Ron Blaauw takes to the rooftop

The rumors had been circulating for some time, and this week they were finally confirmed: culinary mogul Ron Blaauw is expanding his already impressive restaurant empire once again. This time, he is going up.

After hot dog bar The Fat Dog and the Gastrobars Oriental, Indonesia and Paris, and following his venture to Haarlem, where Ron Blaauw is becoming culinary advisor to Bistrobar Indonesia, he is now launching Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant Nacarat. Note: without the now-familiar Blaauw prefix ‘Gastrobar’.

Fine dining

In Blaauw’s case, ‘Gastrobar’ means food in an accessible and informal setting, with a fixed price of 15 euros per shareable dish. No tablecloths or other elements that often make fine dining so intimidating.

Is Ron Blaauw returning to fine dining with his restaurant Nacarat?

Nacarat will certainly be intimidating. The restaurant will be located on top of the Hudson’s Bay department store, which is due to open soon, in a partly glass structure with its own entrance and panoramic views across the rooftops of Amsterdam. It appears to be a cautious return by the former two-Michelin-star chef to the fine dining scene he rigorously abandoned in 2013.

Tel Aviv-style atmosphere

At least, that is what we gather from Blaauw’s own words: ‘For lunch, we serve lighter dishes; a lovely glass of wine and oysters, or Lebanese bread with delicious hummus. At dinner, think fine dining in a Tel Aviv-style setting.’ What exactly this Tel Aviv-style fine dining entails will become clear next autumn.

Incidentally, it is not Blaauw but La Place, purchased by supermarket chain Jumbo from the bankrupt estate of V&D, that provides the food in the other Dutch branches of the North American department store Hudson’s Bay, founded in 1670.

Restaurant Nacarat, Hudson’s Bay
Rokin 49
Amsterdam