La Maschera — Restaurant in Amsterdam

Love the food and cozy atmosphere at La Maschera! We are locals here so are spoiled that it is in walking distance. The food is always really good and I tend to go for the 4 courses with wine pairings, which is quite reasonably priced compared to other restaurants. The chef picks the dishes but you can say if you don’t like fish or other and they will be very accommodating. My partner is vegetarian and always finds a nice selection on offer, not just the standard cheese ravioli. This time she had an amazing white asparagus dish for an appetizer and then a nice pasta dish. I had a bruschetta dish as the appetizer, and part of the 4 courses meal, but it was interestingly deconstructed. It had crisped bread with lovely olive oil but along with cheese, tomatoes and other veggies. All of the flavors blended so nicely together. The next dish was gnudi made from ricotta and spinach. These were so light and delicious that I could have had more as my main! The secondi was a lamb dish that I enjoyed but I kept wanting more of the gnudi. And finally a semifreddo for dessert, which was perfect with the red dessert wine they served it with. All the wine pairings worked nicely with the different dishes. If you don’t want the chef to surprise you, they have an extensive daily menu that you can choose from but all of the course dishes are also from that menu. You can choose 3, 4 or 5 courses. The portions are a good size so 3 or 4 works for me. I tried the 5 once but it was way too much food. Love going here on special occasions because they are very friendly and the chef likes to joke around as you watch him cook behind the counter. It’s small and intimate so make reservations if you can, although I have been there when walk-ins...

I came here with great expectations and left really dissapointed.

As aperitivo, I ordered a cheeseplate (they took the cheese and meat from a plate that was covered in plastic foil, so it didnt look fresh to me).

After that i ordered two meals: Burrata and a seafood pasta. The seafood pasta was like having salty water. The pasta was not al dente, it was too firm and i could not enjoy it at all. As for the Burrata, same story, exept: it had some sauce.

As to speak about the place itself. I didnt find it comfortable. It was too noisy to communicate and the restaurant is really small so i had the feeling i was in someones kitchen. Its not romantic to dine here.

The food is overpriced, the food is not that great and its really small. Overall not worth the money.

I went to many restaurants in Italy, and this restaurant is more like a Dutch restaurant with the ambiance and food...

I stumbled upon this restaurant on the second day of visiting this Amsterdam. Since I already had dinner reservations elsewhere, I made it a point to dine there another day. I did just that and the food was phenomenal. I sat across from where Chef Luca was cooking . It was interesting to learn about his experience. I had a dish made with red beans and slow roasted pork for an appetizer and the ravioli with a meat red sauce. some of the best dishes I've ever had. Great flavors. I consider myself an aficionado of tiramisu. That's my go to dessert. Theirs was one of the best I ever had. I would definitely go back the next time I 'm in Amsterdam. La Maschera deserves all the accolades...