Try googling “Café-Restaurant Amsterdam” and all you get is – well – cafes and restaurants in Amsterdam. Like you’d expect. So why on earth you’d call your restaurant Amsterdam is completely beyond me. Even they must realize it’s ridiculous as they’ve named their website (and their servers’ T-shirts) “cradam”. Needing something in the Staatsliedenbuurt area that was open on a Monday night, it was sheer chance we ended up there. But I’m glad we did.
The interior is cavernous: its proximity to a water tower coupled with the huge pumps and levers that punctuate the dining space made us think it probably used to a water pumping station. Despite its size and the bare, off-white walls, Amsterdam manages to feel warm and inviting. They had a number of decent wines by the glass, none of which were hideously expensive, if only you could find a waiter to offer you one to drink. That little ordeal being over, we got onto the serious business of the food menu.
