![]() There’s a varied menu of natural, organic wines by the glass, which the servers will let you taste before you decide if you ask nicely. The restaurant’s extensive, leafy terrace is perfect for corona-savvy summer evenings, and it’s even covered with vast umbrellas in case it rains (which it did – a lot – when I was there). With the unfortunate timing of opening right before first lockdown, Alba on the Wibautstraat is now making up for lost time. Asian-style oysters at Winehouse SOMM Best for al fresco dining: Alba The wines are fantastic, but in the end play second fiddle to the outstanding food despite the fact that SOMM calls itself a wine bar. ![]() Think oysters, salmon, duck, entrecote – that kind of thing. Most courses seem to be heavy on meat or fish, so this probably isn’t suitable for vegetarians unless you plan just to come for the wine. ![]() I’d (wrongly) assumed that we’d be having our wine with snacks, but in fact you’re looking at a three- to six-course menu that’s very reasonably priced. Great for a date night, SOMM is candlelit, relaxed and almost every table has a good view of the kitchen – which is important because, while it might describe itself as a wine bar, the food is what you’re really here for. Tucked down a residential street in De Baarsjes, you’re not going to stumble across Winehouse SOMM by accident – it’s the kind of place you’ve got to know about. Here are just a few of my favourite wine bars in Amsterdam, that don’t disappoint on the food front… Want to discover more than just wine bars in Amsterdam? Download my comprehensive Amsterdam restaurant guidebook here. More and more restaurants, bars and cafés are starting to offer shareable bites with drinks, and the quality and inventiveness of the food is going up in parallel. And Amsterdam – with its work-life balance that means most people leave work at a sensible time – is finally starting to get on board with this. The Dutch have their borrelhapjes, of course, but there’s room to branch out from the deep-fried snacks and blocks of cheese – as moreish with mustard as they may be. I’m not sure what the Spanish call it, but the same principle applies with tapas. The Italians call this aperitivo, and they do it spectacularly well. Either way, this first-drink-of-the-day meets early-evening snacks moment has a name in our house: Hapje Hour – which, incidentally, will be the name of my wine bar if the Mr. If I’m at home, it’ll perhaps be accompanied by some cheese and crackers or slices of chorizo if I’m out, it might be bitterballen or jamón. My favourite moment of the day is somewhere around 6.30 pm, when work is finished, it’s not yet time for dinner, and the kitchen is filled with the familiar glug-glug-glug sound of a just-opened bottle of wine being poured.
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