French Restaurants for the Perfect Evening out

French restaurants in Amsterdam are the perfect way to experience French cuisine. Finding a French restaurants in Amsterdam is not a problem because restaurants with French cuisine are plentiful. They are all first-class restaurants using fresh ingredients and serving authentic French dishes. Dining in French restaurants is the perfect evening out.
“Mangez bien, riez souvent, aimez beaucoup,” is a French saying which translates as, eat well, laugh a lot and love abundantly. There are many restaurants in Amsterdam where you can eat and laugh. Here is a list of the crème de la crème of French food.

French Restaurants and French Cuisine

1. Brasserie van Baerle, van Baerlestraat 158
Brasserie van Baerle is a household name and a popular restaurant perfect for lunch and dinner. The classic French dishes with contemporary flare are irresistible. An extensive wine list as well as wine by the glass make the meal a culinary masterpiece. Dishes such as steak tartar with salad and fries or poached eggs with salmon are mouthwatering and taste French. The three-course BIB gourmand menu is highly recommended. Close to the Concertgebouw and therefore perfectly suited for a meal before going to a concert.

2. Ciel Blue, Ferdinand Bolstraat 333
Ask for a table at the window because Ciel Blue is located on the 23rd floor of the Okura Hotel. This is dining at a high level, to be precise at over 78 meters high. This two-star restaurant has a spectacular view. The elevators whizz up and the first thing you are offered is a glass of champagne, the first necessity of life. Ciel Blue is food at a high level, literally and figuratively. Everything on the menu is mouth-watering and follows the seasons. The menu changes four times a year and it goes without saying that exquisite wines complement your meal.

3. Chez Georges, Herenstraat 3
Tiny and intimate with seating for up to 30 guests, with tables on three floors, Chez Georges looks more like a living room than a restaurant. Delightful starters like coquille St Jacques with sweet potato and Hollandaise sauce, as if you are having lunch on Boulevard St Michel! If you find it difficult to choose, go fore Menu “Comme chez George”, “Gastronome”, “Gourmand” or “Cuisine De Marche”. Highly recommended is menu “Lekkerbek” with seven courses of fish and meat.

French Restaurants in Amsterdam

4. Vinkeles, Keizersgracht 384
Dine under a beamed ceiling in five-star Vinkeles, Hotel Dylan’s French restaurant for the perfect evening out. You will dine in historic settings because the restaurant is housed in a former bakery of an almshouse which was in use until 1811 and is now part of the hotel complex. The chef specializes in traditional French dishes adapted to the twentieth century, but with the same authentic taste. The sommelier will help you choose the right wine.

5. Morgan & Mees, 2nd Hugo de Grootstraat 2-6
No fuss, no frills, but classic French simplicity from burgers to oysters and from North Sea fish to chocolate mousse, for lunch and dinner with a good glass of wine. Morgan & Mees with outdoor seating in summer and a design boutique hotel next door. Nice and simple bar menu offers olives, oysters and ‘bitterballen’, but also grilled ribs with apple syrup and sesame seeds. In the snug restaurant you enjoy classic French dishes such as steak frites and for fish lovers there is bouillabaisse. The wine list is extensive, with red, white, rose, sweet and dry and of course champagne. End your meal with Cafe Gourmand, tea or coffee with several sweet snacks.

Top French Restaurants

6. Auberge Jean & Marie, Albert Cuypstraat 58
The perfect French experience in Amsterdam is eating escargots at Jean & Marie, French for Jan and Marije. What makes the escargots so delicious? Is it the perfectly mixed herb butter or because it is a family recipe, taste them and find out yourself! Come back another day and treat yourself to frogs’ legs as an appetizer. Chef prepares the most surprising main dishes: Paupiettes de sole du mer du Nord, crevettes imperial, beurre blanc fermenté and courgette not only sound French but also taste French! Finish your meal with Sélection de fromages or pain aux noix, it couldn’t be more French! And then there is wine, by the glass or bottle. With 1000 bottles in stock, choosing (and drinking) is a pleasure.

7. The Ostrich, Keizersgracht 312
With only 34 seats, Ostrich is small and intimate and is located in the basement of a stately canal house. The menu includes French dishes composed of organic products. The bouillabaisse with fennel, leek and tomatoes tastes deliciously French, apple crumble served with ice cream is less French, but tastes heavenly. Have a glass of calvados for the French finishing touch. Take as your dessert, an organic cheese platter and taste France in Amsterdam.

Fine French Dining

8. La Vallade, Ringdijk 23
Sit among flowers on the outdoor terrace, and enjoy French classic dishes such as coq au vin or confit de canard. Listen to Edith Piaf singing familiar songs while you sit on blue chairs under green umbrellas with “Perrier” logo in the midst of fragrant lavender. What is more French? There are flowers everywhere, on the tables and even the ceiling is decorated with painted flowers. See the ‘Ringvaart’ as a replacement for the Seine River and you imagine yourself in Paris. There is a fixed five-course menu with a cheese course and a dessert, French as French it could be. The menu changes daily. On Mondays it is vegetarian. La Vallade is not in the centre but in Amsterdam East, but this adds to the charm of this typically French restaurant.

9. Brasserie Ambassade, Herengracht 339
Lunch or dinner in Brasserie Ambassade is a culinary journey through French cuisine. Rillettes de canards, pâté de campagne, jambon cru, escargots and steak tartare, how much more French do you want it? The brasserie is part of Hotel Ambassade. Thousands of signed books in the bar library are on display, books by writers who once spent the night in the Ambassador Hotel. When you have seen enough colourful Cobra art on the walls, enjoy the gorgeous view of the canal.

10. Bridges, Oudezijds Voorburgwal 197
Bridges is the restaurant for gourmets and connoisseurs of French cuisine. The emphasis is on fish, but carnivores also get their money’s worth here. There are two options; Bridges Bar Bistro and Bridges Dining, choose what suits you best. Go for the daily changing two or three course lunch menu or go straight for the ‘menu du chef’ with caviar and langoustine. It’s all about fish and savoury delicacies, which are combined with classic sauces with a touch of oriental cuisine.

Photo Brasserie van Baerle