Bridges — Restaurant in Amsterdam

I am updating from my previous review below, as I was invited back to try Bridges Restaurant again. First of all I want to thank everyone at Bridges for the exceptional service, I really had my doubts if it was going to be an authentic experience but it definitely was. I am assuming it was just some bad luck I had the last time I was there.

I was able to try the Chef’s Menu which has changed since my last visit. Wow it was amazing! The flavors of everything worked so well together. My favorite was the Langoustine dish with Foie Gras and apple. The Langoustine was so soft and the sharpness of the apple and creamy Foie Gras worked perfectly together. Also the Monkfish with the sauerkraut was also a favorite, you don’t see sauerkraut in these types of dishes but it all worked so well together. When we reached the Veal I was actually already feeling full! The dishes were a great portion of food which was nice because you weren’t left feeling hungry. I will say, being from Texas, I’ve had some fair share of pieces of meat, the meat I always have here in the Netherlands can never compare to what we have in Texas. I also always feel like the way it’s prepared just never lives up to my expectations. However, this piece of Veal was one of the best meats I’ve had since I’ve lived in the Netherlands, it was like a piece of the best Filet Mignon you could ever cut into. That is what I enjoy about good meat when you can cut through it with a butter knife it’s so tender. It was prepared just right and very delicious.

I am very happy to have had the opportunity to come back and experience a better dinning experience and I would definitely recommend Bridges. I love how they put a little bit of Dutch twist into their dishes, a very nice touch.

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Previous Post

I am not someone to give bad reviews...but this was a huge disappointment. First off I LOVE Hotel Sofitel Legend the Grand Amsterdam, and we love coming to their Easter brunch they host every year. It’s exceptional food, nice atmosphere, amazing service and they even remember us every time we come back. So, I was excited to take our friends out to try the Bridges Restaurant. We did not order a coursed menu because our guests were not partaking in the Chefs Menu. We had some dishes on the A LA Carte menu, and everything was actually really bad. I didn’t even ask my guests how their Sea Bass was because I was embarrassed. I had the Steak Tartare and it was ok but the presentation looked kind of disgusting. I tried the Beet Wellington and added the truffle but didn’t get it because the waitress didn’t put it on the bill. The Beet Wellington was ok, and there was a huge Brussel Sprout that I couldn’t cut through, and I actually took my fork and picked up the whole thing to try and bite through it. Didn’t work, so I left it. My partner said his dishes were definitely not Michelin Star worthy. There was no feeling of wow we should definitely come back here. Our water and wine were always empty we were filling the water ourselves. I had to ask the waitress repeatedly if there was wine left until she understood me. The amuse with the carrot and sesame seed was so salty. Also, our waitress forgot the coffee order our gentleman ordered for our after dinner drink and she had to come back and ask what it was because she forgot it.

Oh wow and I almost forgot the cheesecake dessert, very disappointing. The cheese plate actually had nice cheese but they just threw some old hard French bread from the selection of bread they use for before dinner, and 5 green grapes. We also didn’t get the wine list until half way through our meal....

I have dined all over the world as I am an airline captain and this must be the biggest disappointment I ever had. I do not know if ai have ever had a less valued meal in my life. All I could do sitting getting 6 disappointing dishes in a row than miss the Mee Goreng I had for lunch in a small Malaysian reataurant earlier in the day.

Style over substance have never been more appropriate as a headline for a review. 10 meters away in the garden was a smoking area sending smells of smoke into my nose even the waiter had garanteed the garden was smoke free.

The Service; We got a loaf of bland bread and no butter. Next to us tables had butter and I asked the waiter for butter. By the end of the 3 hour ordeal, still no butter to be seen. Stumbling presentations of the food. My partner allergic to crab was ensured it would be substituted for something else. When the dish came it was simply missing from her plate with no substitute in sight.

The food; I do not know if the chef had forgotten where his spices were, but I have never been given a blander selection of food in my life. Maybe my senses were numbed by the constant cloud of sigarette smell, but when the best dish on the menu is a carrot in the amouse bouche it say it all.

The macrel tasted nothing and the disk of potato on the top even less. The herring caviar on the tough leek was completely lacking any fish, smoke or salt flavour. The lukewarm gamba was like eating a piece of old gum. The short rib covered by a disgusting slab of tasteless angus beef (looked like it had been dropped in boiling water for 2 minutes, and tasted like it looked) was swimming in a oily soup. And the pickled cod tasted at least a bit salty but with a confusing mix of salt and sweet with the chutney and mushroom mash. Ending it all was a uninspired dessert of mixed stuff. The ice cream was good and acidic but that was it. Inbetween was a millfoie with some small cubes of celery that tasted nothing but celery.

All in all the most tasteless meal I have ever had....

2014 review: I remember I was there about a year ago (2014) with a big group of friends. It was my suggestion to go there because I had read somewhere that it was good. False information!!!! Food was average and service sucked ! We paid too high for that food. You better go to okura or izakaya type of place rather than wasting your money here.

2019 review: I’ve been there yesterday again (2019 December) although it was not my preference, I just had to go. Five years later I hoped it would be better. Unfortunately both the food and service were again average. Firstly even my husband “who likes almost everything he eats” told me the food was very average. He had beef and risotto. That risotto was just “couscous rice”. (Beef at Duchess is much better, 5 min walk and it also has a Michelin Star) I had asparagus and risotto. The sauce for both dishes were the same (very surprising), very heavy butter/oil mixture which had a disgusting taste. I could barely eat it.

In addition, I made sure to inform them about my dietary requirements in advance but apparently they didn’t care. When I sat on the table first thing I realized was the butter on the table which I wouldn’t be able to eat and asked for a suitable option for me but the blonde waiter wanted to teach me what butter meant in a cocky attitude. I had to tell him that world has other options, especially the country he lives in. Then he brought me Becel LIGHT in a breakfast cup. (Incredible for a Michelin Star Restaurant ! We laughed so hard :) Other waiters were much nicer and friendlier. Ironically they insisted serving me by saying “lactose free” although I have no problem with lactose. ??!! So I was very confused about what I was eating. Did they really give me something which would create allergic reaction ? It was uncomfortable. They had no idea about adjusting to personal dietary requirements. I doubt they know...