- By Renae Smith
Eight Courses, One Ghost Story, and a Veal That Could Ruin Other Meals Forever
Some restaurants offer dinner. De Silveren Spiegel offers time travel (and dinner too, obviously, it is a restaurant!).
Hidden just off a crooked Amsterdam lane with a name that sounds like a cat’s fever dream (Kattengat), this 17th-century townhouse doesn’t scream “there’s a pretty decent restaurant inside.” In fact, it barely whispers it. No proper signs. No influencer ring lights. Just an old wooden door with the name painted above in green fading paint, a slight lean in the architecture, and the quiet confidence of a place that’s been serving food since before your entire bloodline was invented.
Upstairs? A dining room that could double as a museum if museums served razor clams and veal so tender it makes you emotional. The floor slants enough to give you vertigo, but don’t worry - they actually had to reinforce the building to stop it from collapsing under the weight of all that history (and maybe the veal).
WHO’S BEHIND THE STOVE?
That would be Yves van der Hoff, who became Amsterdam’s youngest head chef at 26. He’s got the kind of backstory food films are made of - peeling potatoes at 14, cleaning lobsters at 15, and now turning vegetables into main characters. Yves is all about using local Dutch ingredients and executing them with modern technique, which is a fancy way of saying: he makes courgette taste like a main event.
THE MENU: SPRING 2025 TASTING MENU (€160)
Let’s get into it. Eight courses. No faffing around.
Bite-sized Amuse Bouche
Kicks off with three tiny bombs of flavour: eel and seaweed (shockingly good), chicken pate with a rhubarb flower, and an onion explosion that made us do that awkward eye contact thing where everyone’s thinking, did that just slap? Spoiler: it did.
Flavours of Zeeland
Razor clam, kingfish, oyster - it’s like they bottled a Dutch coastal breeze and served it on a plate. The citrus, jalapeño and horseradish flirted without shouting, and it was probably the prettiest dish of the night.
Zucchini
This shouldn’t be as good as it is. Zucchini has no business being this sexy. The beurre blanc with salted lemon was a standout. The dish proved you don’t need truffle shavings or foie gras to make a plate sing - just skill.
Lobster
Here’s where it wobbled. The bergamot, lavas, and bisque gave off serious curry vibes. Which isn’t a crime, unless you’re trying to highlight delicate lobster. The spice slightly hijacked the flavour narrative. It was tasty, sure, but in the wrong spot on the menu. And it echoed straight into…
Trout
Poor trout didn’t stand a chance after that flavour bomb. By the time it arrived with its tomato marmalade and basil barley, our palates were still recovering from the lobster curry chaos. Not a bad dish (they were all delicious) - it just caught in the crossfire.
Veal
Oh. My. God. If you eat meat and don’t cry at this dish, you have no soul. Melts like butter, tastes like it studied flavour at university. The smoked bacon and shallot are the backup singers that steal the show. Potato foam? Ridiculously lush.
Lamb
Crisped polenta, wild garlic, and the Euro-icon white asparagus. Cooked pink perfection. This is the kind of plate that makes you shut up mid-conversation and do those weird eye rolls with the tight lipped “mmm” as you chew down. Good stuff.
Desserts
‘Milk & Honey’ should have its own fan club. Served on a pillow (literally), it’s delicate, rich, and deeply satisfying and I’d sleep with it… I'd say not in a weird way but it would be weird. And I stand by it.
Then came the ‘Raspberry’ finale - fresh, creamy, with a sorrel gelato zing. But… a personal glitch for me was the glitter on the butterfly garnish. Unnecessary. It didn’t taste like regret, (glitter has no flavour for those playing at home) but it felt like it was trying too hard. Repeat after me - no glitter, ever!
WINE & SERVICE
Didn’t do the full pairing (€109.50 for 8 glasses) as I’m a lightweight and would have possibly ended up in the A&E, but our Pinot Noir was a stunner. Waiters knew their stuff without being pretentious - they were like the culinary equivalent of a good playlist. The German “Gustavshof Jomax Spātburgunder” was also 10/10 (I dare you to try and ask for it by name and not get laughed at). If the glitter made you question anything, the wine list brought you back to your senses.
FINAL WORD
De Silveren Spiegel is a restaurant with layers - like a Dutch lasagne, but historic and slightly haunted. The food is confident, creative, and nearly (like seriously, ALMOST) Michelin-level. The history is jaw-dropping: hidden Jews in the attic, Nazi schnapps-drinkers below, and one man who literally stole half a horse from the Germans to survive.
There were a couple of pacing issues, and the lobster did gatecrash the trout’s moment, but this is a place on the cusp of greatness. It’s already in the Michelin Guide, and honestly, give Yves another season or two and he’ll have that star pinned to the wall beside a butter churn from 1640.
Would I go back? Absolutely.
Would I recommend it? 1000%.
Would I change a thing? Just lose the glitter, mate. And maybe swap the lobster and trout order.
LOADED RATING: 8/10
Big flavour. Bigger history. One dodgy butterfly.