The Traveller Zuidoost — Restaurant in Amsterdam

On a chilly November night after a business meeting in the Amsterdam’s High-tech district near the Amsterdam ‘Arena’ Stadium, we (three of us) ended up for dinner in restaurant The Traveller, situated in a brand-new round glass building with a beautiful arched wooden roof in the midst of the new ING Bank campus. The decor with deep colours, different woods and beautiful ceramics is warm and welcoming. The staff was attentive and friendly. As the name suggests, The Traveller wants to take you on a culinary trip around the world. There is no official distinction between appetizers and main courses; the idea is to choose small dishes from the menu, ‘tapas style’, until you are satisfied (or ready for desert). These dishes beg to be shared, so you can sample all the flavours and colours. We started with ‘Do it Yourself’ Guacamole, where the fresh avocado and all ingredients are brought to the table in a small pestle and mortar for you to grind to your liking, Pani Puri, a delicious chick pea salad with mint and coriander, and ‘crispy duck gyoza’, little Japanese dumplings with hoisin sauce and spring onions. These dishes each looked so tasty that we all wanted to try them. For the next round I chose Ceviche, the Peruvian dish with white fish cured in lime juice, coconut and herbs, and my colleagues went for the Bastilla, chicken with plums, cinnamon and cumin and filo pastry, and Ramen noodles with shiitake mushrooms, bonito, egg and bean sprouts. Each of these dishes was perfect. Because we were curious, we finished by sharing the Green Curry with a tender Bavette steak, coconut and lime. By then we were a bit full, so we shared 2 deserts between the three of us: Red velvet cake (red fruit and chocolate) and warm pineapple with coconut and rum. All in all, a wonderful meal for a reasonable price. We...

Well, brace yourselves for a culinary rollercoaster that'll have your taste buds begging for mercy. This cafe is a true masterclass in overpricing the mundane. Ever thought you'd pay 12 euros for a can of sardines? Well, dream no more! The chef's audacious presentation technique involves placing a can on a plate as if it were a work of art. I must admit, I've never seen anyone take canned food to such heights of pretentiousness.

But oh, they didn't stop there. Prepare to be amazed by their "Do it your self guacamole." Why bother hiring chefs when you can become one yourself? For the bargain price of your dignity, they provide you with a mortar and raw ingredients, encouraging you to grind and mash your way to guacamole glory. It's like they're saying, "Why pay for a meal when you can pay to work for it?"

Now, onto the reviews that have left me bewildered and convinced that parallel universes do exist. Those who shower praise on this place must be living in a dimension where taste buds have taken a sabbatical or where culinary standards are the equivalent of a parallel universe junkyard.

In the grand finale of this spectacle, if you're desperately seeking a reason to regret your life choices and ponder the meaning of existence while choking down unremarkable, overpriced food, this cafe will not disappoint. It's not just a dining experience; it's a twisted rite of passage for those who dare venture into the abyss of...

We came here with a group of 10 men. What I like about the restaurant is the shared dining concept, so you will able to taste different kind of dishes. I like how much variety of foods were on the menu, from different angle of the world, including Asian influences.

I was amazed with the appetizer. The presentation is the most fun of the entire meal (see pictures). The main dish was too basic to me in terms of taste, nevertheless the fish was prepared just right.

And again the dessert was excellent. I saw from the others how beautiful their dessert looked like.

Overall, we had a great experience while paying reasonable price. The atmosphere was just ok, perhaps too crowded but that would also mean something ;)

The waitress who helped us was also patient and helpful, so service was great.

Points of improvement would be to check more often if everyone got their meal on the same time, since one person from our table only started to eat while we were all finished.

And one other important thing is to have a better description of the parking spot, perhaps a map would help since we were able to park in an ING bank parking spot while there were various ING banks nearby...