Blauw aan de Wal is located in the heart of Amsterdam's Red Light District, which is why Marlene chose it for our first night's dinner; she said she wanted to get it out of the way. An alleyway off the bustling street leads into a tranquil courtyard – and another world.
Blauw aan de Wal is housed in a 500 year-old warehouse, and is surrounded by an old monastery. There is seating on two levels; we sat in the lower level, with its brick walls and high ceiling.
Blauw aan de Wal offered three and four course prix fixe menus; we chose the three course option. Our waiter was fantastic; he sat down at our table and described every item on the menu. We could choose from two starters, one in between, two main courses, two cheese plates and two desserts. Marlene started with the venison tartar accompanied by Lardo di Colonnata. The tartar was very good, although it was difficult to discern that it was venison. Lardo di Colonnata is a charcuterie produced in the Tuscan hamlet of Colonnata. Made by curing strips of back fat with sea salt, rosemary and other herbs, it's then laid down in basins of the famous local Carrara marble for six months to reach perfection. It was yummy.
Venison tartar, chestnut crème, Lardo di Colonnata I started with the cauliflower panna cotta, which was covered by a thin layer of oyster jelly and topped with herring roe. It was a wonderful dish; the herring roe were rich and unique.
Herring roe, cauliflower panna cotta, oyster jelly We both chose the veal cheeks as our main course. It was tender and tasty; it pulled apart like beef brisket. The accompanying vegetables were also very good, but it was difficult to find the sweetbreads in the small puff pastry.
Veal cheeks, pine nut gremolata, sweetbreads Marlene had the pear clafoutis for dessert and I had the chocolate parfait. The pear would have paired better with vanilla ice cream; the salted caramel didn't work. The chocolate was very rich and very good.
Pear clafoutis, salted caramel ice cream
Chocolate parfait, vodka, Amarena cherries While Blauw aan de Wal was not our best dinner in Amsterdam, we enjoyed our evening and would not hesitate to recommend it. After dinner, Marlene and I did indeed walk through the Red Light District; you'll have to find another website for that review.
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