Do you know how I know that Gebroeders Hartering is a good restaurant? If you search for them on Google, their website is the 5th result listed, after all of the Yelp, Trip Advisor, The Fork, and other rating websites. This little restaurant is a true gem. Tucked away on a side street on the east side of the city, overlooking a canal, even the taxi driver didn’t know where it was. The first problem was that I kept calling it “The Brothers Hartering” which is technically how it’s translated, but it confused the guy. But it’s also a fairly small venue, so he had to stop and ask someone where it was. As for the restaurant itself, make a reservation and go. It’s worth it.
This was the first meal that Cristina and I had in Amsterdam, and it set the bar high. We had a 6:00P reservation and got there a little early. They were still setting up the 14 table restaurant, but they invited us in and poured us a glass of prosecco while they finished setting up. The gentleman who helped us may have been a waiter, he may have been the sommelier, he may have been one of the brothers, I have no idea, but he was very friendly, knew all about the wines (apparently he was a member of the North American Sommelier Association), and walked us through the menu. Cristina and I decided to do the 5 course tasting menu with the wine pairings, and a side of roasted bone marrow for good measure. We could have gotten the 7 course menu, which would have included a cheese course and their signature prime rib, but we thought that it might have been a little too much food. Even though we got the 5 course menu, I feel like there were probably about 8 or 9 plates put in front of us over the course of the evening. Almost all of the wines were delicious and paired well with the courses. There were one or two that we weren’t terribly fond of, but that’s unsurprising. The food came at a fairly leisurely pace, which we realized when we left the restaurant shortly after 10:00P. The 4 hour meal wasn’t rushed, it just felt like good food with people who very clearly took pride in what they were presenting to us, and the time flew without us realizing it. None of the dishes were excessively frou-frou, instead relying on quality of ingredients and skilled preparation to impress you, rather than kitchen on tricks and showmanship. All of the dishes are seasonal and rotate based on what they can get, so there’s no menu online, and you never know what they’ll have. (Except things like bone marrow. I don’t think there’s a season for stuff like that, but I digress)
Europe takes a different approach to dining with the slower pace and the leisurely service. It’s far different from what we’re used to in the US (different from what I’m used to, at least) and it takes a little getting used to. But dinner at Gebroeders Hartering was one of the best meals I’ve ever had, hands down. Considering how much we ate and how long we were there, I expected the bill to be far higher than it was. For the tasting menu, plus wine pairings, plus the bone marrow, plus a generous tip, the meal was only $250. Maybe I’m jaded by prices in DC, but I was expecting it to be nearly double that.
I don’t know how long Gebroeders Hartering has been around, but I hope that their fame doesn’t go to their heads. Their food is fantastic, the service is great, and I will gladly go back. In fact, we were only in Amsterdam for 3 1/2 days, and we considered going back for a second visit. How they’re not Michelin starred, I have no idea, but I’m glad that they’re not. This is what good dining is supposed to be about.
