and hygiene protocols.

I support businesses with heart and purpose, but when you’re serving food, proper handling isn’t optional. This felt like a genuine hygiene risk, and it overshadowed everything else. I hope they take this feedback seriously...