If you had time for just one dinner in Amsterdam ...
 

... where would you go?

I'm looking for a place to have our one dinner -- we're staying just two nights, and the first night we'll be too tired from travel to do a nice dinner any justice, so we'll go for something simple and convenient the first night.

We're three women traveliing together -- two middle-aged sisters and our mother. I read about a place called Sluizer in someone's trip report, and I liked the look of it from the website. Is that a safe enough bet? How about De Roode Leeuw? I loved the idea of Haesje Claes, but then one guidebook called it a Dutch TGIFridays...!

Although my mom probably wouldn't welcome an Indonesian place, she'd hate TGIFridays even more....

Do you have any suggestions?

My first choice would be Indonesian, a rijsttafel.Has your mother ever tried one?
For local Dutch seafood cuisine, we really enjoyed Lucius www.lucius.nl )and ate there twice.

You don't give any indication of where your staying but if your close to Herenstraat 16 give Season's a try - http://www.seasonsrestaurant.nl/setmenu.php?lang=en.

Four of us ate there last September based on the B&B owners recommendation and thoroughly enjoyed it.

My long time favorite restaurant in Amsterdam is the Luden on Spuistraat, a one minute walk north of the Spui. Good food, service, ambience, and prices.

Have a beverage at the Cafe Luxembourg and/or the Hoppe at the Spui.

IMO Indonesian restaurants smell horrible, like a Taco Bell, with boiling oil cooking all those strange things which come out all oily, of course. It may be Amsterdamsh but it ain't Dutch.

Haesje Claes is nothing like TGIFridays. It is almost worth going there for the building alone. It serves simple Dutch food, and has menus in English. However for one special meal it is perhaps not the best choice.

Dutch Indonesian food is not as spicy hot as you might expect. Some of it is, and you can ask for the degree of heat you want. Much of it has very complex flavours, with only a hint of heat.

AS for Indonesian not being Dutch - it is at least as Dutch as the food served in most restaurants in Amsterdam and ).
probably more so, heritage wise, than most, including Luden.

Thanks so much for all your replies. This is going to be harder than I thought....

I thought Haesje Claes looked so atmospheric from the website, but I would like to go somewhere we'll enjoy the food, as well. Loved the idea of Lucius, which I hadn't heard of before: we all love seafood.

I appreciate your help. We leave in a month! I'll need to post a few more questions, too...

Harkema on Nes is nice, as is Blauw aan de Wal on ouderzijds achterburgwal I believe.Bordewijk is also nice, on Noordermarkt in the Jordaan area.

If you like fish, Visaandeschelde, in the southern part of the city (taxi ride) is a better bet than Lucius.

Djago, on Scheldeplein, is imo the best Indonesian restaurant in town. Rijsttafel is a dutch colonial invention, but Djago serves the real deal.

We ate at Haesje Claes and really liked it. It is hardly TGI Fridays, believe me. It's where we tried pickled herring. I just looked back at my trip report and I had poached salmon in gouda sauce. It was a good meal and we'd both return.

We also ate at Brasserie de Poort (in the Hotel Die Port van Cleve at the Dam stop on the tramline). That was our "splurge" meal and it was our best meal of the trip. My sister wanted to try this for the best pea soup in Amsterdam (or so says Frommers). She was not disappointed. I had a tomato soup with goat cheese worked into it, which was thick and creamy and absolute heaven. We both had hutspot, which was similar to stampotten, with potatoes, sausages and bacon which was hearty and filling. We finished with poffertjes with egg nog sauce, which was heavenly. Sister had a jenever/champagne cocktail and I had a campari with orange. This was our splurge meal at 87E. The restaurant is beautiful and the wait staff is wonderful.

The Dutch eat raw herring, not pickled herring.

I studied in Holland many years ago. I vote for the rijsttafel.

This is wonderful. I will be in Amsterdam in September and I am taking notes. The restaurants mentioned look great.
Thanks.

The best pea soup in Amsterdam is at the Cafe Luxembourg. The Dutch name is erwtensoep, a.k.a. snert. If you are lucky it will be offered in September. It is usually only available in the winter. Have it with a borrel, a jonge.

Rijsttafel is horrible. It ain't Dutch so it ain't much. The word is not even in my 3 inch thick Woordenboek.