Hotspot: cooking over an open fire at Restaurant Wils
Joris Bijdendijk, chef at Michelin-starred restaurant RIJKS®, is opening a new establishment in Amsterdam in October: Restaurant Wils. Here, everything revolves around fire. We went for a preview and are already fans.
We would barbecue all year round if we could, but unfortunately we don’t live in South Africa (braai every day—count us in!), which means that for half the year we can only stare at the Weber in our garden. As soon as the first rays of sunshine break through, the pyromaniac in us awakens and the skewers come out. So you can imagine how thrilled we were when we heard that everything at the new Restaurant Wils is prepared over an open fire.
By the Olympic Stadium
Restaurant Wils will be located in the Move Amsterdam complex, near the Olympic Stadium, overlooking the Olympic flame. That immediately explains the restaurant’s name, because architect Jan Wils designed the Olympic Stadium, bringing the fire of the Games back to the city.
Fire as a primal force
Michelin-starred chef Joris Bijdendijk of RIJKS® learned to cook on the coal-fired stove of the farm where he grew up. And that fire still burns within him. “Fire is the primal force of all kitchens,” says Joris. The heart of the restaurant is therefore formed by the fireplace.
Making a fire
All the dishes at Wils are prepared over the open fire, which is lit partly with Amsterdam urban wood—from vegetables to fish and from cheese to dessert. The flatbread we start with has a very subtle smoky flavour and is spread with bean cream and wild herbs. A fun detail: the herbs come from the garden of the Rijksmuseum.
The next dish is a small corn on the cob cooked over the fire. Incredibly delicious on its own, but even better combined with the marjoram dip and crunchy buckwheat.
Hidden dish
Wils doesn’t serve amuse-bouches, but an unexpected dish may suddenly appear between courses. “We like a hidden dish like that much more,” Joris tells us, as he serves a mini dish of ravioli with kohlrabi, topped with a broth made from roasted cabbages. An exciting and fresh little dish that pairs well with the natural wine, which fortunately isn’t as funky as some other natural wines. Great name, too: Little Basterd.
The next dish is spectacular too: razor clam with chicken gizzard, coconut and Texel goat’s cheese:
Kombucha
What the rest of the menu will look like remains exciting for now. The menu at Wils consists of four or six courses, two of which are chosen by the chef and you choose the rest. The wines mostly come from France. Prefer no alcohol? Then try the kombucha made specially for Wils with sea buckthorn, elderflower and oolong tea. Like the Little Basterd, it isn’t too funky, but it does have a deliciously fresh kick to put out the fire.
And if you’re thinking, I’d love to have Wils’s tableware at home too: the plates and bowls that Joris had specially made for his new restaurant in Portugal are available to buy at the restaurant.
Restaurant Wils
Stadionplein, Amsterdam
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