Arles

Last month has been my “peaking bride to be” time of the year – I’ve had not one, but 2 bachelorette parties, and a US style bridal shower in Dallas! It’s been lovely, heart-warming and boozy. For my second, party, even a friend from Canada came over! To send her off, the girlies group and a couple of our +1s had dinner at Arles.

Arles is a modern bistro in De Pijp, with an extensive list of French wine, and a menu of French inspired dishes with international twists. You can have a 3 or 4-course meal, as well as a chef’s menu (I think this is 5 dishes). If you want the chef’s menu, the whole table needs to have it too.

We’ve all settled for the 3-course meal. After an extensive thinking process and about 34 questions from my friend Alexandra, we’ve kicked it off!

For starters, I chose the lamb tartare. If there’s a tartare on the menu, chances are, I’m going for it. I don’t know if I’ve had lamb tartare before, but I was a fan. Loved the Asian touch here, the soy sauce gave it a nice, salty kick. The tiny egg yolks added creaminess. My only criticism: it was a little bit on the fatty / heavy side. Maybe a touch of acidity would’ve balanced it.

On to the main (after Alexandra had 34 more questions). I went with the gyoza – yet another “hard to say no to” item for me. I’m a sucker for all dumplings.

This was my favorite dish. The gyozas were very light, filled with ricotta. The pickled radishes balanced the dish, so no heavy feeling here. It’s fair to note that some said it was “swimming in butter”. By some, I mean my husband to be. Did I reconsider things after this comment? Briefly.

There was, indeed, quite a butter-heavy sauce, especially obvious with the first bites (maybe more concentrated in a certain spot on the plate). I just happened to absolutely love that about it.

To end the night, I’ve had the riz au lait, and recommended it to the rest of the table. I’ve seen many people praising this dessert in the reviews. Granted, it was excellent. Kind of amazing what you can do with…rice pudding, really. The caramel and vanilla were a great add here, and the little bits of nuts gave it a crunchy texture, as opposed to the soft and fluffy rice.

The service was good, our waiter answered all (!) of our questions, but a little bit slow to begin with (took a while to get menus, a wine list, the wine…etc). I also thought it was weird they placed a group of 7 people in a room filled with tables of 2. We were obviously louder than the rest, and could “feel” some stares.

All in all, we’ve had a great meal at Arles Amsterdam. It went down well with 2 bottles of wine (for all of us, don’t panic). The prices for the food are more than decent, with the 3-course costing just €45. The wines are on the pricier side, and the wine-by-glass options are simply ridiculous (around €9 per glass).

Arles has been awarded a Bib-Gourmand by Michelin for 5 years in a row, for offering imaginative dishes at a friendly price. I can agree with that.

As most similar restaurants, Arles has an ever-changing menu, but I’m confident it’s a good shout nevertheless. They’ve just changed it again – but kept the riz au lait!

P.S. Shout-out to my good friend Marta that basically just realized I have an Instagram profile for this blog – after 3 years. Hi, Marta. Hope you’ve made it so far.

If you, just like Marta, thought I’m somehow running a blog without an Instagram profile in this day and age, please go ahead and follow @eatandtellamsterdam.

Value for money: 9

Food Quality: 9

Location: 8 (Govert Flinckstraat 251)

Service: 8

Website: https://www.arles-amsterdam.nl/

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