NENI Amsterdam is open!
There was quite a lot of fuss surrounding the opening of NENI in Amsterdam. Since summer 2018, the chain had been working hard to make a name for itself. Pop-up dinners, posters all over the city, but when was that opening finally going to happen? I have good news for you: from Saturday, 9 February, you can take a seat for a table full of Israeli food. We were allowed to try it in advance.
NENI stands for the initials of Haya Molcho’s four sons, who run the restaurants together with their mother. Plural indeed, because they already have locations in Hamburg, Vienna and Berlin, among others. The Amsterdam location is housed in the old Citroën garage and has room for no fewer than 180 people, as well as a beautiful bar and a deli where you can pick up bread all day long.
Open kitchen
Upon entering the enormous restaurant, we are led past the beautiful open kitchen before eventually taking our seats at our table. There is a mix of high, long tables with chairs, cosy corners and tables with benches (all made of wood), which makes the place feel intimate despite its size. There is a bar next to the kitchen where you can eat and watch the chefs work all evening. Wonderful.
Sympathetic chaos
The menu features dishes to share, balagan style, as Haya calls it. Loosely translated: a sympathetic chaos. Of course, you can simply order à la carte, but we recommend leaving your fate in the chef’s hands. Order the best of NENI menu, where all the hits arrive on the table, or go for the chef’s surprise menu. For that, the chef selects his favourite dishes of the evening to create an abundant menu. That is what we did.
There are not really starters or main courses: dishes are brought to the table when they are ready, just as you would do at home. Our first dish is raw fish with lemon, olive oil, pomegranate, dill and green pepper—wonderfully fresh flavours. But the best thing in this round? Absolutely the hummus. For the hummus, Haya uses tahini (sesame paste) made without machines, resulting in the most flavourful and smooth hummus I have ever tasted. There is also plenty of fluffy pita to mop everything up with. I’m telling you: if you received nothing else after this, you would already have a fantastic evening.
Popcorn falafel
But of course, there is more. Everyone at the table goes completely crazy for the popcorn falafel with a tahini-ginger sauce. It is more reminiscent of an Indonesian corn fritter than falafel, but that doesn’t matter one damn bit. It is flavourful, light (besides corn, it actually contains popcorn) and perfectly fried. We are actually a little disappointed that we only get one per person.
The rest of the evening is something of a culinary haze. There was a lot of aubergine, for example, roasted over charcoal with a herb salsa and a perfectly cooked egg. Or topped with crisp-fried focaccia. There were more dips, sea bass kebab with wonderfully delicious yoghurt, spiced chicken with hummus, grilled meat, a whole roasted cauliflower and a kunefe: a crispy fried dessert with cheese.
Babkas and pitas
When we leave the building, we can barely walk, yet I am already fantasising about the babkas and pitas I will pick up for lunch once the deli is open. Thursday, 7 February, there will be a grand opening party for invitees, and from Saturday NENI will be open to the public. So book your table quickly.
NENI
Stadionplein 8
Amsterdam
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