Amsterdam restaurant review: Reuring

Please note that since writing this blog post, Reuring has closed down

Fixed menus: good or bad? I mean the kind where you decide how many courses you want, tell your server if you have any allergies or dislikes, and wait to see what the chef surprises you with. Personally, I love these situations. I find lengthy menus a waste of valuable chatting time, and I think the quality tends to be better when a chef is only buying and cooking one set of dishes, rather than trying to be everything to everyone. But there are certainly diners out there who think differently. And I understand that too: if you’re paying to go out for dinner, surely you should at least get some choice about what to eat? There are arguments on both sides.

So, an advanced warning: if you like choice, you won’t like Reuring. If (like me) you love a good chef’s menu, you’re in luck. We opted for three courses for €33.50, although we could’ve stretched to four or five courses. One of our friends is pregnant, and they did a great job of catering to her dietary requirements as well – including offering her a very tasty glass of non-alcoholic bubbles.

Speaking of drinks, we’d started off our evening at their sister bar/restaurant opposite, Paskamer. When it was time to move to our table at Reuring, they brought our drinks across the road for us and simply switched the tab. Plus, they brought us constant (tap) water refills throughout the evening without us having to ask. It’s the little things that count when it comes to service.

But back to the food. Our amuse was duck liver on a crostini with a tiny dollop of sweet onion chutney, swiftly followed up by a starter of breast of partridge, just cooked and still pink. It came with a rich truffle mayo, walnuts and a raw slice of a white root vegetable – probably turnip but perhaps even daikon? The flavours were autumnal, with a good balance between rich and light.

Continuing the seasonal theme, our main course was duck breast, cooked medium-rare, with Yorkshire pudding – much to the delight of our pregnant friend, who is from Yorkshire! Just like a (posh) roast dinner, our meat came with potatoes, gravy and two veg: pumpkin purée and kale-like greens. I’m not sure if they were aiming to emulate a British Sunday, but they did. And while nothing will ever come close to my Dad’s Sunday roast, Reuring made a good approximation that (probably unwittingly) gave all four of us Brits a taste of home.

Plus, the wine pairings we had with both courses were spot-on: a Pinot Noir with the partridge and a Spätburgunder with the duck – both went perfectly with the seasonal game. I don’t remember the dessert wine we drank, but I do remember the dessert itself: a miniature salted-chocolate-truffle log with toasted oats. Rich and smooth, bitter meets sweet, and with a crunchy toasted texture from the oats.

Of course, our final bill came to far more than the €33.50 menu, what with the aperitif, wine pairing and oops-we-haven’t-see-each-other-in-a-while extra bottle of wine. But well, what else are Friday nights for?