VanOost

Fine dining restaurant VanOost has been based for three years now in the Pillows, Maurits at the Park Hotel, housed in the former dissection laboratory of the university's medical building. Chef Floris van Straalen, who honed his skills under renowned chefs such as Sergio Herman and Dennis Kuiper, crafts exceptional dishes here with French-Japanese fusion cuisine. The evening begins in the lounge bar, where we are served several amuse-bouches, including a tartelette stuffed with lobster, XO sauce, sea buckthorn berries, mango, and Kampot pepper. A visually stunning, fresh, tangy, and lightly spicy appetizer that is sublime in flavor. We are then escorted to the chic, designer-furnished dining room featuring a large open kitchen with black marble countertops, where the entire kitchen team greets us. The ambiance is relaxed, the acoustics are excellent, and soft lounge music plays in the background. Several menu options are available, ranging from a chef’s tasting menu to a fully vegetarian one, offered for both lunch and dinner. The wine list is highly extensive, though non-alcoholic wine pairings are also available. The sommelier recommends a white Chardonnay from Bogle Vineyard in California to accompany our meal. It proves to be an excellent match for every course. Take the 'Butter Lobster', for instance: a perfectly cooked piece of lobster served atop a glossy pool of creamy Breton curry sauce. The chef’s carefully curated cheese board features a range from soft to hard cheeses, and from red-veined to blue varieties. It is paired with a Sauternes from Château Simon in Barsac, France. What a perfect pairing! Everything is spot on tonight: the exquisite dishes, the attentive service, and the relaxed atmosphere. Highly recommended!

New in this guide last year. This year, it has been definitely retained. Fine dining restaurant VanOost impresses with its beautifully designed dining room in the former dissection laboratory of the university’s medical faculty building. It forms part of Het Pillows Hotel Maurits at the Park. We enter through the hotel’s main entrance and enjoy an aperitif in the cocktail bar. Afterwards, we are escorted by maître d’ Fenna Kentie up the staircase adorned with stunning stained glass to our table on the first floor, offering a view of the large central open kitchen. Here, chef Floris van Straalen prepares dishes and flavors from around the world using pure, local ingredients. He has trained under some of the industry’s most distinguished mentors, including Sergio Herman, Syrco Bakker, and Dennis Kuipers. Several menu options are available, including a nine-course ‘Chef’s Table’ menu, and all menus can also be ordered vegetarian. Alternatively, guests may choose from three à la carte starters, mains, and desserts. Truly mouthwatering is the dish of glazed sweetbread bites with raw Dutch prawns, which the supplier delivers raw specifically for VanOost to provide a delicate flavor accent. Classic yet masterfully executed is the perfectly cooked Anjou pigeon Rossini, drizzled with truffle jus and topped with pan-fried foie gras, served alongside crispy spring vegetables. Kudos to the black brigade, which combines exceptional hospitality with utmost expertise, and they are perfectly in sync. They are right on the threshold of the Top 100.

Since late 2022, restaurant VanOost has been housed in the dissection laboratory of the former 19th-century university medical building, as part of the Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel. It features an impressive, chic, and industrially styled space with high wooden ceilings fitted with black sound-absorbing panels. In the distinctly designed bar area, we enjoy our aperitif and a selection of surprising amuse-bouches, including a small pitaku filled with herring tartare and topped with ponzu emulsion. The creative and idiosyncratic chef Floris van Straalen (formerly of Pure C, Vinkeles, and Envy) has left his clear signature here. The menu offers a choice of several tasting menus, including one entirely vegetarian, and conveniently, you can also order half portions. The wine list is organized by country and region, with dedicated attention to non-alcoholic wines and beverages. Soon arrives the first course: sashimi of Dutch-grown hamachi dressed with sambal and ginger vinaigrette on watermelon, garnished with thin ribbons of kohlrabi. A wonderfully fresh combination of flavors, perfectly matched by sommelier Saskia Smeenk, who pours a 2021 Albariño from Castro Brey, Rías Baixas, Spain. Another starter is 'butter lobster', featuring Oosterschelde shrimp simmered in broth, a tangy calamansi cream, a sweet-spicy tikka masala sauce with Indian spices, and a tempura-fried shiso leaf. Delicate and impeccably executed. This is followed by dry-aged pan-seared duck breast with tempura-fried duck tongue, anise, and yellow carrot accompanied by kimchi cream and a duck sauce infused with Jamaican black pepper. What refined flavors. Simply sublime. A vibrant dessert brings our dinner to a close. Passion fruit and French curry ice cream sits alongside dark chocolate ice cream on honeycomb dusted with pepper, all served tableside with a liquid nitrogen-chilled chocolate branch. Amsterdam has gained another top-tier restaurant.