La Rive can be found tucked away inside Hotel InterContinental Amstel, Amsterdam. This is a fine dining restaurant inside a high class hotel, arguably one of the better hotels in the city.
The hotel building is classic Dutch architecture, with grey stone, white windows and an imposing edifice. It was once a palace of some kind and has been lovingly modernised and brought into the modern age by the current and previous owners since being built in 1867.
It sits alongside a river and inside is more modern than the outside. The standard of decoration is high, with public areas decorated in light colours, with dark furniture to contrast. Everything is high quality and the restaurant is no exception.
Located in the lower ground floor, the Michelin-starred La Rive is a great place to experience very high quality food in very nice, relaxed surroundings. Like the hotel, the décor is light and comfortable with a heavy dose of classic comfort. La Rive was recently voted the best restaurant in Amsterdam by the Lekker Restaurant Guide.
The traditional furniture works well with the modern place settings and menu to create a lovely ambience for good food. The large windows offer an excellent view of the river, while the chef’s table offers an unrivalled view of the kitchen.
“La Rive has amazing attention to detail and a real creative flair.”
We began with pre-starters of white grapes and water melon served in a bowl of ice. The water melon came as a square and the grapes in a test tube. They were a feast for the eyes as well as the palate and got us off to a great start.
Our starters were sirloin steak and risotto. The steak starter came with tomato, avocado and bacon. The steak was cooked perfectly and was artfully garnished with the tomato, avocado and bacon. Each element of the dish worked exceptionally well, providing a tasty, well balanced dish.
The risotto was also a work of art, served with beetroot, barbecue and balsamic vinegar. It too, looked as good as it tasted, served in a bowl with the vegetables arranged artfully around the plate. It ate well too. Both were great starters for very different reasons.
Main course was Dover sole and sirloin steak. The Dover sole was served with macadamia nuts, quinoa and crème fraiche. The sole was cooked perfectly, the meat fell off the bone and was still exceptionally moist and tasty. It was well seasoned and worked very well with the garnish.
The Wagyu sirloin steak came with kalian, pumpkin and a bay leaf. This Japanese beef is arguably the best beef in the world and after this main course, I believe it. The meat was exceptionally good. It was tender, juicy and full of flavour, making it the perfect main course, despite having had a steak starter too.
The garnish worked to accentuate the flavour of the beef while still giving the meat room to sing. It was an exceptionally well executed main dish and ate very well indeed.
La Rive is an excellent place to dine. The dining room is light, relaxed and the service is very efficient. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about the cellar, the daily specials and the menu in general. It shows an investment in staff and customer service that we always appreciate.
Our dishes arrived quickly and were very well presented. The restaurant has amazing attention to detail and a real creative flair. Something we really appreciated from just a single visit. La Rive is definitely somewhere we would return.
The Bill: £92 per head
