Restaurant Daalder* — Restaurant in Amsterdam

Daalder restaurant excels at accessible fine dining. Located in the charming Jordaan neighborhood of Amsterdam, the space feels welcoming with understated elegance. A marble top bar is the focal point of the small dining room, a throwback to the prior iteration of the space. A diner could easily walk in for lunch and enjoy the tasting menu at the bar.

Chef Dennis Huwaë executes his vision of a relaxed, yet elevated experience with a flexible modern tasting menu. The layered flavors and presentation reflect his strong background cooking in many two Michelin starred kitchens.

Daadler offers the five or seven-course menu at lunch, or the option of a shorter menu. I went with five courses, and they let me substitute the langoustine supplement with a small surcharge. A glass of dry Cremant d'Alsace, with soft bubbles went well with the seafood focused meal.

I appreciated the presentation of the amuse bouches, which were in line with the quietly refined ethos of the restaurant. A salmon meringue bite was a play on nigiri. The Daadler fish and chips looked nothing like the traditional English dish but rather a tangy bite of salted cod salad on an airy potato cracker.

My favorite was a spoon that held a delicately crisp blackberry cracker, filled with tuna, radish, and creme fraiche. A flavor burst that tasted almost Thai to me.

The first course was a chilled Spanish aji blanco soup topped with cobia, cold tofu sorbet, and contrasted with crunchy green apple and cucumber. I enjoyed the refreshing dish which was both bright with hints of dark umami, though the fish had some stringy parts.

Next was a creamy and runny egg, green asparagus, and morel dish that was satisfying to mix together. The morels were over seasoned, but the fresh asparagus worked to offset the sodium. The croutons were too hard for my taste.

Following this was turbot with razor clams in a tangy mustard sauce, with tarragon and a pop of lemon gel. This dish was perfectly balanced.

The five-course menu came with one dessert. I was pretty satisfied, though I regret not asking for their take on the classic stroopwafel as an add-on!

The white corn dessert was beautiful. Shaped like an actual ear of corn, the coconut ice cream was very subtle in flavor and just a little icy. I wanted stronger popcorn flavor as well, but I did like the bergamot gel accents.

Overall I enjoyed the leisurely-paced lunch at Daadler, with five courses spread out over two hours. Small missteps like hard butter and stringy fish were easily forgotten with the wonderful flavors, textures, and presentation. Service was very...

My husband and I chose Daadler to celebrate our first wedding anniversary at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Despite our high expectations, our experience turned out to be quite disappointing.

Several significant issues marred our visit:

Firstly, despite informing our waitress about my difficulty to coriander, which tastes like soap to me and makes me ill, one of our dishes contained coriander.

Secondly, and most shockingly for a Michelin-starred establishment, I discovered a piece of plastic in the cod dish. The chef apologized profusely and offered an extra dish, expressing his embarrassment.

We also encountered issues with the service: when we requested wine, the waitress was unable to make recommendations, promising the sommelier would assist. Unfortunately, the sommelier never appeared, and we were left waiting until we received a suggestion that did not meet our tastes. This happened twice during our meal, severely disrupting our experience. Consequently, we ended up eating some dishes without an appropriate wine pairing. It's worth noting that in my experience with Michelin-starred restaurants, there is typically a wine pairing menu available alongside the tasting menu.

Additionally, despite booking in advance and paying a 100 euro deposit, which was supposed to be deducted from our bill, we realized after leaving that this had not been done. Returning to rectify the situation, we found the suggestion of receiving the deposit back in cash unusual.

The dining experience itself lasted an unexpectedly long 4 hours, which compounded our dissatisfaction. This might have been more tolerable had the overall experience been better.

Furthermore, we noticed several minor yet notable lapses in a Michelin-starred restaurant: our table was unstable, the sofa I sat on had stains, and there was confusion regarding our food preferences and menu selection, despite us clearly indicating these during booking. Additionally, when leaving, the staff brought the wrong jackets, adding to the overall disorganization.

Lastly, upon visiting the restroom before leaving, we found it lacking hand towels and any available paper for drying our hands.

Overall, while the food at Daadler was decent, it was not exceptional enough to justify the high price and the numerous service shortcomings we experienced. Our visit fell far short of the standards one would expect from a...

With a friend to Daalder, initially for the streetfood, but since the weather was bad, we decided to upgrade. In hindsight, no regrets, even way better.

About the food: We chose the experience menu, and it was the best choice. I don't think we could have done the other menu, too much for us. We truly enjoyed every dish, and the first bite was spot on. In one word:fantastic! In Melayu I would say: luar biasa! Everything was prepared with lots of care. We did have to mention that the food shouldn't be served too quickly one after the other. The wines recommended by Saskia perfectly complemented the meal. What a lovely and amazing person she is. Saskia fits the family vibe that Chef Dennis aims to create at Daalder.

Staff: Saskia was outstanding, a sommelier who knows her job and can tell the story behind the bottle of wine which she recommanded. The service from the young blonde lady and the young men was superb! Very attentive and so customer-friendly. The young lady apologized because they forgot to explain which cutlery to use/start with. This is what I call class: stepping up and taking your responsibility. The manager, we found to be the least impressive. It felt like she didn't really belong there, seemed lost. As the Moluccans would say: muka culas. But hey, despite this minor thing, we had a blast of an evening.

The staff who prepared the food were cheerful and exuded hospitality. I'm a person who relies on my feelings, and due to my work, I can quickly analyze if someone fits into the work environment. In general, they are young people with a healthy drive and a strong work ethic. Except for one employee who didn't show her "Michelin customerservice".

Conclusion: Would definitely recommand Daalder. It's trendy, cozy with a relaxed ambience. Thank God the set up is on a small scale, so it won't be overcrowded. Daalder has no pretentious, overly fancy intentions. It's a restaurant where you can walk in wearing your everyday clothes (which my friend did). A beautiful evening with an incredibly good kitchen. For us an outstanding dinner with lots of catching up to do while enjoying the excellent cuisine.

Will be at the Four Hands Dinner - collab Dennis Huwaë & Nigel Eccles at Gossler...