Most fine dining restaurants in Amsterdam are quite large and situated in even larger hotels. Restaurant Lastage is one of the exceptions. It is a small friendly restaurant with only about 30 seats. It is run and owned by the couple Rogier van Dam and Elise Moeskops who opened the place in 2010. They wanted to create their type of restaurant, which is honest tasteful fine dining with good wines and friendly service.
The restaurant is situated a short ten minutes walk from the Central Station in Amsterdam, just in front of a canal, in the area called Lastage which is also the name of the restaurant. Lastage is a French word derived from various ships loading related activities that used to take place here, the Dutch word being lasten.
Rogier is running the kitchen and has worked in a kitchen since the nineties in 18 different restaurants. His style of cooking is French Mediterranean cooking with mostly seasonal Dutch ingredients. Rogier’s cooking is simple and traditional with innovation when needed, the focus is on taste and ingredients and not overcomplicating things. So you will find risottos with veal cheeks or sea bass with smoked eel and some accompaniments for texture and taste. The menu is small and changes continuously with the season and you have a choice of a small three course to a longer tasting menu.
Elise is the sommelier and has created a selection of wines predominantly from Europe with some interesting labels from Italy and Spain that match the food. After an evening at Lastage you understand that Rogier and Elise together with Restaurant Manager Marije van der Leeuw and the small staff really put their heart in making your evening enjoyable and tasteful.
The service is friendly and informal and the food is honest and tasteful for a good value. It is no wonder it is a place frequented by locals and regulars who come back again and again to have a relaxed fine dining experience.
Written by Joakim
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Restaurant Lastage
Geldersekade 29
1011 EJ Amsterdam
The Netherlands