The Netherlands is since 2018 home to three restaurants/chefs with 3 Michelin stars. One of these chefs is Jacob Jan Boerma (restaurant De Leest), who also operates a second restaurant in Amsterdam; The White Room. The day-to-day operations are lead by Arturo Dalhuizen, a very young talented chef. Located within the NH hotel on the Dam in Amsterdam, you cannot get closer to the city center.  Where (from what we could see) the hotel is pretty modern-looking, the restaurant is located in a stately white room, with frescoes on the walls. Where we prefer a more modern look-and-feel, it is a really nice room that is well-maintained. If anything, we would change the brown uniforms of the waiters to something a little more contemporary. Staff is friendly and waiting for you at the entrance. In an upscale restaurant like this, it is what you would expect. This is also the case for the language the staff speak; We were expecting all the staff to at least speak basic Dutch, but that is not the case. Not necessarily an issue, as they mention this at the start of the evening, but in our own country, it would be nice to speak your native language.

We have quite an evening ahead of us, with a 8 (yes, eight) course menu, which is being kicked-off by some amuses bouche. Each and every amuse looked amazing and based on the presentation did meet expectations where it comes to flavor. One of the amuses was presented on a bowl in between some twigs. Under the twigs was some dry ice for some theatrical “smoke”, which is not necessary but visually nice.

Different preparations of corvina was the first on the list. It was combined with cucumber, dill and some acidity from yuzu. Five little bites presented on a row. One more skillfully put together than the other and one even better than the other. The one in the middle for example was extremely thinly sliced cucumber, that was to fragile it would break up in most people’s hands. Here however, it was meticulously rolled around some corvina and dressed with a vinaigrette including the yuzu. What we remember most about this is that every bite we took showed skill of the chef and the slightly different flavors from the  different preparation. The excellent presentation was indicative of the matching flavor.

Second course was North Sea crab with buttermilk, beetroot and watermelon. Not something that we would put together, but taking a bite it immediately made sense to us. Slight sweetness of the crab and somewhat acidic buttermilk is a good combination. The beetroot was not just there for the nice presentation, but it also added some nice earthy tones to the dish. Last but not least, the melon did add some freshness to offset the fattiness of the buttermilk. Normally, we’re not a big fan of melon, but combined with the other  ingredients and it seems to transforms the flavor. This goes to show that you shouldn’t dismiss a dish because of one less favorite ingredient.

In the third course, there was a product that was new to us. By now, we know that Calamansi is a hybrid between a citrus fruit and kumquat. Citrus flavors go well with (shell)fish, why else would every restaurant serve lemon with a piece of fish? At the White Room, they merely opted for a more exotic and less common variation to the lemon. It was served with langoustine with carrot and coconut. Like with the previous course, something we would not have come up with, but it does show the creativity and skill of the chef. A really nice dish, whereby the sweetness of the carrot somehow complemented the sweetness of the shellfish. The coconut was definitely there, but in the background and not to the point where you think you’re on a tropical island.

The next course was cod. The presentation was modern and spotless. Combined with (mostly) miso and tomato, it was simply a good dish. The slightly chemical-looking sauce was colored with for example squid ink (the black) and this did not negatively affect the flavor.  The dish was good and well-prepared, but not the most memorable one of the evening.

On the regular menu, the next dish would be sweetbread, but since we don’t eat organ meat, this one was replaced by pigeon. There is a first time for everything, as the pigeon was it during this meal. We always have been reluctant to eat pigeon as we for some reason considered them to be flying rats. Now we know that this was incorrect and the dish was excellent. Really tasty meat that was juicy and had an unfamiliar flavor. It may sound silly, but it was almost a wood-like flavor, like you you would normally expect to write when talking about wine or whiskey. It was served with some nice rich gravy and parsnip, but who cares with meat so tasty.

From here, we continued the regular menu again, with a venison dish. As was the case with the pigeon, the meat was juicy, tender and perfectly cooked. In this case complemented with some pickled onion and some really nice truffle. Visually we really liked the dish with the pink of the meat and onion, white onion plus celeriac and black truffle. As you would expect, everything was really well balanced. No overly rich gravy or too much acidity of the onion, but everything in exactly the right proportion. It was a great closure of the savory part of the meal, as we now move towards the sweets, i.e. desserts.

First of the desserts is a deliciously unusual combination of ingredients; Pineapple with ginger, creme fraiche and pink pepper. Really well-balanced dish; not too sweet, not too peppery and with just enough ‘warmth’ coming from the ginger. Right after that, we received the second dessert and last dish of the evening; Apple with yuzu, lemon and almond. Lovely ice cream and mousse, topped with an almond ‘cracker’ dusted with the restaurant’s logo. Two really memorable dishes to close of the evening.

The restaurant is conveniently located in the center of Amsterdam. No matter where your hotel is located, it is within reach. True, the restaurant is not cheap, but trust is, it is worth every penny. We spent approx. EUR 150 for an eight course meal including drinks (a little more if you have wine). The atmosphere is a little formal and we wouldn’t go here with a family of that includes (young) childeren. However, for a couple with something to celebrate or a business meal this is really one of the top spots in Amsterdam.

Restaurant location: View on Google Maps
Restaurant website: https://www.restaurantthewhiteroom.com