1 Michelin* gastrobar by Ron Blaauw

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LOCATION

You can find Ron Gastrobar in the Willemspark neighbourhood, an upmarket part of Amsterdam.

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THE SPACE

We sat towards the back of this moderately large restaurant, which is quite long and thin. The look and feel is contemporary chic and there is a sizeable space outside for open air dining.

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FOOD & SERVICE

Ron Gastrobar is headed up by Ron Blaauw, who closed his 2 Michelin starred Asian influenced restaurant in 2013, to open up a more casual gastrobar serving Modern European fare. Within a year of opening, Ron Gastrobar had earned itself a Michelin star.

We had dinner here on our first night in Amsterdam. Starting off with cocktails ( I had the refreshing Rhubarb Amsterdam – Rabarcello shaken with honey, lemon and champagne – 10.50 euro), we flicked through the menu which splits into 5 main sections: 1) starters 2)medium sized plates all at 15euro 3) bbq meats 4) veggie dishes (also all at 15 euro) 5)Desserts.

We went for 4 medium sized plates to share between the two of us: a mackerel sashimi with sesame, ginger and yuzu; lobster with a cassoulet of Dutch beans and morels; pan fried corvina with fregola, chipirones and foam of rouille; cauliflower braised in butter with a cream of truffles, Pierre Robert cheese and chicken skin; and a side of fries.

The overall standard of the food was good, I particularly enjoyed the cauliflower dish which had a really nice balance of flavours and textures; the pan fried corvina was  also a highlight -this firm, mild flavoured fish was cooked perfectly, with a nice crisp skin and paired beautifully with the fregola and chipirones, with the rouille bringing in much of the flavour to the dish.

All the desserts were priced at 9 euro. We went for the ‘Surprise el Ron Gastrobar’ which is clearly modelled on the Kinda Surprise chocolate egg (and comes with a side of ice cream). Though it was a well crafted little thing (everything from the edible egg basket to the filling on the inside made to look just like egg whites and yolk) I can’t say I was hugely impressed by the flavours which I found to be rather lacklustre. It felt a little style over substance. However, on the whole, I enjoyed the meal and I would revisit.

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VIBE

Actually feels quite formal (though not uptight) so smart casual attire is advised. All the peeps around me sounded like they were speaking Dutch, so guess it’s pretty popular with locals.

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MOOLAH

The bill came to €137 euro for x2 people so a about £50 a head including a cocktail and 2 glasses of wine which I thought was pretty reasonable

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THE TAKE OUT

I had a pleasant experience at thi 1 Michelin star gastro bar serving up  Modern European ‘tapas’ – it’s not outstanding but it’s pretty good and I would revisit.

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Cuisine: Modern European 

Cost: c.€70-80 / £50-60 for dinner incl. a few alcoholic drinks 

Address: Sophialaan 55, 1075 BP Amsterdam, Netherlands

Reservations: Yes

Hours: Lunch: Mon-Sun 12am-2:30pm Dinner: Mon-Sun 5:30-10:30pm (opens at 5pm on Sat)

rongastrobar.nl/en

LAST VISITED SEPTEMBER 2015

Image from lekker500.nl