What’s New on the Menu

CAFE REMOUILLAGE
One of the best bite-for-bite restaurants in this city, Cafe Remouillage is an exquisite lesson in restraint. And balance. It is brilliant and it is clever and it is unique. 

Jonathan has recently added an a la carte option for his guests, giving even more opportunity to enjoy his signature style of combining the bare minimum of ingredients, in ways that tease out impossible flavour. 

Examples of some new items are the much-celebrated (and divisive?) goose-neck barnacles. Difficult to find, difficult to forage and difficult to cook, I am excited to see what Jonathan does with them, as I believe his food philosophy is the perfect method to do a complex ingredient justice. Another interesting item that Jonathan hopes to showcase is the often misunderstood abalone. Abalone has been horrifically overfarmed in previous generations and, as a result, is placed on several endangered species lists. That said, with careful management practices and strict harvesting regulations, wild abalone populations are making a comeback. Farmed abalone is also increasingly available. You can bet with Jonathan’s responsible sourcing ethics, he has worked incredibly hard to find this abalone. It’s good news for you and me, because abalone offers a rich, deep and complex flavour when handled correctly; the meat is a bit sweet, but briny and salty at the same time. It gives a buttery texture and is a delicacy to be savoured. Sign me up.

Jonathan is a busy chef and is currently conceptualising an exciting collab with Bar Gui. A menu is still coming together but the event will take place at Bar Gui on the 20th of November and will be “about four courses of seasonal and delicious food.” 

Put that one in the diary immediately. 

Read the full Cafe Remouillage review here.

STACKS DINER
I’m going to tell you why Stacks Diner is the leading American-Diner-styled restaurant in Amsterdam in a minute. But first, let’s talk about an American diner. 

What is it? 

Well, for me, the word has evolved to describe a massively sprawling sub-category of restaurants. The common thread running through all of them is as much about hospitality, as much as it is about food. 

Diners are comfortable. 

Diners are approachable. 

Diners are relatable. 

Diners also make delicious food, and they care about the way they serve it. 

In other words, a good diner can be a lot of things. But it must be something. 

Stacks embodies all of this, with an approach that sees a tireless commitment to doing things what I can only call the “proper” way. There are no shortcuts here, as the team flexes a range of skills and techniques to develop a menu that is deceivingly simple. With ethically sourced and seasonal ingredients – and a kitchen that handles said ingredients with care – the offering is one that is unique to this city, and much needed. With a Southern influence, Dutch produce gets an opportunity to shine in dishes that showcase items in unusual ways, for Amsterdam. 

Brunch just might be the best way to discover for yourself what Stacks stands for. And Autumn brunch? Well, even more so. 

On paper, brunch is a straightforward affair. Dare I say it, at most brunch offerings the experience is diluted to an offering that does its best to pump out dishes as quickly as possible, punting mimosas and getting as much in front of the crowd as possible. 

Not here. 

Instead, a carefully considered menu offers signature biscuits (deserving of an entire post themselves) stuffed with things like egg and cheese. Or fried chicken. Or spicy sausage. 

Fuuuuuuuuuuuck. 

Caesar salad (the yardstick of quality for any restaurant, really) is there too, and passes with flying colours. So do the peach pancakes. And the glazed doughnut. And the lemony potatoes. And the walnut pie. And everything else. 

Stacks is a triumph in having fun while taking things seriously. They love what they do, and it shows. 

CAFE DE PAREL
New chefs come and new chefs go. This is pretty standard for our industry. The challenge, then, is when a menu is built around a chef’s individual philosophies and preferences. If, as was the case with the beautiful Cafe De Parel, an established chef leaves, how does the person stepping into that role stamp their own signature styles onto a menu, while honouring the core of the kitchen they find themselves in? 

In Aidan Orich’s case, the answer may surprise you. 

With a strong pedigree, including stints in food powerhouse cities like Melbourne and London, Aidan has built experience cooking on open flames. But it’s his choice of ingredients – and one in particular – that is intriguing. 

“I’m really enjoying working with chillies,” he tells me. “We are incorporating them into all kinds of dishes with all kinds of techniques.’ You can see it in an ever-evolving menu. Chillies are brined, they are worked into XO pastes, they are infused into oils. They’re being used as flavour enhancers and being celebrated as a deeply complex ingredient, not simply for heat. That’s the misconception. They’re brilliant for balancing dishes too, when in the right hands. 

“Chillies are fragrant and packed with flavour if you know how to use them correctly,” Aidan tells me. “And we are subtle with them. They are added to dishes, often without people even knowing there is chilli in the end plate of food.” 

It’s exciting stuff and a sign of things to come for a talented, exciting and ambitious chef. The Cafe De Parel menu is looking quite European nowadays but little hints like this show a creativity that is often downplayed. As a standout dish – one that embodies the direction Aidan is heading – look no further than their mussel escabeche toast. Acidity and sweetness 0 and, yes some spice – are paired with fennel in a masterclass of menu composition. 

“Everyone coming here should get that dish,” Aidan jokes. 

I’m not joking. We don’t joke about mussel escabeche. 

Get it. Get a lot more, too. And get a bottle of wine. Enjoy watching this restaurant go from strength to strength.