The Lobby Nesplein

Our first day in Amsterdam we were pretty tired after the overnight flight. We knew we wanted to eat early-ish so we could go to sleep early-ish. At the same time, we were not very hungry. But we set off anyway, to find dinner at Bierfabriek, a place where "we brew our own beer and serve rustic dishes" and the star of our menu is "our free range, slow roasted, chicken." Sadly, they are not wheelchair accessible. The entry, if I correctly recall, had more than 1 step and SP said that after he went inside, there were even more steps. So we went to our back up plan: The Lobby Nesplein in the Hotel V Nesplein.

That turned into quite the adventure as the road/sidewalk leading to it were under constriction with these weird not quite plywood boards plopped all over the road and non-existent curb cuts and mud and ugh. Finally SP left me and went to scout ahead. When he returned, he said that he had gone in to talk to them, he thought he could get me there, we'd have to go in a side entrance and sit in the bar area because there was a pretty big step otherwise. So off we went.

We were seated near the door through which we entered, next to a globe filled with booze. It was a cozy area and everyone was very friendly. They told us up front that they needed our table by 7 pm and we assured them that wasn't a problem (it was around 5:30 pm).

Drinks:

Gin & Tonic for SP. A glass of sauvignon blanc from Touraine for me.

It was definitely not a healthy dinner. It was a dinner of Dutch bar food. First up, Kaasstengels:

Cheese fingers - fried phyllo wrapped cheese. So good.

Beef Bitterballen. Yum!

Breaded & fried meatball. It was served with a mustard sauce, so good.

Finally, Flammkuchen. I think it was arugula, hazelnuts, and bacon. Very tasty.

After making sure we still had time, we ordered hot tea and dessert: Apple Tart.

I don't remember the description, and of course in the last month the desserts on their website have changed, but it was a thin cake layer topped with sauteed apples, then a crumble, then ice cream, then finally topped with an apple chip, all sitting in a pool of caramel sauce. I think the apple chip was my favorite part. It was a really, really good dessert. And so pretty. I felt bad digging into & destroying the pretty apple tower.

We meant to go back before we left Amsterdam but we never got there. Even though we just ate bar food in the bar area, it was a really nice experience, relaxing, good food, good service. Definitely try The Lobby Nesplein if you're in Amsterdam.