Travel to France with Restaurant Arles
By Seger Abels
Govert Flinckstraat 251 1073 BX Amsterdam
BOOK NOWVisiting some restaurants truly feels like travelling. You step in, sit down and take a good look around. Poef… suddenly your brain is so convinced that you’re not in your hometown anymore and you are honestly surprised that the waiter isn’t speaking Indian, Italian or, in the case of restaurant Arles, French.
We’ve visited France many times and the feeling that a French bistro gives us is unsurpassed. Of course, that feeling is in the little, tangible things. The right bistro chair, the light dimmed perfectly with candles on the table. For us, a laguiole on the table always helps. But the true essence of those places is, of course, also felt in the intangible things. It honestly is (almost) impossible to lay your finger on what that is exactly. But not so impossible for the owners of restaurant Arles, who’ve only gone and done it! Putting that special something at the forefront of their operations, and that is a big compliment. Many have tried in Amsterdam, but gosh, how we instantly loved Arles.
Tucked away in a side street of the buzzing ‘De Pijp’ area, you could easily walk past Arles, but once you’ve spotted it, it will draw you in. A storefront that screams bistro, dimmed lights in the window. From the outside, it looks like a small, narrow restaurant but after entering you will spot the back part, which might be our favourite part of Arles. We sat über cosy behind a pillar with a peek into the rest of the bistro.
So, what’s on the menu? Simply put? French cuisine with a modern twist with a wine selection that’s equally as important as the food. Ordering a la carte is perfectly possible but the four or five-course (tasting) menu is what 90% of the guests do (or so we assume). With the four-courser, you can pick and choose for yourself, with the five-courser, it changes into a tasting menu and you get to taste (almost) the full menu. Everyone is talking about the veal tartare with fish roe and chilli mayo, and rightly so. But please don’t skip the starter with pointed cabbage, goat cheese and sabayon. The menu is ever-changing so run, don’t walk, to unbookables.com to book your table at Arles, as they currently have an amazing dish of wild duck with jus, salsa verde and chard. Amazing!
That said, one thing is yet to leave the menu and that’s their Riz au Lait dessert, a firm feature since their opening in 2016 (!) that’s worth the hype! After dessert, we sat back with a glass of Lalande de Pomerol and took a final good look at all the diners filling the tables around us, all of whom were truly enjoying their evening, and we had to remind ourselves (again) that we weren’t in Arles (pronounce in your best French accent) but still in Arles (pronounce in your best Amsterdam accent). And yes, a bistro in France is still the best, but a French bistro like Arles might be the best next thing.
Arles
The Place: French cuisine.
The Space: Everything you wish for when craving a French bistro.
The Base: €80 pp
The Face: Friends, families, couples.
The Ace: The Riz au Lait dessert has been on the menu for 8 years!
The Veg: They love their veggies.
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat 18:00-00:00, Sun 17:30-00:00
Images from arles-amsterdam.nl, Arles
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