Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Eating
5
Fifteen
€€
INTERNATIONAL
'Naked chef' Jamie Oliver has brought to Amsterdam a concept he began in London: take
15 young people from underprivileged backgrounds and train them for a year in the restaur-
ant biz. Results: noble intention, sometimes spotty execution. The setting, however, is bey-
ond question: Fifteen faces the IJ, and the busy, open-kitchen space is city-cool, with graf-
fitied walls and exposed wood beams.
(
509 50 15;
www.fifteen.nl
;
Jollemanhof 9; mains €18-23;
lunch Mon-Sat, dinner daily Sep-mid-Jul, dinner only Tue-Sat mid-Jul-Aug;
25 PTA)
6
Gare de l'Est
€€€
Gare de l'Est has both the smallest menu in Amsterdam and also the largest. It says that be-
cause four chefs (from culinary traditions spanning the globe) take turns nightly in the kit-
chen, what their course menus lack in length they make up for in variety. Portuguese tiles
and glowing Middle Eastern lamps adorn the interior, and courtyard seating exudes good
vibes.
(
INTERNATIONAL
463 06 20;
www.garedelest.nl
;
Cruquiusweg 9; 4-course menu €32;
dinner;
43 Stadsdeel Zeeburg)
Understand
Eastern Islands
The Eastern Islands - Kattenburg, Wittenburg and Oostenburg - comprise the area around Het Scheepvaartmu-
seum. They were constructed in the 1650s to handle Amsterdam's rapidly expanding seaborne trade. The Dutch
East India Company set itself up on Oostenburg, where it established warehouses, rope yards, workshops and
docks for the maintenance of its fleet. Private shipyards and dockworkers' homes dominated the central island of
Wittenburg. Admiralty offices and buildings arose on the westernmost island of Kattenburg, and warships were
fitted out in the adjoining naval dockyards that are still in use today.
