Enoteca epitomizes the spirit of true Italian hospitality but will not require a passport for you to visit. Situated in the heart of the Jordaan, this cocktail bar/restaurant is the perfect combination for a night out. Stepping into the bar area, I was warmly greeted with a smile and handed a leather- bound menu of cocktails. As I perused the selection, exotics such as mango margaritas, and Hawaiian Dreams sounded very tempting. Being a former bartender, I was impressed by the bowls of fresh fruit, the ice machine (rare in Holland) and the variety of liquors available. I decided on a strawberry margarita and Drew opted for the traditional lime. Within a few minutes, our drinks were presented, attractively garnished and the bartender placed a bowl of chips down for us to munch on. In conversation with our bartender, I discovered he was the owner of the restaurant, Andreas was very personable and I felt like a guest in his home. As I sipped my drink, I could taste the natural flavor of the strawberries, without all the sugar you usually get in North America, and the tequila was strong yet very delicious. When we had finished our margaritas, we decided to order another round of drinks and take a look at the dinner menu. This time our bartender brought out a bowl of beautiful green olives and they were literally the best olives I have ever tasted. Now I was convinced that I wanted to stay for dinner, and I asked Andreas if we could have a table in the dining room. He immediately said “Yes, of course”, and told us to choose which table we wanted. The dining room was very simply decorated, with a small bud vase containing a single red rose, with a tea light candle on each table.

As we sat by the window we received prompt attention from our waiter. I ordered the Maltagliati Pasta, with sautéed vegetables to share with Drew as a first course accompanied by two glasses of Piave Merlot. Our waiter returned with the wine and a basket of fresh bread, and oil for dipping. Soon the pasta arrived, fresh noodles tossed in a garlicky butter sauce with broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and green beans. Yummy!
We ate the entire plate and then ordered more wine. For my entrée I chose the lamb, and Drew went with the veal. My lamb was cooked medium rare, very tasty served with mashed potatoes and spinach. Drew’s piece of veal was very large, cooked rare on top of a bed of greens and grape tomatoes. It was a little too rare for his likings, but he still enjoyed it very much. I found it to be very tender, and almost sweet. We both ate as much as we could, but had to save a little room for desert. Cappuccinos, coffee semi-freddo, and a lemon cream pastry were in order. My semi-freddo was wonderful, cool, creamy and not too rich. I would order it again, happily! As we lingered over our coffees, it was decided that this was the best meal we had experienced in Amsterdam, and would definitely recommend it highly. The bill for this leisurely evening of wining and dining came to a total of 112 .00 Euros, with tip 135.00

Thank you to Andreas and his wonderful, professional, talented staff.