Starting my series on lunch in Amsterdam, this week, we will look at a lovely restaurant in the Museumplein area of Amsterdam.  Convenient to most of the major museums, as well as hotels in Oud Zuid (Old South) and Leidseplein.  It is also moments away, and across the street from The Concertgebouw.

L’entrecôte et les dames at Van Baerlestraat 47 – 49 is a lovely lunch venue; sort of a funky bistro atmosphere.  I’m always a bit obsessive about small details, and these were most definitely present, down to the delicate almonds on the table when we arrived.

While I know the most popular buzzword for restaurants these days is “concept,” I really do like the well conceived simple pre-fixe lunch.  The “Formule” consisted of two choices, a lovely steak (entrecôte) or fish. The two smaller lunch options were a steak sandwich or steak tartare, which are also served with salad.  I very much enjoyed my perfectly cooked, medium rare entrecôte with green herb sauce (groene kruidensaus) served with salad and frites.

The salad was perfectly dressed, with a light mustard vinaigrette.  It was a simple, well prepared and satisfying lunch.  I must say, the steak tartare also looked lovely; but I am less of a fan of tartare.  As an aside, it does sometimes seem that Dutch cuisine is a bit obsessed with tartare, not that this is a bad thing. The fish, in a ravigote sauce also looked very appetizing.  Since it was lunch, I always prefer a lighter wine; and of course a red wine since I was enjoying beef.  I chose the pinot noir.  While I often find pinot noir to be a little light, with beef; it was still a very nice complement.  The Pfannebecker pinot noir did not disappoint, very smooth and delicate.  Most definitely a nice lunch wine.  It is also interesting to note that you have the option of a small wine taste (75ml) or a regular glass of wine.  A very nice idea.  The option to pair different wines with your salad and entree, or just have a small taste.  It also always impresses me when a carafe of (tap) water is placed on the table without asking.  While I am quite the fan of sparkling water, it is nice to just have an inexpensive (free) water option; especially at lunch.  Quite frankly the lunch “deal” of steak sandwich or steak tartare at €12,50 is an absolute steal for a restaurant of this caliber.

I did not have dessert, but there were quite a few options that all sounded great.

My overall assessment is that this is a charming spot to enjoy a fast or leisurely lunch.  A few in our group arrived, and left at different times.  This did not seem to be an issue for the restaurant, and had little impact on the service.  It was also nice that even though we were a group of 6, they kept track and presented separate checks to all of the guests.  A very nice touch, especially at lunch when you have staggered departures and differing spend for each individual.  This venue also accepted all credit cards, PIN, and cash. I paid with my AMEX-Platinum NL (chip+PIN).  With two glasses of wine (yes, the “real” glasses) formule and and a double espresso my total for lunch was €40,65.  Definitely not bad, for a steak lunch with wine.  As I mentioned, you could easily have a light lunch for around €16,00 with a non-alcoholic beverage.  The restaurant was not particularly crowded, but this tends to often be the case earlier in the week; and this was a Wednesday lunch.

The details :

Name : L’entrecôte et les dames

Address : Van Baerlestraat 47 – 49
1071 AP Amsterdam
Telephone :  +31 (0)20 679 8888
website
email : info@entrecote-et-les-dames.nl

Payment : All credit cards (including AMEX), PIN, Cash