Bazar

The last weeks were tougher than usual for my poor body who keeps dealing with my sh*t. After a proper St. Patrick’s spent in Dublin with liters and liters of Guiness, Hayden and I had friends over for a couple of days. When you live in Amsterdam, having someone over means 3 things: Red Light District, Space cakes and Bitterballen. Therefore, we totally needed a healthy-ish “date night”, and Bazar has been on my list for too long.

It’s always a pleasure to spend the afternoon in De Pijp – Hayden and I usually start at Brouwerij Troost , and work our way beers from there. Bazar is located on the very well known Albert Cuypstraat, in a former church and it serves mainly Middle Eastern food. It probably is one of my favorite spots in Amsterdam as far atmosphere and interior design goes.

I probably took 10 pictures only of the chandeliers. They are just so stunning. Here’s one!

Now, let’s talk food, since that’s probably why you’re here. Disclaimer, we were both starving at this point of the day which probably influenced our opinions a tiny bit.

We kicked off the evening with Irfan’s starter, which was probably my favorite dish. I have to say, I am a sucker for good quality dips and delicious bread / sticks. What you see below is zaalouk (a Moroccan salad of cooked aubergine and tomatoes), hummus (realllyyy good one), haydari (a yogurt dip with garlic and herbs), sarma (cabbage rolls), peynir ezme (spicy cheese spread, here, not very spicy) and sigara böregi (cheese sticks).

Being Eastern European, I grew up with similar dishes and spreads, as the Romanian cuisine is highly influenced by the Turkish one (they won’t admit that, though). I am madly in love with The Netherlands, but damn do I miss some good old Eastern food sometimes. Could be why I devoured this starter. Orrrr, the hunger and the beer. Nah, it was just SO GOOD. I promise you that.

Once our stomachs were happy and filled with deliciousness, we patiently waited for our mains. I ordered a second beer that never came, thank God, since Bazar really doesn’t mess with portion sizes.

I chose the light and breezy (or so I thought) Meeghoe, a dish based on grilled prawn kebab with a mild curry sauce. It comes with various roasted vegetables and rice. While the latter did not impress, the prawn kebab was nicely spiced and crunchy, I very much enjoyed it. Not the best prawns I ever had, but of course, this isn’t a seafood bar.

Hayden ordered the Yogurtlu Adana , grilled minced beef and lamb kebab with lawash (a soft flatbread). It came with veggies, rice and this very nice yogurt based dip. Since we recently had a similar meal at De Aardige Pers, he said the meat quality is superior at Bazar and he preferred this one.

Although I heard some suggestions for their dessert menu, Bazar definitely left zero space in my stomach for it after a starter and a main.

While the Middle East is on my travelling list and I hope to get to taste the real deal soon, Bazar will do meanwhile. The art, the lights, the table arrangements, the vibe, they all truly remind you of an actual market. I had a great Saturday night dinner here, and the service was one of the better I received in Amsterdam.

I left full and happy, willing to return. Go ahead, give it a try if you haven’t already. Oh! – definitely perfect for groups.

Value for money: 9

Food Quality: 8

Location: 10 (Albert Cuypstraat 182)

Service: 8

Website: http://www.hotelbazar.nl/en/restaurant-bazar-amsterdam/

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