Restaurant Hulscher's — Restaurant in Amsterdam

We had the opportunity to be in Amsterdam for the Christmas season, and we were delighted to try the Christmas menu at the Hulscher's, crafted by their head chef Derrick, and it was an amazing culinary experience. Every dish had the perfect balance of flavors with each piece on the plate having a purpose. Not only the flavors were mind-blowing, but the care and creativity of the plating was impressive.

We have been to many Michelin restaurants around the world, and in my opinion, the dishes at the Hulscher's are equally well executed as some of the Michelin restaurants we have been.

The set menu started with a tapioca dice with spiced guava sauce, followed by oxtail "vol"-au-vent with watercress Hollandaise, a delicious cooked-to-perfection braised lamb shank with jus, an Advocaat tiramisu, and we were treated with an off-the-menu lava chocolate cake.

The price for the set Christmas menu was very reasonable for being in Amsterdam and for the quality and portions, definitely a great value option for those seeking for a fine dining quality experience within a more relaxed environment.

We were happy to have the head chef Derrick stop by our table, which added premiumness to the experience, and learn more about him and...

Confused… we are hotel guests and went to sit down at the bar in the restaurant, where only one other person was sitting. Immediately, the waitress came over and wanted to know if we would be eating - we said no (but would have had a few cocktails & some dessert). She escorted us over to the bar on the other side of the hotel. Once there, we placed our cocktail orders. My husband ordered a cocktail off-menu & I ordered a Moscow Mule - asking for vodka instead of gin. The bartender then proceeded to go back over to the restaurant bar to place our drink orders. He came back & told us no substitutions. I can understand for the drink that my husband ordered since it wasn’t on the menu, but they couldn’t sub gin for vodka? Also, what is the point of bartending at the bar, if you have to go over to the restaurant bartender to make the drink. Perhaps it was my cargo pants & Amsterdam sweatshirt? The restaurant had no problem making my husband a drink off-menu when we ate there the other night. Not a great way to treat hotel guests 👎. We will not be frequenting Hulscher’s again and would not recommend this hotel to friends headed here in December either. Crummy way to be treated on our...

Shockingly absent of any service, really. 5 of us arrived to an empty restaurant some 30 min before our booked time. The host told us to wait at the door while he went to check the booking details. Some 10 min later - we felt rather awkward just standing at the door in a totally empty restaurant with plenty of tables to accommodate a party of five walk in guests - I checked with the host, and explained our frustration.

To my surprise, the host and the manager didn't see anything strange in it, and suggested we waited a bit longer, and then demanded us to show them a booking confirmation. While my wife was scooping through her emails, we just stood there being stared at as if we tried to fraudulently impersonate legitimate guests of that respected place.

It's needless to say that although she certainly found it, staying after this welcome demonstration of hospitality was out of question. We wished them well and left, being clearly judged by the stuff. It's up to you to decide if you'd enjoy this service,...