Hotspot: SAGARDI is even better than your Spanish holiday romance (and completely corona-proof)

We can go out again, we can go out again, we’re going out again! On 1 June 2020, promptly at noon, in other words the moment it was officially allowed again, I flew onto the terrace of the brand-new Spanish, or more specifically: Basque restaurant SAGARDI in Amsterdam. My first time dining out during corona—what would it be like? And what is SAGARDI like? I was burning with curiosity to find out.

SAGARDI?

Since opening their very first restaurant in Barcelona, more than 25 years ago, brothers and chefs Iñaki and Mikel López de Viñaspre have paid a passionate tribute to the unforgettable dishes of their Basque grandmothers. SAGARDI now has eleven locations worldwide, with multiple locations in Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona. After London, SAGARDI has now also settled in Amsterdam.

Opened just before corona

My choice of SAGARDI was not a coincidence, by the way; I was supposed to eat here on 17 March, but by now we all know why that didn’t happen… The planned opening of SAGARDI in Amsterdam was postponed, and the other establishments in Europe also closed. All activities were suspended so they could support their hard-hit home country: SAGARDI provided 50,000 free three-course meals a day for nearly 3,000 vulnerable elderly people in Barcelona. Now that life there is slowly getting back on track too, the time had come to (re)open SAGARDI Amsterdam.

Upon arrival

SAGARDI is located on Spuistraat in Amsterdam, next to the famous Restaurant d’Vijff Vlieghen. There is a small terrace outside and, you guessed it, plenty of space between the tables. Once inside, you walk straight into the pintxos bar. To the left of the bar is a maturation cabinet for premium meat, from traditionally raised Vaca (former dairy cows at least six years old) and Buey (Galician oxen), which undergoes a maturation process of three to ten weeks. There is a lot of chopping and slicing going on—with gloves and face masks. Next to it: an impressive Basque grill.

The restaurant itself is very spacious, with plenty of room for the maximum of 30 guests, and extends all the way to the Singel, where there is another terrace, with a beautiful view of the canal. Spuistraat is usually extremely busy, but without tourists it is remarkably quiet on this beautiful spring day. It is even quieter along the Singel, where we take a seat at one of the two tables by the restaurant.

Scanning the menu

They do have a menu, but because of corona you have to scan it. The friendly maître holds out his phone in his gloved hand. Since it doesn’t quite work, I am nevertheless allowed to look at the (well-organized) menu. All the vegetables come from their own garden, the meat from their own farms and the fish from the North Sea, delivered fresh every day. We choose various cold and hot dishes and, naturally, also order a wine from the Basque Country, because ‘what grows together goes together‘: Txakoli is a wonderfully citrus-fresh white wine made from the Hondarribi Zuri grape. Basque people drink Txakoli with fresh fish, and so will we. But of course we begin as tradition dictates: with pintxos.

Hot and cold pintxos

Pintxos are an essential part of Basque culture. A pintxo is a slice of baguette with a variety of toppings, secured to the bread with a small stick (palillo). Normally, the cold pintxos are displayed in large numbers on the bar for guests to pick up themselves, and the number of sticks indicates how many pintxos you have ordered. At least, that’s how it usually works. Today things are a little different. Because corona, you know…

Bonito, ooh la la…

We start with two cold pintxos: one with tuna and anchovies, and one with goat’s cheese. Both are very flavorful—the tone is set. Next comes a bite of olive and anchovy, a fresh kickstart to prepare our palates for everything that follows. First up is the Bonito: belly of white tuna with an anchovy fillet from the Basque fishing town of Getaria. In one word: divine! The combination of crunchy bread, soft tuna and mildly sour anchovy is a match made in heaven.

Omelet worthy of a conga line

Sometimes you eat something that immediately makes you want to start a conga line. The cod omelet that follows is one such dish. The omelet is served whole and cut into four sections at the table, from a distance of one and a half meters, using a fork and spoon. The result is a silky-soft, runny omelet. The combination of egg with fresh but salted cod and sweet onion is truly delicious and unlike anything you know from the tortilla Spain is so famous for. Also tasty, but unlike tortilla, this isn’t firm—it’s wonderfully fluffy.

Hope you like sausage

Barely recovered from so much culinary delight, we are served the best pork you could possibly wish for: traditionally grilled ‘Txistorra’, a Basque sausage from Orio. It comes with homemade sourdough bread, fermented for 48 hours. I don’t often eat meat, but when I do, it has to be good meat—and this is exactly that. What a flavor!

From the Basque grill

At SAGARDI, they are known for their superb meat and fish. We go for the fish and order North Sea turbot, grilled over high heat on the Basque grill.

After the maître has shown us the fish whole, the back of the turbot is served a little later, alongside ‘the tears of the fish’, which still have plenty of delicious meat on them—and of course the fish head is not forgotten. We pick out the wonderfully soft cheeks; connoisseurs know that this is a true delicacy. Alongside it: fresh, hand-picked piquillo peppers. The spicy, sweet pepper provides a lovely counterpoint to the soft, delicate fish.

This is why we’ll be back

After more than two months without visiting our beloved hospitality venues, it was a joy to dine out the old-fashioned way again, even if it was corona-style, just slightly different from what you’re used to. More space between the tables, no handshakes, contactless ordering and payment, and of course: booking in advance. But then there is the reward: fantastic food, lovely service and a wonderful location by the canal or on Spuistraat. SAGARDI is an asset to the city. And now that it is still undiscovered and the streets are not yet overflowing with tourists, it is an especially strong recommendation!

Pull up a chair late

The Pintxos Bar is open Sunday through Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. The restaurant is open for lunch Sunday through Thursday from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and for dinner from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, lunch is from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and dinner from 6:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. In true Spanish fashion, you can comfortably sit down for a meal here late at night. And if I may give you one tip: do it!

SAGARDI, Spuistraat 304, Amsterdam

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