Bottles & Jars Amsterdam in Burgwallen-Oude Zijde

There are visits you plan and visits that simply happen. Ours fell into the latter category. On our way to nowhere in particular, drawn by the promise of live jazz, we walked through the door intending to have an aperitif. We left several hours later, convinced that some of the best meals are the ones you never planned. As luck would have it, we arrived just as the Dutch lunch rush had subsided. Thanks to this, we enjoyed almost personalized service from Francesco and Elisa. When a French-inspired restaurant is run by an Italian couple, curiosity is piqued. And if, in addition, a Michelin-starred chef is behind the project, it's worth paying attention. We ordered steak tartare, always a challenging dish, especially when you're sharing a table with a true devotee. The preparation, executed on the gueridon, was one of those that alone justifies a visit. Balance, freshness, technique, and quality ingredients. No need for artifice. Probably among the best we've had in Amsterdam. We also requested a wine pairing. We were right. The wine didn't just accompany the dish; it conversed with it. One of those thoughtful pairings that doesn't seek the spotlight, but ends up elevating the whole experience and leaving the diner with a feeling as pleasant as it is dangerous: the desire to order another glass and discover what other tricks the restaurant has up its sleeve. Then came the oeufs meurette, and the evening continued to improve. The pairing chosen this time was bolder, even playful, but just as spot-on. There are restaurants that serve wine and restaurants that think about wine. The difference is usually found in the details. To close the savory course, we opted for a cheese board. In this area, it's difficult to impress, as the local competition is considerable when it comes to this noble dairy product. However, the selection more than fulfilled its purpose and served as the perfect ending to an appetizer that, almost without anyone noticing, had transformed into a meal. The finale came in the form of a dessert wine. The kind of place that forces you to pause the conversation for a few seconds. The kind that leaves a memory lingering a moment longer than usual. Interestingly, we came in for the jazz. We'll have to return to see if it lives up to the food.

Nice concept, but we were not greeted upon arrival and it took a long time before someone came to us. Nothing was said about the menu, and the sourdough bread we ordered was definitely not sourdough and tasted like it was leftover from breakfast (it is part of the NH hotel experience).

I came to Vermeer Wine Bar with fairly high expectations, as it’s associated with Vermeer Restaurant and has been recommended by wine enthusiasts in Amsterdam and discussed positively in wine circles. There are definitely some strong points worth highlighting first. The staff we interacted with were friendly and courteous throughout, and I want to emphasize that this review isn’t directed at them personally. The location is also excellent: very central and convenient near Amsterdam Centraal, yet it still avoids feeling like a tourist trap. From what I could see, the wine list also appeared thoughtfully curated, which made the experience all the more promising. Unfortunately, several issues during our visit made the overall experience quite disappointing. To start, the opening hours listed on both Google Maps and the official website were incorrect. I visited at the beginning of May, and as of today (end of May), the hours are still incorrect on both platforms. I had a confirmed lunch reservation through TheFork, which added to the confusion for both myself and my guests. I even called ahead beforehand, and the hotel receptionist confirmed they would be open. Inaccurate operating hours across multiple platforms create a poor first impression and likely discourage potential guests from visiting. Once seated, the timing of service was significantly off. Our group ordered three wine flights, while one person ordered a single glass. It took quite a long time for any drinks to arrive. The first wines from the flights eventually appeared, but the separate glass order - a Beaujolais - was incorrect and came instead as a Spanish white wine. There were multiple back-and-forth attempts to correct this, and one guest ended up waiting at least 15 minutes without a drink. In total, it took roughly 45 minutes into our reservation before everyone had their first wine. Food service was even slower. We had only ordered simple items - bread, a burger, and a soup - expecting relatively quick bites alongside the wine. However, the food arrived more than an hour later. This was particularly surprising given that we appeared to be the only guests at the time, while multiple staff members were present. Another missed opportunity was the lack of explanation accompanying the wine flights. At a wine bar, especially one connected to a formerly Michelin-starred restaurant, you expect at least some level of guidance or storytelling around the wines being served. Instead, the service felt inconsistent, with different staff attending to us and little clarity about what we were tasting. A smaller detail, but still worth mentioning: after ordering, all menus remained on the table throughout the visit, which contributed to a slightly disorganized impression. That said, I do appreciate that toward the end of the meal, the staff acknowledged the service issues and made an effort to correct the bill. This was handled professionally and was a positive note to end on. Overall, while the fundamentals: location, concept, wine selection, and friendly staff; are clearly there, the execution during our visit fell well short of expectations. I hope this feedback is taken constructively, because the place certainly has the potential to deliver a much stronger experience than what we encountered.

Such a beautiful and cozy place in Amsterdam. The food was absolutely amazing and every dish was full of flavor. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, and the staff were incredibly kind and attentive. A special thank to Francesco, who was exceptionally friendly and made our visit even more memorable. :-) Highly recommended!

My favorite wine bar in Amsterdam, great wines at an Amazing price, the food is also good and so is the service, thanks Francesco :)

Our meals were perfect. The tartare - prepared tableside and the cod. Highly recommend both.

Unfortunately, a disappointment. I saw the jazz evening in the wine room advertised and made a reservation immediately. I had reserved for 6 o'clock, but it turned out the live jazz band wouldn't arrive until 8 o'clock; this wasn't mentioned beforehand. In itself, this isn't a problem, but it is still nice to know. We ordered a few wines and some bar snacks. Later, we asked for the dinner menu, but there wasn't one. Only snacks were served. After asking several times, it was repeatedly confirmed that there was no dinner menu, only the regular menu and a special jazz evening menu. This jazz menu contained exactly the same bar snacks as the regular menu, but unfortunately, once again, no full dinner dishes. I found this strange myself, considering a dinner menu can be found on the website. So, we left before the jazz band arrived, because we were in need of dinner and not just snacks. The wines, however, were good and the staff was friendly.

simply perfect! Thank you Elisa, we will come back soon.

What incredibly delicious wines!!! I am personally a huge red wine drinker and enjoyed it so much. Additionally, the staff was super friendly and sweet (especially Francesco, who told a nice story with every wine). It was fun to go there for a date night sometime :) Tip: the steak tartare was amazing!!

A lovely wine bar with friendly staff and a great selection on the menu. Francesco made me the most gorgeous Moscow Mule, and Fatur was so lovely and welcoming. I’d highly recommend this place and only wish I’d found it earlier in my trip.

Very nice place and good wine. Many thanks to Francesco for the good advice!

A wonderful evening - a hidden gem! Francesco is great!

Francesco took such good care of us. Beautiful Keller. Great streak tartare.

Incredible wine list, and the loveliest staff. One of the nicest evenings I’ve had in Amsterdam. Thank you Francesco

Extensive wine selection, great staff.

Beforehand: I was intrigued after seeing this wine bar on Instagram. I checked the wine list on the website, which looked good. We planned a trip to Amsterdam. Yesterday: We (wine lovers) arrived at 2:30 PM, but the wine bar clearly wasn't ready yet. We were given the hotel menu first, not the extensive menu from the wine bar itself. The music was still off. There was no explanation about the champagne we ordered, and we weren't shown the bottle, and the glasses weren't poured for us. The person working (who had worked the morning shift at the hotel) told us that the "real wine experts" would be arriving later. After that glass, we left. Not the experience you expect at a wine bar. What a shame!

A hidden gem, close to the centre, it would be easy to miss but a must for wine lovers. The bar has a massive range of wines and the quality and choice is exceptional. The wine flights are unbelievable value and served with care. Each wine is explained and served from the bottle before given a taste. A generous glass each time, all three wines selected and chosen in order to maximise your experience. Away from the hustle of the bars nearby it’s a haven. We didn’t eat but the menu looked very good.

Did not expect the wijnkamer to be so big and so good! The wine selection is really nice, staff was really kind and knowledgeable. Highly recommend going here for a little wine journey

Highly recommend Wijnkamer to anyone visiting Amsterdam. The service is incredible, wines delightful and delicious food. We loved it so much we visited twice!!! Both times, we enjoyed a wine tasting of different wines from across the world. Amazing! 🤩

Loved this wine bar! Staff were amazing (shoutout Eliza & Derek). Wine was delicious. We visited twice in a short visit to Amsterdam. Highly recommend. ⭐️💛

I think this was the most positive surprise in the hospitality industry this year! What incredibly kind people! A truly beautiful place, and fantastic wines too 🤩 Highly recommended! Not a place that's on par with the rest of Amsterdam, but truly quality service and products!

Loved it great time had by all, staff where happy and glad to be there

I go here for the great wine selection, that’s superb. I hope they can keep that level up

Vriendelijk personeel, bedankt voor de goede zorgen. Ik was er drie keer, twee avonden op maandag en dinsdag met een klein gezelschap en als afsluiting van de cursusweek op de vrijdag met wen groot gezelschap. Er wordt goed voor je gezorgd en er is veel kennis voor handen.

The waiter Francisco Nicolosi is such an amazing company to have, I enjoyed the service and the conversation would visit again just to see him.

Fransis era un barman fantástico - divertido, bien informado y creó la mejor “bebida especial” para mi esposa - pedir el especial de fresa. No te decepcionarás. Salud!

Great place for a cocktail and FANTASTIC SERVICE! Frances and Adele were wonderful! Can't wait to come back for another drink!

Frances and Elisa were lovely! They were so friendly and took great care of us when we popped in for an aperitif - a fun spot with nice drinks.

Excellent! Great food, great stuff, especially Fransis.

Excellent! Great food, great stuff, especially Fransis.

We had a wonderful dinner at this restaurant. Service was excellent and food was delicious. Little Francesco was brilliant. Highly recommend.

Francesco (Fransis de Apulia), un encantador compañero que nos cuidó dos noches seguidas. Un joven encantador, hizo de nuestro tiempo en el bar del hotel un verdadero placer. Saludos desde Vancouver Canadá!

It's very cozy, and the prices are reasonable.

I can only recommend this place - elegant and cheerful atmosphere to relax after work. Bartender makes the best vodka-martini. Liked the music in the background and the sandwiches as well.

Had a lovely lunch, many thanks to Dylan for the service!

nice bar and nice staff i want the one cocktail that wasn't on the menu but the bar man Shaq specially made my family a couple of lemon drop cocktails (best i've ever tasted)

Had such a great experience in this place. Service and food was outstanding!

El servicio fue el peor que he tenido y la comida era simplemente decente. Éramos una de las tres mesas de todo el restaurante (mala señal ya) y fue unas dos horas antes de cerrar. El camarero era extremadamente grosero, y el servidor ignoró todas las mesas, nunca tuvimos agua o la oportunidad de pedir más bebidas. No nos molestamos con el postre porque habría tomado una hora a su ritmo de movimiento, y ya no podíamos molestarnos en interactuar con un camarero grosero y lento. Nos sentamos allí por tanto tiempo que eventualmente tuve que levantarme e ir a conseguir que el servidor se relajara en el bar para pagar la cuenta.

Fabulous wine bar with great ambiance. Francesco is very friendly and welcoming, and the cherry tomato soup was delicious and beautifully presented, as well as many other menu items. We enjoyed our meals here very much!

Francesco was an amazing server, 100% recommend

Francesco helped a lot! Even we made Lynchburg lemonade which was not included in menu! Was a great taste of time!

Atmosphere unique, very cozy and nice place to have some wine. Service wasn't good. The waitress open our bottle of cava and left it there for us to pour. We have to do it. Okay. And some waiter that was around also offered to pour the second glass. We might not be residents but we were customers that one to have a nice experience. If this the service that nh collection offers it is very disappointing. We also bought a cheese platter to share and they didn't even tell us which cheese was presented to us. There no smiles, not coming to our table asking if everything was okay but some other tables with residents got all the attention and smiles. We love tipping our service but to be honest it was horrible.

Very good meal, quality service, quiet and pleasant restaurant. The staff was very attentive and friendly. A very warm welcome. I recommend +++

Great food with an excellent selection of wines. The staff is absolutely brilliant, both for the quality of the service and most of all for the friendly atmosphere, which is the perfect touch for the elegant context of the hotel. Would definitely recommend!

Beautiful and classy bar in the hotel Barbizon. Not very touristy and years prior I learned about scotch by a great bartender here one snowy December when all flights cancelled for 3 days because of the weather.

Amazing food & the kindest staff. Thanks to Laura for the mocktails!!

A decent restaurant. The staff were friendly and the food was by and large okay. I particularly enjoyed a pasta dish and the sweet potato fries. Stay away from the cod and hummus dish though; it was one of the most bizarre I've ever tasted.

For a hotel lobby bar, I wasn’t expecting anything amazing. But the food here is very good. We had the charcuterie platter and it was all very fresh and well presented. The staff are very attentive and don’t mind if you stay a while and play cards, etc.

Laura and Francesco did a wonderful job!

Laura and Francesco did a great job! Amazing people you have in this bar!

Fantastic evening and service by Francesco and the team, really gr at wine recondition for the Chenin Blanc and Italian reds. Great food too. Honestly lots to recommend from these guys, very relaxed and welcoming.

Lovely attentive staff. Really great service small but well thought out menu. Nice wine list good cocktails.

Yeah nice stop over, this was our final place, before we travelled back to our home. Let me start, with the staff was loverly, helpful. Our drinks consisted of, g&t, vodka, bira morettis, 'and that one bottle' ,, that almost had me flat on my back, when I walked out into the fresh air, old fashioned cocktail. Sourdough, chicken fillet with mushroom, French fries, cheeses to follow, pudding, was overall a enjoyable meal. Gutted we are heading home, already missing these places., 8/10

The restaurant is lovely and the staff are so friendly and attentive. Unfortunately, two nights on the run my food was cold, even after being reheated. My husband’s food was chicken with oyster mushrooms. It arrived with no oyster mushrooms and the chicken was so undercooked that it was very bloody!! My granddaughters ordered burger with just cheese and we went to great lengths to explain this. They both arrived with mayonnaise on. I really don’t believe it’s the restaurant staff but the kitchen who obviously don’t have a clue! Hugely disappointing and massively below standard for a motorway cafe let alone a pricy restaurant! Fancy surroundings and friendly staff don’t make up for rubbish food!! Chef, be ashamed - be very ashamed. Don’t eat here people.

I really enjoyed last night at bottles and jars. The cocktails of Francesco were amazing. Laura was really friendly and smiling all the time. Good service and delicious food. It was really nice to be there.

We visited Bottles and Jars yesterday, International Women's Day, and the service from Francesco and the rest of the staff was exceptional. They gave us tulips, it was a very special evening! The food and cocktails were great!

The place is amazing and thank you for Laura and Lisa and the big boss Francesco

Uitstekende service!! Personeel actief en erg enthousiast!! Drankjes waren echt lekker Francesco is een topper! Zeker een aanrader!!!!

Francesco was an absolutely amazing server! The food was great. I highly recommend!

Good food and nice atmosphere, quality of the entrecôte could have been a little better

Fracesco is one of a kind man he’s so friendly and truly enhanced our experience. Huge shoutout for his exceptional service.

Cozy atmosphere and friendly staff!!

Friendly staff and delicious food!

Very good service at the restaurant! The male waiter ‘Fransesco’ delivered a great service while it was busy in the restaurant with limited amount of staff. Looking forward to come here again!

quite and nice. Very good stuff, good location. A bit surprised not so many people Friday evening. They deserve more attention. 😊🌈

We visited Bottles & Jars for some drinks and snacks and we loved it! The atmosphere is cozy, the background music is beautiful and the equipment is very modern and stylish. Francesco, our waiter, was super friendly and he did a perfect job! The drinks and the snacks we had were very tasty. We will definitely come back when we stay in Amsterdam the next time.

A fabulous place to eat in Amsterdam. Francesco provided amazing service and exceeded all expectations. He is so friendly and welcoming and a real asset to the restaurant. Francesco gave our toddler some crayons and colouring pages to keep her amused, as well as a milk drink and a special cup for after dinner. The food was sensational. We will definitely go back when next in Amsterdam. Actually, we’ll maybe even go there again tomorrow night before we leave because it’s that good!

The best restaurant in Amsterdam center with impeccable service from Francesco, and very professional. the cuisine is, from appetizer to dessert, absolutely perfect! thank you a thousand times, we will come back without hesitation.

Francesco, our server, provided the best service I’ve ever had in Amsterdam, at a restaurant, in my five years of living here. Attentive, responsive, personable, great memory - a gem of hospitality. As for the restaurant - as it is in the middle of the red light district, you might could miss it, but don’t. The food was beautiful (stellar club sandwich and steak entrecôte, good fries - a very talented chef here) and the cocktails were good too. Lovely polished aesthetics, comfortable chairs, extensive wine list. We’ll be back. 😊

I had dinner here. I ordered the cheeseburger, and it’s stated just like that “cheeseburger’ on the menu, no description of the ingredients or anything of sort. The cheeseburger had a big slice of bacon, and that is not edible for some people from different religions or cultural backgrounds. Ordered a side dish of carrots, and got only one thinly sliced carrot for 3 euros! In general it’s a nice place, but the menu needs to be more specific on the description of the dishes.

A calm atmosphere for great drinks and bites to eat! Francesco is the best! He treats you like you are in a Michelin star restaurant!

The best restaurant in Amsterdam! Excelente attention from the crew, especially Francesco and Rose! Super recommend!

Quiet in the midst of chaos, very good service and wonderful food.

Cozy and a great place for a quiet drink away from the crowds.

We had a fantastic evening in Bottles & Jars, where we enjoyed a 3 course diner. We can really recommend the ‘5 bites of the chef’ as a starter. Very friendly staff. We will definitely come back ar Bottles & Jars Amsterdam

Nice concept of high quality tapas for a good price.

It’s so nice and quiet place to hangout and have a great service just look for Niamh and Francisco

Bardzo smaczne jedzenie. Zupa ramen bardzo dobra choć ciut mała. Steki w punkt. Bardzo smaczne. Wino Cabernet Sauvignon z Francji..kiepskie. obsługa Bardzo miła.

Fantastische service. Heerlijk gegeten. Top

Amazing food Michelin’s style, great deal, lovely host in a germ hideout

Mega Hamburger dort gehesen. Manchmal lohnt sich par euro mehr zu zahlen wenn mann dafür Top Qualität bekommt.Kommen gerne wieder 🥰

One of the more decent places closer to the central station.

I had a great experience at your bar! Arzu, Ferrie, Sara, and Sabrina are all very gifted bartenders, and I would like to point out that this is coming from someone with 15 years experience as a bartender. Your establishment should consider themselves lucky to have such an amazing and talented staff and should do whatever is necessary to keep them. I'm not sure when I'll be back in Amsterdam, but when I do, I will be sure to stop by this bar, even if I'm not staying at the hotel. Keep it up guys! Cheers!!

Lovely evening in the Bottles & Jars bar of Barbizon Palace! Thank you Sara, Arzu and Gilles for your amazing and friendly service!! Food was really delicious!