Amigo Grill Restaurant — Restaurant in Amsterdam

I didn't expect to be disappointed coming here because it had a good rating on Greviews. Hence, when I was in the middle of eating my 500gr (45 EUR) tenderloin, I couldn't stop thinking what actually made this place highly regarded.

I will try my best to review each element of the steak below. But before that, I'd like to say that the beef empanadas were good. I just wish they were bigger in size.

Now, the steak.

---Serving method and doneness--- The steak was served on a hot steel plate. Which means it was still being cooked when it arrived at my table. I really don't like this idea because to me a good steak should be rested well before serving to keep the juices. This way, the doneness of the meat became confusing. It was pink in the center but the grey layer was already too dry. Plus, there was no crust on the outside.

---Seasoning--- Underseasoned is truly an understatement here. For a steak with this size and thickness, the taste was almost nonexistent. I was surprised. I had to grind salt and pepper on the side of my plate and pat it with my steak in every bite. It's almost like the chef was trying to say "I give you the meat, you go season it yourself to your liking", which is a bad approach in a restaurant.

---Sauce--- First off, there was no complimentary sauce. Not even one. I had to pay 2.5 EUR for each bowl of sauce I ordered. I tried two different sauces: the chimicurri and the mushroom sauce. The former was okay but the latter was astonishingly disappointing. I never thought a steakhouse could go wrong with mushroom sauce until I tried Amigo. I don't know what they used as the base for the sauce but it tasted as if they infused mayonnaise with mushroom.

After 3 bites, I couldn't even tell the difference in taste between the mushroom sauce and the frites sauce (mayo?) that they left at the table in sachets (which, btw, looked so unprofessional for a steakhouse).

---CONCLUSION--- I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to someone who is looking for an exceptional steak dining experience.

But if you're a guy trying to impress a girl by taking her out to dinner, and if she doesn't care much about what makes a steak good, Amigo could be a very good option because...

Located on Prinsengracht, Amigo Grill Restaurant,  has great views of the city's most famous landmark, Westerkerk and its 85 meter  (almost 279 feet) high tower, which was completed in 1638.

This Argentinian-themed eatery has colourful murals of gaucho cowboys and a large cow staring down from the ceiling.  It has comfortable seating, together with a delightful outside terrace.

Catering predominantly to tourists,  the restaurant shares its kitchen with Amigo restaurant, a few doors down,  just around the corner, on Rozengracht.

In general, the restaurant attracts good reviews for its meat dishes, but a recent lunchtime visit proved to be a great disappointment.  Having reserved for four persons, three decided to begin with onion soup, which arrived as a tasteless watery clear broth, most likely made from a powder substance, bearing no resemblance to its namesake. Each person took a spoonful and declined to finish the remainder. The calamari was edible, but nothing to write home about.

My main pasta course arrived fifteen minutes before the dishes ordered by the remainder of the group.  Having waited until the rest were served, it became  unappetisingly cold. All dishes suffered from a serious lack of seasoning, and none were returned fully consumed.

The apple pie cheesecake, ordered out of curiosity, contained no cheesecake whatsoever; We were totally mystified why it was named as such.

The solitary waitress had done her best to be accommodating  throughout, in what was clearly an awkward situation. We were offered a glass of liqueur with the bill. Unsure if this was restaurant policy, or her attempt to appease, but it was a nice gesture.

Would we return any time soon?...

Got the typical “clueless tourist” treatment: -warm welcome in and trying to sell you the most expensive item on the menu -mishearing of the main course we ordered and, when I tried to point out the wrong dish came out, I got the patronising speech that I was wrong. Asked for tres carnes, which the waitress obviously associated to a different main than the correct one. Got an extra “complimentary” sausage in the end though -asked for mixed vegetables and after 10 mins I was told to have something else -ordered two small drinks, but have been charged for two medium -passive aggressive suggestion to tip, something after this experience I was reluctant to do. Being put on the spot, I showed my weakness and tipped her, something I might regret for a while

All in all, the food was average, except the tenderloin steak being very good. The service was nowhere near what you’d expect from a half decent...