Dining at Kaagman & Kortekaas

Kaagman & Kortekaas
Sint Nicolaasstraat 43
Amsterdam
T: 020 233 6544
Kaagman & Kortekaas website

Catchy name, Kaagman & Kortekaas, don’t you think?</h3
Quite. Names straight out of an Elsschot novel. But they really exist. They are the surnames of owners Giel and Bram. Giel cooks, having previously worked at Bordewijk and Toscanini. Bram is a host through and through; he also worked at Bordewijk and later at crowd favourite Rijsel.

Where is it?

Between De Dam and Central Station. You turn right at a steakhouse and find yourself in a rather shady alley. A daring location, but the restaurant is completely full.

What’s it like inside?

Let’s throw in the quintessentially Dutch word gezellig. Immediately on the left is the small open kitchen, where you can see Giel and his team busy at work. The bar is made of beautiful wood and invites you to enjoy an aperitif and an oyster or two. You can dine on either the left or right side of the restaurant. We prefer the right, where you sit on a raised platform with a good view of the comings and goings. The acoustics are perfectly fine and the chairs don’t become uncomfortable after a few hours at the table—which is exactly what you do here.

What are we eating?

We put ourselves in Giel’s hands. With the excellent spumante, we get fried shrimp that you bite into head and tail first. Deliciously savoury. Once seated, a piece of coarse terrine with a powerful game flavour. And then the menu gets underway. The raw hamachi with rye and sweet-and-sour kohlrabi is a light start and leaves you longing for more. The rabbit and fennel sausage comes with a piece of octopus that melts on your tongue and is reminiscent of pork belly. Then a slice of cured ham, from a pig that the men received as a gift when they opened. It is served with an incredible artichoke fritter filled with North Sea crab, cime di rapa and shallot butter. Is that not too rich, I hear you thinking? No, not at all. There is also pheasant, combined with pork belly, trompette de la mort and foie gras. Bam, we are blown away. Would we like some cheese? Yes, please. We get a beautiful selection from the cheese trolley. And then comes the most decadent finale in ages: brûléed foie with sugar bread, pear, saffron ice cream and poppy seeds. Giel knows the classics, but manages to incorporate his own signature into everything.

Is the service just as good?

Absolutely. Bram welcomes you with a handshake, there is plenty of bread with salted butter and the water is simply placed on the table. We give Bram free rein when it comes to a good glass of wine. We start with a bottle of Le Berceau des Fées and eventually move on to a bottle of red Domaine de la Chevalerie, Bourgueil. Everything is reasonably priced, and Bram has a good story to go with it. The staff know their stuff, know the menu inside out and have a good sense of whether you feel like a conversation.

What does the bill say?

The bill comes to just over € 250 euros for three people, which is fairly priced for this dining experience. If you go for the Menu du Chef, you can start with three courses and pay € 34.50. The most extensive six-course option costs € 55,-. The à la carte menu is nothing shocking either. Starters begin at € 15.50 and main courses at € 24.50.

Worth recommending?

Kaagman & Kortekaas shoots straight onto our list of favourites. The food is creative without sacrificing flavour to aesthetics, the restaurant feels like a warm bath and the wines are spot-on. Real food, fantastic service; this is a proper night out. A kitchen after our own hearts. A well-deserved solid 9 +. Dutch hospitality industry, are you reading?

Text: Marieke Migchelbrink
Image: Bob Bronshoff