De Aardige Pers

2019 “new year new me” continues with cuisines I was not yet familiar with. This week, Hayden and I visited De Aardige Pers (a Persian restaurant, obviously), after reading quite some “the food is good, and there’s a lot of it” kind of reviews. I know, I’m easy.

Made a reservation, since I was under the impression the place will be small and crowded. The place is decently sized and it was pretty empty. To be fair, that’s why we choose to go out dining on Wednesdays. There’s a tip for you.

De Aardige Pers’ walls look like a piece of history and culture. I wish I had pictures to show you, but the food took over my thinking abilities, as it does.

As Persian / Iranian food was a whole new chapter for me, I had no idea what to order. Their website seems to be…half down? I can’t scroll down, thus no menu available online.

That’s a bigger issue for me than for most people, as I tend to research restaurants and their menus for hours. Really. Therefore, this time I showed up completely unprepared.

After we ordered, we were treated with complimentary olives, white creamy cheese, walnuts, herbs and flat bread. Although I could not find their complete menu prior to my visit, I did research Persian food and this restaurant in particular, so I knew I should not fill up on these. I recommend you do the same.

Luckily enough, De Aardige Pers has one of those mixed dishes for 2, which totally save me when I have no idea what’s what. Perfect, a little tasting experience! Only it’s not little, not at all. It’s actually kind of ridiculous how much food we got for those 27 EUR.

The mixed grill is called Saman, and there are 2 choices: one with lamb chops, one with lamb fillet. Glad we chose the fillet one, as that was also my favorite meat of the dish! Very tender.

Hayden’s favorite was the minced lamb and beef kebab. The chicken also had a different taste than your average experience, which I liked, Some pieces had a bit too much fat for my liking.

The rice comes with butter. At first I was hesitant thinking there are already 1000000 Kcal in there, but once I tried, I understood. The Persian rice is rather dry and not very puffy / sticky, thus the butter is a nice touch.

I was a big fan of the grilled tomatoes that came with the dish, as they help with “washing down” all the meat.

We also ordered their sides mix, where you can choose 3 side courses between most of the options. We had the yoghurt with spinach and garlic, the yoghurt with cucumber and dried mint (a similar taste to Tzatziki) and more olives! I highly recommend getting these sides as the yoghurt dips go great with both the rice and the kebabs, and add creaminess to the whole dish. One side that I’d love to try next time is the “garlic in vinegar“.

As expected, we got nowhere near finishing the whole thing, so both Hayden and I enjoyed a great lunch the next day. Only the lamb fillet lost a bit of the juiciness.

De Aardige Pers would probably not be the first on my list currently, but in all fairness I am not a big fan of kebab in general. I would still return! Their menu is extensive and I was afraid to order appetizers (too.much.food). There are some things in there that sound absolutely delicious. I’m also more than curious about their stews!

If you’re looking for a cheap, filling dinner and maybe also for a new cuisine, De Aardige Pers should be on your list. The whole dinner and 2 beers each set us back only 40 EUR. That’s Amsterdam magic. You won’t leave disappointed nor hungry – that’s a promise.

Value for money: 10

Food Quality: 8

Location: 8 (Tweede Hugo de Grootstraat 13)

Service: 8

Website: http://aardigepers.nl/

Have a suggestion, question, or just want to hola at me? Find me here: sayhello.eatandtell@gmail.com