A Beautiful Mess - Amsterdam in Dapperbuurt

Delicious food, surprising dishes, relaxed atmosphere. Unfortunately, the fries were gone by 7 p.m.

the lamb kofte was solid 10/10, even after reheating it was literally so good. better than my omani classmate’s cooking so you know it’s good

Under seasoned food that is bland at best. Service was non existent.

An inclusive place, delicious food, nicely decorated, wonderful view.

Very overpriced, for 20 euros i got 3 meatballs. It was good tho.

Very nice interior and that's probably all))) Neither the food, nor the drink, nor the service impressed us.

It is a very nice restaurant: cozy, nice -not too loud- music. The food is excellent, I have been a few times here and the service is great and kind, you don't have to wait hours to be seen and place your order. The concept of the restaurant is special, make sure you read their page about it or ask your host. It also influences the menu, which is special but still recognisable ingredients ;) We were sitting outside: it is peaceful and has a nice view. At the moment my favorite place in the City Centre of Amsterdam. Go and enjoy!! :)

Wonderful food and very friendly staff!

What delicious food and a lovely atmosphere! We sat on the large terrace and it was also very affordable. We will definitely be back.

Note: You can only pay by card here! So you can't pay with cash. 2 soft drinks €7.00 Luckily, no cheap Pepsi junk. The "Debit card only" option is on the menu, but I think it's a bit small when ordering. Could a waiter mention that beforehand?

Food was excellent but our order has been forgotten so we ended up waiting for around one hour. Staff was not very friendly. Atmosphere was nice and casual

Wonderful food, great experience. We brought our friends from the UK there and we had a lovely time. Thank you!

Cozy, hospitable, nice menu and they serve tasty food

Definitely recommend this place! the design is very nice and the food super delicious! the cocktails were good too. I recommend the kofta, the hummus and the eggplant. Will come back for sure😃

Once again enjoyed the delicious food, the great service and the beautiful location!@

Great flavors and original dishes. Nice place with excellent vegetarian and vegan options. However, we waited too long for the waiter to take our order.

We had a company boat trip and afterwards we went to eat at A Beautiful Mess. Perfect for a group of 20, the food was very good, the service was considerate of allergies and there was enough choice for the vegetarians among us. All in all a success and the atmosphere was great. An absolute must!

Fantastic place with delicious food and great service

Great food and great staff. Beautiful concept. Missed more options for food.

Dish was tasty. A bit expensive but still okay

A lovely setting by the water, nice service and incredibly good food! We came with a large group to eat and the menu was varied enough that no one left hungry. : )

We ate outside on the terrace, a beautiful spot on the water with a view of NEMO. Informal atmosphere and very nice service. Delicious food from the African and Syrian kitchen.

Not recommended, they used to have much better food, much nicer staff, and the vibe was more comfortable than now, the place has changed completely, changed in a bad way

Special dishes on a pleasant terrace, but in an ugly location, right next to the Booking.com office. Good service and delicious dishes, although the selection is very limited. Inside, everything seems cozy, clean, and professional. I definitely recommend it!

Awesome food for a very fair price

Such a nice friendly place with good food. The food is simple, fresh and tasty. It’s mainly ethnic food from the East with flavors and colors. Weather was good so stayed outside for dinner

What a relief: no time slots, personal service, generous portions, original dishes and sufficient space between the tables. Wonderfully un-Amsterdam, and then also an organization with a beautiful philosophy. Definitely recommended!

After a wonderful day at the Zeehaven days we ended up here. We had a delicious meal and took a 2-person pampering menu. This menu was very sparsely composed, namely per person 1 mini hamburger and mini chicken, some vegetables and very coarse lettuce and with naan bread and hummus. We thought it would cost €29.50 for two. While the average menu food costs €18.00. We had to pay 2x €29.50, which we found steeply expensive. We were told that the receipt was incorrect, we were told. That it happens more often. They would adjust the menu accordingly. We felt cheated by this. Very unfortunate, your taste buds are working overtime, so nicely spiced. From one bite of meager meal, we were ready to eat outside again. No satisfaction at all.

Lovely atmosphere but the service is terrible and the food made me ill.

Unfortunately, the price-performance ratio isn't right at all. The portions are far too small, and while the food itself is tasty, it's simply overpriced for what it is.

Interesting concept, decent food, good location, but alas very disappointing portions. The “sharing” menu for two is actually barely enough for one person, it’s more like a starter/tasting menu for two. Frankly, it was insulting to have been served a plate with literally one piece of Kofte for 2 to share; granted, we ordered a mix of meat and viggie for 2 but still, the point is for 2 to enjoy a bit of everything - it’s a SHARING MENU! The Middle East is renowned for its hospitality and to serve Middle Eastern food like that unfortunately spoiled the experience for us.

Our reservation at 630 pm allowed us to enjoy the happy hour with the Beirut Mule and ABM Spritz to start. Freshly made flat bread with very tasty hummus started off the night well. For our main course we chose the spiced Kofte and the Ethiopian chicken dish (Tsebhi Dorho). Both were excellent. They told us the Kofte dish was a bit small but it was large enough for us! The chicken was juicy and a huge serving. There didn’t appear to be a side dish so we ordered a side of roasted cauliflower. That turned to be almost too much food for us! All very delicious and at a good prices. The total was under 80 euros. 👍 if you find this useful.

Soooo tasty food, drinks and friendly service.

Lovely place, very good hospitality and affordable food. Had a nice dinner together.

Lovely place, great food, friendly staff

Great food. Nice ambience. Friendly servers. Might help to mention portion sizes on the menu- feel bad wasting food.

A pleasant place to eat. Good food, delicious wines and a nice atmosphere. A beautiful project that can serve as an example for others

A truly wonderful culinary experience! We had just arrived in Amsterdam and were in need of some comforting family-style cuisine, and we were served! Beautiful flavors, with a wonderful African, even North African, inspiration... fantastic! The desserts are definitely worth trying!

Everything was delicious and the dishes came out fast after ordering. The staff was friendly and helpful.

Yummy food, loved the combinations! Sad on the mocktails. I tried 2, either they were too sweet or too sour

Ordered 3 main dishes, 2x Kofte and 1x the Heilbot. Kofte arrived and we got nothing except 3 tiny burned little meatballs without anything else, no rice, bread, fries. Cost: 19€ per "main" course. What a disgrace, shamelessly ripping people off. Dead atmosphere, staff doesn't speak Dutch and waitress didn't bother to check on our table once if we were satisfied of wanted anything to drink. Place doesn't even have normal cutlery but uses yellow plastic knives... Won't be coming back with my colleagues. If you want to have dinner go to a real restaurant instead of this place selling small starters as main dishes and pricing them that way too.

We ended up here by chance on our way to the Nemo museum. And how lucky we were! The food was so delicious, and the service must be the friendliest in Amsterdam. The place is also cozy, despite huge, and warmly decorated. I loved everything about it. We shared a Beautiful Mess lunch: the lentil soup, falafel, hummus, labneh, oesterzwam shoarma, kofte, green salad, and flatbread, everything was excellent. And for dessert, the chocolate cake with baked banana and mint was fantastic! Exquisite Palestinian wines from Galilee and Ramallah are available for a unique experience. Definitely recommend 👌

Delicious food, good price/quality ratio, good service (keep in mind that some people are in training), nice social approach. Not unimportant for me, I could also eat delicious vegan and gluten-free food. Will definitely come back :)

We chose the ‘Let’s enjoy’ with our family (16 people) and we really enjoyed the tasty dishes. We were well served by the friendly staff. It was really a wonderful evening in your cozy restaurant.

Had a delicious wrap with a beautiful view

Friendly staff and you really taste the soul of the different types of cultures in these delicious food and drink creations. Thank you for this experience!

Nice place and helpful friendly service!!!

Simply disappointed with the dishes. Lack of seasoning and no originality. I had the impression of eating like a rabbit...Really nothing extraordinary but that's just my humble opinion...Very nice waitress on the other hand.

We really enjoyed our dinner here. Very good food, service was excellent, very good advice. We had the menu for 2. We were well fed, very tasty. Can only be recommended. Thanks

Delicious and unique dishes, we loved discovering new tastes and learning about the founding project !

I went here for a Bread and Mezze workshop with work and it was fantastic! Really well organized, and a lot of fun for us! The staff was super friendly and really well prepared vegetarian options. They were also well aware of noted allergies, and pointed out the allergens during the workshop which was really helpful. We had a wonderful time! Would definitely recommend as a fun team outing.

We asked for Lager and dark Belgian beer. The waiter said okay and brought us some crap.

We only went for a coffee and cocoa in a light drizzle - but we had a great time. Unobtrusive, pleasant for the dog, we were able to play table football for free and in a fun way. 👍🏼

It was wonderful and cozy. But just a small point of attention. The music could really be a bit softer. The acoustics are not that good and then the music is really too much, or turn it down a bit.

Lovely place, cozy atmosphere Refugees in the kitchen therefore have different dishes from the world cuisine of all kinds of countries, picnicking outside by the water

Did an amazing cookery course here, spent time cooking Iranian food which was delicious. Really cool concept on how the help people settle in Amsterdam while giving them jobs and support. Keep it up 💪🏻

A very open & more accessible atmosphere, plenty of space between the tables, really relaxed, easy to reach and very sweet, friendly and smooth service. The food was fantastic, the portions could have been a little larger, but that's personal. I'll definitely be back!

Amazing place. The staff is best part of the place.

Very tasty food! We were here with a large group, which worked well. They take dietary requirements into account, such as vegan or gluten-free. Definitely recommended.

Pleasant surprise. Very tasty and particular African cuisine. Lots of vegetable dishes, but not too abundant. Excellent pepper hummus.

Nice spacious restaurant, with terrace and view of the water of the Oosterdok and Nemo. Staff not all equally attentive, we sometimes had to try very hard to reach someone. Some attentive, and all friendly. Smooth service, food was also fast and very tasty. So definitely worth repeating.

The food, wines, service, interior design, concept, diversity and the views- superb!

What a nice place. Everything is correct. Wonderful to spend an evening with a group of friends.

Absolutely phenomenal- get the beautiful mess family meal- totally worth it. Next time we're in Amsterdam we'll absolutely be back.

Wonderful food with very good service! The only thing why the atmosphere gets a 4star is the acoustics, lots of noise that made it for us a bit hard to have a conversation.

I ordered 3 dishes from soup to meat. Got me dishes at the same time!!! Everything was cold!!! I couldn't enjoy my food. Advise guests to order one dish at a time. Let them run a lot!

Meh. Shared main menu 2x 29.50=€59 for 1 large plate of assorted food with scant amount of meat and fish, to share, with a disproportionately large mountain of cauliflower, while I really like cauliflower, I thought it was too mediocre and too expensive.

Really good food served in a friendly relaxed atmosphere. Good value for money. Thank you

Great location with friendly staff and fast service! The food was also very nice—overall, a pleasant experience.

Cute place with lots of international food - African, middle eastern focus. Super kind staff and extremely tasty meals! If you’re in NEMO museum and become hungry after, take the opportunity to spend a visit. Big reco :)

What a nice place in Amsterdam! Enjoyed the atmosphere, hospitality, wonderful smells and flavors and the friendliness of the staff :) So great that A Beautiful Mess offers opportunities to undiscovered talent in the Netherlands! Keep up the good work, we'll be back!

Wonderful. We ate caramelized carrots and granate apple hummus. Drinks with oregano.

Food is very good, flavourful and big portions. Service is friendly and helpful but slow for the food to come for a lunch booked with a set menu.

Nice food and super friendly staff!

This is one of the best newcomers to our area. Fantastic original food, very friendly staff, top location (great view) and honest prices. I have been ten times in as many weeks, Their idealism and politcs are mine and I recommend this place wholeheartedly! Yesterday's lunch was again so good. If the occasional köfke or flatbread is a bit dry, tell them! They replace it immediately.

What a nice place. Beautiful view, excellent service, friendly and relaxed. Meat dish could have been a little warmer. We did not report that. We didn't feel like complaining because of the atmosphere at the table. But this restaurant is highly recommended!

With three people 'shared dining' done where 1 person took vegetarian, 1 person fish and 1 person meat. Lentil soup as a starter which was spicy which I normally like but which was not special. Shared dining dinner was limited by e.g. minimal piece of fish in combination with small amounts of basic dishes. Not impressed. Nice location though.

Did not try the food as we went to the Sunday kids play time. It lovely space with light and well organized. Food looked amazing. For a sunny day its just perfect as it has a big terrace on the water side overlooking Nemo

Delicious food, friendly staff and beautiful view.

It was my first time attending this event, and it was very cultured, beautiful, with an artistic and friendly atmosphere, and the best hospitality. I will definitely come again.

Enjoyed the sunny terrace and the shared lunch, which was no longer served with a carafe of water or juice. The map had changed, OK. Bread was a little overbaked. Service as always top notch

We had a large group. Which suddenly doubled in size! and the staff was accommodating and excellent. The food all wonderful as always. This is one of my favorite places to eat in Amsterdam and a fantastic value.

5 stars for the overall experience. But the food is 4 stars, to be honest. Just good. Spicy chicken wasn’t really spicy although I liked the taste. It was funny how they bring a new honey with each tea. The desserts were unusual and an interesting experience. The orange cake was very sweet and I liked it more than baklava tompouce. The staff is very professional and friendly. The place has different tables, the big ones near the kitchen don’t look so stylish, like in a canteen.

A great location and a good Middle Eastern inspired cuisine. I had some köfte and mujaddara that was very nice. Recommended indeed if you are looking for a lunch/dinner or borrel close to Centraal Station.

Wonderful initiative to guide people to a job, but less to say about the Dutch ministry that has a longer residence. Curt, we threw our order on the table and sometimes we doubted whether we were deliberately overlooked by these guys. The food was excellent, well seasoned and not too bland. Cozy furnishings and styling.

Food was good, service was less accessible than last week. Atmosphere was very nice.

Basically, a good and sensible concept, a pleasant atmosphere, and top-notch food in terms of taste and quality. Unfortunately, the quantities served don't match the price; they were definitely too small. We had to reorder to get full, and we're of average build. Hence only 3 stars.

Wonderfully colorful, multi-cultural atmosphere and very great oriental food (but unfortunately only wine by the bottle from suitable countries). The service was nice, although a bit inattentive later on. The operators could still do some work on the price-performance ratio, but overall it was too expensive for what was offered, as meat dishes do not contain any side dishes and the vegetable portions as a side dish are disproportionately expensive.

Perfect for aperitivo or shared dining

Fast, friendly service with delicious food in a lively environment. I only thought the shared appetizer had little taste.

Great place and the food was delicious. Staff were very attentive and look after you during the whole meal.

Very good meal full of flavors and healthy, good value for money. I recommend

Lovely restaurant! Definitely recommend :)

The food didn't taste like anything

I came from Germany and it was a nice and special experience, the snacks are very tasty and I liked the hummus, I find it delicious and will come back

Delicious Had a vegan lunch for 2 and exceeded every expectation. The hummus was spooned in, so tasty.

We had delicious vegan dishes, falafel and vegan shoarma were done perfectly. Friendly staff and spacious area. We will come again in good weather to sit outside looking out to the water. Thank you :)

Fancy place tasty food. Beautiful location. A bit pricy

We had lunch at A Beautiful Mess after visiting the Booking HQ. I took the Spicy Iraqi Chicken (€17,50) and a cold drink. The chicken was cooked perfectly and smelled delicious. The dish itself wasn’t that spicy, but the sauce on the side gave it a good punch! Only downside was that the dish did not automatically came with any sides like fries, flatbread. The waiter did not mention this so we had to order it after being served.

We came here for a drink and saw the menu and then stayed here for dinner. Delicious snacks and the share dinning is highly recommended. In a beautiful location with a view over the water and the edge of the center. Nice staff, fast service.