The Black Dog

Amsterdam is full in back force! It was weird – in a good way – coming back from my holiday to the city being so alive again. Thank God for restaurants and bars being fully open, since the weather isn’t exactly screaming terrace day nowadays.

I also came back in the middle of UEFA Euros, so it goes without saying that I’ve been visiting plenty of bars and had copious amounts of beer. Happy to announce my beer baby is about 5 months old now? At least it looks like it. Anyway. On my search for a new place to watch a game, I stumbled upon The Black Dog Amsterdam. A gastropub with plenty of special beers, an interesting menu and big TVs. Perfect!

Unfortunately, I was a bit late for the game part – probably should have reserved it days before. I was still craving pub food though, so I showed up before, ready and enthusiastic to try the place that makes gyozas…but also chilli hot dogs?

First things first, I got myself a Bloody Mary, because their special beer menu is ridiculously expensive. Good offer, but the prices are just odd. Their menu isn’t online so I don’t remember the exact price, but a bottle of Mannenliefde was around €6.30 which just…no.

Anyway! The cocktail was actually nice. The waitress attending to us was super friendly, and somehow made me a drink exactly the way I would make it at home. We could be friends.

As a starter, Hayden and I shared chicken gyozas. I rarely miss an opportunity to order any sort of dumplings, if available. However, I had my doubts – when you mix Asian, Mexican, American and British food in one menu, stuff could go wrong. It didn’t this time, though. The gyozas (and the dip) were lovely.

On to the main! Hayden got a crispy chicken burger. He does this when he wants to have a burger, but still feel like the meal is somewhat healthy. It’s cute. He was happy with his choice. Look how pretty that bun is!

I chose the chilli hot dog, because are you really at a place called The Black Dog if you don’t try the dog? Excuse that terrible joke. The chilli was another thing that made me think “hm, I make chilli the exact same way at home”. I do like my own food, so I was happy with this too. My bun also looked really pretty! One thing that let me down – these mains come with homemade coleslaw and as someone who loves coleslaw…please don’t call it that.

All in all, a good, hearty meal on Spuistraat. Staff was (Amsterdam unusually) nice, the food was on the high end of what you’d expect in a pub, and my Bloody Mary made me happy. Just mentioning that because I’ve had plenty of watery Bloody Marys in my life. If I’m back, I’d try the beef & ale pie. Prices are very affordable for the area, as long as you’re not into craft beers. Head nearby to Beer Temple, where you find similar prices for actual special beers. Stick to The Black Dog for the food.

P.S.: they raised money for Bosnian cats & dogs. That’s pretty awesome.

Value for money: 7

Food Quality: 8

Location: 9 (Spuistraat 223a)

Service: 9

Website: https://theblackdog.nl/