Ever read about a restaurant on a blog or in a magazine and think to yourself, yes that’s where I want to eat if I ever visit. Well years ago, before we even met I read about Ron Gastrobar on Lauren’s blog. I thought, if and when I go back to Amsterdam, that’s where I want to have dinner! After a day of walking across canal paths and exploring the beauty of the city, despite the rather chilly weather, we were looking forward to a really good dinner. After enjoying wine hour, we left the cosy confines on the Kimpton De Witt Amsterdam and headed out across the city.
Ron Gastrobar was set in a beautiful conservatory-like room and rather than the buzzy atmosphere of the restaurant we’d visited the previous night, it was more chilled out and super romantic. The chef patron here is Ron Blaauw who previously ran his two Michelin star restaurant on these premises but converted it into a more accessible gastropub. Despite this accessibility the restaurant is still one of the top in Amsterdam and has been in possession of a Michelin star since 2013. 
The menu is made up of small plates, sharing specials and speciality steaks but wanting to try as much as possible we opted for the former. We whet our appetites with some fantastic bread served with a whipped butter with bacon bits and a jar of locally made pickles on the side. 
Our first plate was Asian inspired (Ron Blauuw actually has two Asian restaurants in the city) we loved the steamed shrimp dim sum with, shiitake and a light chorizo bouillon. Our second plate was a favourite of mine gravlax with sweet and sour cucumber with buttermilk and dill dressing with a crisp on the top. It was the perfect balance of the fatty salmon cut through with the acidic flavours of the cucumber. 
Our waiter (who was excellent by the way!) told us to opt for the sole over the lobster pasta or the skate wing. We agreed that is was one of the best things that we tried that evening, with a beautiful crispy coating with kataifi, sorrel and beurre rouge 
Mr S ordered Ron’s boneless spare ribs with sauerkraut and homemade sambal, just one example of how this restaurant serves hearty, accessible food that’s elevated to Michelin level. Ron wanted the food here to be from the heart, and I can imagine this being one of his favourite dishes.
I was in no doubt of my dessert choice after seeing The Ron Gastrobar surprise egg on Lauren’s blog. In my excitement I forgot to take photos of the egg cracked open but it is chocolate on the outside with a a mousse / jelly on the inside to replicate a real egg. 
Though not as exciting, Mr S’s dessert was equally delicious – a Millefeuille with mousse of chocolate, tonka beans and ice cream of banana with rum.
The final pleasant surprise of the night is the bill. Ron Gastrobar is extremely reasonably priced which adds even more to the element of accessibility to this Michelin-starred restaurant. It’s not super fancy but highly recommend it as a fine dining lunch spot or for a casual romantic dinner.
1075 BP Amsterdam
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