Restaurant Haesje Claes

I got hooked by the taste of Traditional Dutch Food and insisted we have another Stammpot before saying good bye to Amsterdam. We visited Restaurant Haesje Claes which was recommended by the Tourist Centre and in fact we should be visiting them for dinner during our first night in Amsterdam but due to our itineraries, we kept it for 2nd Night.

Restaurant

Menu

Part of the Intterior

Comparing to The Pantry from the first night, Haesje Claes is bigger, catering to more seating with 2 levels of dining area. Environment was definitely more rustic with wooden flooring, furnishing and given a homely feel under the orange lighting as well the hospitality from the service crews. 

Interior at Level 2

Interior

Place was bustling with people and if you looked around, it feels like you are entering a grandma's house with old school stuff that you have never seen before.

Interior

Interior

Though it may be old school design but I still like the low lighting ambiance that create a good atmosphere with burning flame on the candle stand.

Burning Candle

Worrying about being filled fast and Since Im looking for Stammpot in my meal,  we cant go wrong with their fixed set menu "Amsterdam Menu 24,95 which consists of 3 courses and a cup of coffee.

Coffee 

As for myself, I took the opportunity to have some beer again!

Beer

Starter

This is another version of Pea Soup I had with ingredients in it. Taste was pleasant with sausage, bacon, carrots, potatoes and celery in combination. The style of soup and even the side that comes with it was a total different picture from what I had last night and was filling. Instead of toast, they had a slice of rye bread with thin slice of bacon for pairing.

Pea Soup with Sausage, bacon

What's in the Soup?

Bacon on Rye Bread

Main

Time for seafood and that's the main reason why we had Poached Salmon Fillet. Not much of Wow Factor here but Salmon was cook to the correct doneness and given the buttery and herb flavour Bearnaise Sauce amd lemon squeeze, the fillet was down in my stomach within 3 minutes, leaving the mashed potatoes behind.

Poached Fillet of Salmon with Bearnaise Sauce

Topping up the Set with another main course, Stampotten. There are 3 in the menu to choose from and I had the one with Sauerkraut. Meatball was savoury but I do prefer the ones I had last night. Sausages, so to speak was an average fare, not something out of expectation.

Sauerkraut with meatball, sausage and bacon - 16,25

Dessert

Our meal comes to an end with the Lemon Pie as the last course. At least the colors had brighten up the dish and it gave a refreshing feel with its fruits on the plate (Kiwi and Orange).

Lemon Pie with Cream

Having Sausages and Sauerkraut in our meals these two days, I find that Dutch Cuisine is kind of close to what a German Cuisine is. Overall, Haesje Claes is a good recommendation if you want to enjoy some authentic flavour from the Dutch.

Restaurant Haesje Claes
Location: Spuistraat 275, 1012 VR Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Pantry

Braving the rain and huge wind that was so strong that had physically forced and pushed me to take a few steps ahead was an unforgettable experience I ever had in Amsterdam. Can't imagine my trip throughout was mostly rainy with some hiccups but still we managed to get some good meal in between.

Pantry

Walking up and down of the streets due to the blurred vision caused by the rain and street lights, we had finally managed our navigations to the doorsteps of The Pantry as advised by our mobile application for Traditional Dutch Food.

And Wow, we never knew seat was almost all taken and was lucky that we got ourselves the window seat by the door even without a reservation. We was warmly greeted by service crew and with a question of "Where are you from?" and was handed the English Menu.

We got a Table!

Environment was cozy in its dimly lit chandeliers, furnished by solid wooden table and chairs with traditional Dutch decorations (paintings & porcelains) on its wall. This spot fits a perfect date with a nice ambiance and famous music playing softly in the background.

Environment

Interior Walls

Lamps

To be frank, I know nuts about Dutch Food and as usual we hit on the usual order by choosing the Pre-Set Menu, one each.

Pantry's English Menu

Meanwhile before the Starters, we were so excited about Amsterdam Beer and got ourselves each a Amstel Gold and Amstel Radler. They were soothing as we adjusted ourselves in the warmly heated up environment.

Amstel Gold 3,75 & Amstel Radler - 3,25 Eur

MENU 1 (19,95 EUR)

Starter

Having Pea Soup was not very ideal in my impression from a start as I'm not very comfortable eating peas alone but these dutch Peas had totally changed my mindset. Soup was served in Lion Head Porcelain Bowl and it was orange instead of mushy green color. To be honest, the soup had whit my appetite. It tasted as sweet as pumpkin soup with herbs and cream and grab the slices of rye bread by the side and dip in!

Pea-Soup with Rye Bread and Smoked Bacon

Main

Presenting the traditional taste of Dutch with meatballs and mashed potatoes. The dish has a very long history in its cuisine with boiled mashed potatoes in combination of carrots, onions, sauerkraut. It has the choice to be served with smoked sausage or meatball and we chose the latter. Meatball was made up of minced meat was real good in its sauce. 

Combination of Hutspot, zuurkool - en boerenkoolstamppot served with meatball

Dessert

While dessert was Vlaflip - Vanilla custard with yoghurt and syrup. It wasn't too bad just that I had forgotten to snap a picture of it.

MENU 3 (26,80 EUR)

Starter

It took me a while before I actually start eating them as I was kind of shocked to receive the combination as a starter. 3 kind of dutch sausages were cooling and tastes quite differently. We spreaded the paste on the bread added with pickles. Well ~ what's the best / proper way to enjoy them?

Combination of Three Dutch Sausages, Served with Bread, Pickles and Mustard

Main

Pairing of Beef with onion stew was perfect for the night. The main was delighting with its tender cubes of beef. Together with sides like the shredded red cabbages and mashed potatoes, even though the portion may look small but it actually got us filled up easily.

Savoury Beef and Onion Stew with Red Cabbage and Mashed Potato

Another View

Dessert

Ending the meal with a square-cut size brownie topped with vanilla ice cream and generous portion of whipped cream, adorn with the zig zag patterns from the cherry sauce.

Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream, Cherry Sauce and Whipped Cream

Having dined in The Pantry was an excellent choice with friendly server that took additional steps to service their customers. Moreover as an Asian who had never experienced Dutch Food, I'm very glad that my choice of dinner was wisely chosen. Don't let your taste buds run elsewhere, The Pantry is the good opportunity for Traditional Dutch Food.

Compliments after paying Bill

The Pantry 
Location: Leidsekruisstraat 21 1017 RE Amsterdam The Netherlands
Website