Nela is the Amsterdam hotspot you’ll want to visit as soon as possible

New places are constantly opening in Amsterdam, but not every place creates a buzz. For weeks, we’ve been hearing people in the know whispering about that new place in the bizarre building near the Zuidas. This Thursday, August 25, it will finally open: restaurant Nela in Valley. We got to taste it in advance. 

It takes a little searching—where is the entrance, which lift should we take?—before, when one of the cleaners calls out to us, we suddenly find ourselves in the middle of the restaurant via a side entrance. And it’s immediately impressive: the space is light and spacious, with a striking open kitchen where flames burn in the wood grill and oven. If you enjoy watching chefs at work, you can sit at the Chef’s Counter. Another eye-catching feature is the spacious cocktail bar at the heart of the restaurant.

Valley

Still, a little more about this special location; the municipality wants to make the Zuidas less of an office district and develop it into a mixed urban neighbourhood for living, working and entertainment. In Valley, as the striking building that houses Nela is called, there are offices and homes as well as restaurants and retail. Nela is located on the second floor of Valley and can be reached via either a spacious, grand staircase or lift.

Hari Shetty and Ori Geller

The name Nela means pure, and this is exactly what chefs Hari Shetty and Ori Geller want to express throughout their restaurant. From pure gastronomy, with fire taking centre stage, to the design, created using natural and untreated materials. The two are certainly not unknown names in the (Amsterdam) hospitality scene; Hari and Ori worked for years at top restaurants such as Nobu in London, Yafo-Tel Aviv in Tel Aviv, and Izakaya, The Duchess and Mr. Porter in Amsterdam. And now there is Nela.

Lavash

We sit down on one of the long benches, and wonderfully crisp Lavash—a type of flatbread widely eaten in the Middle East—is served with Guajillo (a mild chilli pepper) butter. It not only looks fantastic; it tastes that way too. Especially with the slightly spicy butter.

Shared dining

The idea at Nela is to choose several dishes to share—and that’s exactly what we do. The steak tartare with langoustine is delicious. It’s the kind of dish you eye greedily when it’s almost gone—you really don’t want to share it! The same goes for the sea bass with watercress: a beautifully presented, fresh little dish, with every bite a celebration.

Together with the vegetarians at the table, we almost fight over the last bit of baby leek with mustard dressing and shavings of Bellper knolle; a small, hard and round Swiss cheese that looks a little like a truffle and has a strong, spicy flavour. The velvety-soft leek combined with the mustard and spicy cheese is truly heavenly. The sommelier brings a different wine with each dish; the extensive wine list features wines from every corner of the world, with an emphasis on European wines. There is also a special page with a changing selection.

Delicious fish dishes

But my favourite dishes are still to come—both, coincidentally, fish dishes. The ‘Longest Chili’ is a chilli pepper stuffed with white fish. The pepper is cut into bite-sized pieces that you can pop straight into your mouth. Mildly spicy and with a wonderful texture. A truly fantastic dish. Less spectacular to look at, but at least as delicious, is the Chilean sea bass, prepared in a corn husk with yuzu.

Great vegetarian dishes

Besides the delicious fish and meat dishes, vegetarians also have plenty of choice. The artichoke in a Hollandaise sauce is highly recommended—the artichoke is slightly smoky and very flavourful with the creamy, mildly tart Hollandaise—and the same goes for the crispy wild spinach with grilled pumpkin seeds and the aubergine fillet in green salsa. I’ve rarely eaten such tender aubergine.

Spectacular tiramisu

There are ten different desserts on the menu. We finish with the sweet banana caramel, a dessert with banana compote, chocolate crumble and macadamia nuts, and a spectacular tiramisu. It comes in a tin made especially for the restaurant. Rather than being topped with cocoa, as is customary, the tiramisu is finished with espresso pearls that look like caviar. Surprisingly delicious!

You can probably guess: we’ll be back next week. We also want to taste the rest of the menu, because this really leaves you wanting more! Nela is open seven days a week from 12:00 to 01:00, and until 02:00 at weekends.

Nela, Beethovenstraat 515, Amsterdam

Read also:

• At Sins of Sal in Amsterdam, you’ll eat the best tacos of your life
• This beach pavilion has been voted the best in the Netherlands
• At ARCA, you’ll eat authentic Portuguese dishes with an Asian twist