What’s New in Amsterdam Food? GIN Neo Bistro, Ali Ocakbasi and Shirkhan

Please note that since writing this blog post, Gin Neo Bistro has closed down

A week ago, I wrote a post about an ethical blogging dilemma: is it ever possible to accept a free lunch and still write about it honestly and objectively afterwards? I’ve not entirely solved my issue, although I did appreciate the opinions of dozens of Facebook followers who took the time to give me their views. These were as divergent as you’d expect (people are, after all, different) but what was clear from everyone is that disclosure is important. For my part, I don’t feel comfortable “reviewing” a restaurant in situations where a) I’ve not paid for my meal, and/or b) the staff know I’m there. So my plan is to cover a small number of restaurants and food events in a “news” section as opposed to the current “reviews” section – perhaps with a badge to denote which experiences were paid for by me and which were press passes.

This, however, will require a small amount of redesign on my website – not insurmountable, but not something that’s not going to happen immediately. So in the meantime, I bring you my latest food news from the press lunches and workshops that I’ve been invited to in the past couple of months. As I hope is clear from everything I’ve said so far, I didn’t pay for these meals and nor were they representative of the experience that the general public will have. I do, however, believe that the food was an accurate representation of what is served to customers in general – paying or otherwise. So make of these what you will! And stay tuned for my Amsterdam food news section in the next few weeks…

GIN Neo Bistro

This place has popped up in the spot that Fraiche used to occupy, and I always liked its laid-back ambience, so I’m glad they’ve not poshed it up for GIN Neo Bistro. They could do with adding some sound-absorbing soft fabrics or furnishings around the place, though, as when the restaurant is full you can barely hear the person next to you – let alone on the other side of the table. The GIN part of the name has nothing to do with gin (they are very definitely NOT a G&T bar, we were told) and I think is a reference to the name of the chef, Jin. And what, I hear you ask, is a neo bistro? After the little press speech, I was none the wiser. But it’s all irrelevant to be honest, because the food was splendid. Jin creates a menu of six-eight seasonal dishes per month – of which we tried four the day I was there. The first was the “Hollandse Nieuwe” – a take on the classic Dutch herring, Jin’s was served in an alcoholic marinade with its tail poking out from the bowl. It was much less fishy than you’d anticipate – delicate in flavour and beautifully presented.

Next up was my favourite course: skate wing served with clams, fennel, seaweed and a sumptuous sauce that tasted subtly of barbecue. We drank it with a wine that tasted like a barely-oaked Chardonnay, but which was in fact a Verdicchio. I couldn’t get enough of it, and that was frankly the end of my afternoon’s conference calls. The main course was duck with popcorn and various vegetables that tasted different from what you’d expect of them – in a good way. In theory, there was a kimchi vibe going on, which didn’t really come through for me. The dish was delicious nonetheless.

Ali Ocakbasi

In the spot that used to be occupied by Stacey’s Pennywell, you’ll now find Turkish restaurant Ali Ocakbasi. I used to like Stacey’s a lot (both the food and the décor) so it’s a shame that it’s gone, but I’m glad that Ali hasn’t changed the interior much. Having been to Turkey a couple of times, I’m a big fan of the country’s cuisine, and it’s nice to see Turkish restaurants appearing in Amsterdam that are a step up from the cheap kebab houses and pizza joints you find dotted around the shopping streets.

The mezze is undoubtedly a wonderful way to showcase Turkish food, and Ali’s was as generous and colourful as you’d expect. The usual hummus and baba ganoush suspects were there, as were tiny spiced meatballs that you eat with lemon and wrap in lettuce leaves. I also loved their walnut and pepper salad for its sweet flavour and crunchy texture – it went perfectly with the puffed Turkish flatbreads that were served warm alongside our mezze.

After a tour of the kitchen, we watched the chef prepare the shish kebabs and grill them quickly over a searing-hot, open barbecue that takes up half of the chefs’ space. Our skewers included marinated chicken thighs, lamb chops, minced lamb, and long snaking green peppers. They were all rich with the smoky umami char of the open hearth.

But it was the desserts that were a revelation to me. Not having much of a sweet tooth myself, I often skip dessert – especially when it involves the toothache-inducing honey-sweet baklava. Of course, Ali does serve baklava, but far more interesting are the cake-shaped concoctions of melted cheese, baked vermicelli and pistachio. I’m sure there’s some honey in there as well, but the cheese cuts through the sweetness – and as we all know, I’m a sucker for cheese. Order the künefe with a cup of grainy-strong Turkish coffee and you won’t be disappointed.

Shirkhan

Not so much a restaurant as a market stall, Shirkhan is an Indian street food stand in de Foodhallen. Wondering how they have the budget to invite bloggers to foodie workshops just for a food stall? Turns out Shirkhan is part of the same group (Entourage) that owns newly opened Mr Porter, Japanese fusion restaurant Izakaya, and trendy Momo. They also have their own tandoor oven, which they imported from India and season on a regular basis. As we took a tour of the kitchen, I got to stick my hand in there – that thing is seriously hot.

From said oven, we tried tandoori chicken with a fresh minty raita, spicy minced lamb seekh kebabs, and traditional potato-and-pea-stuffed samosas. The tandoori marinade (which had been getting to know the meat for a good 48 hours) was excellent, as was the raita. My only criticism was that everything was a little salty for me. From what I understand of the menu, Shirkhan usually serves its meat in wrap format – packaged up with coriander and tamarind chutney in either a roti or naan bread. As for samosas, I’ve had lighter pastry elsewhere, but the filling was good. Prices are about what you’d expect for de Foodhallen: a chicken tikka wrap will set you back around €8, but is filling enough for a complete lunch. Not cheap, but certainly competitively priced for high-quality food in Amsterdam.