Restaurant JA

In the intimate, living-room-style restaurant of chef Julius Busscher and hostess and sommelier Amy Delorme, guests receive the utmost personal attention from the owners from start to finish; the couple operates entirely without staff. The setting is small-scale and personal, yet there is no trace of cramped frugality or amateurishness: everything about Restaurant JA is perfectly in order. Starting with the beautifully modern Scandinavian interior, featuring warm, natural tones and oak furniture. From their tables, guests enjoy a clear view of Busscher’s open kitchen. Drawing inspiration from French and Japanese cuisine, the chef loves cooking with fresh North Sea catches, which he stores in his impressive dry-aging cabinet. The kingfish—served as nigiri and glazed with salted mandarin—has spent several weeks in the cabinet: a perfect execution. This holds true just as much for the red mullet with crispy seaweed and a seaweed-and-sudachi vinaigrette, and the turbot and bottarga dish, both also sourced from Busscher’s dry-aging cabinet. The beurre blanc and sambaizu sauce pairs exquisitely with it: we can barely restrain ourselves from licking our plates clean. The oak-aged Cuvée Prestige from Château Ollieux Romanis—a blend of roussanne, marsanne, and grenache blanc—makes an equally outstanding pairing. The evening’s grand finale arrives when Busscher spins fresh yuzu cotton candy using his retro cotton candy machine for the dessert featuring popcorn, a lightly salted caramel-like sauce, and a scoop of seaweed ice cream. True to the rest of the evening, the dish is creative, idiosyncratic, and refined, but above all: incredibly delicious. Hats off to Busscher’s culinary artistry and the talent of the friendly, knowledgeable Delorme as hostess and sommelier: performing at this level together as a duo is truly admirable.

Chef Julius Busscher works with an almost maniacal eye for detail. Every movement radiates calm and craftsmanship. At the table, the same effortless attention and care that his partner Amy is responsible for prevails. They run the res...

For chef Julius Busscher and his partner, hostess and sommelier Amy Delorme, their dream has come true. A restaurant of their own on the second Jan Steenstraat, a stone's throw from the Albert Cuyp Market in the vibrant heart of the Pijp. The interior of the intimate dining room is sleek and modern with a Scandinavian touch. There are nine round tables that seat up to twenty guests. Julius cooks French cuisine with Japanese influences, and in the long, open kitchen, a five-course tasting menu is prepared. A delicious aperitif bite of crispy tartelette with sake panna cotta and a Japanese herb mix is quickly served, just like an incredibly good saffron brioche feuilletée served with crème crue. To start, white asparagus with nori, yuzu vinaigrette, and parmesan cream. A feast for the taste buds. The nigiri with grilled red mullet, glazed with salty mandarin, also earns high praise. Paired with a Zaku Miyabi no Tomo sake from the Kinki region. Round and silky smooth with elegant aromas. Next, dry-aged turbot, aged for seven days in a dry-aging cabinet, resulting in a deep flavor and creamy texture. Briefly roasted on the barbecue and accompanied by a soft beurre blanc with bottarga and sambaizu. Amy, knowledgeable and charming, pours a La Vignée Bourgogne here, a 2020 Chardonnay from Bouchard Père et Fils in France. What a superb wine. The dishes are beautifully presented, and the crockery and glassware are stunning. Amsterdam is one pearl richer. Welcome to Lekker!