Colin and I were in Amsterdam Sunday through Saturday. Thursday was our train day to Rotterdam and Antwerp. It wasn’t until that fifth night we discovered the best food and drinks and service of the entire trip. (Yes, breakfast food at Bunk was delicious.)
Over the week, we learned that most restaurant kitchens closed at 5:00 p.m. “Bar snacks” were still available: fried cheese, chicken nuggets, French fries smothered in cheese, everything fried. Chicken nuggets and fries are great but not every day of the week in a foreign country. Tired and hungry from our day of trains and exploring, with few food options, I suggested we walk to an Albert Heijn near the hostel and look at premade sandwiches or charcuterie boards. We were unimpressed and left the grocery store empty handed. That’s when I saw a restaurant across the street.
The restaurant was small but had a decent number of people inside. I turned to Colin and said, “Let’s just look at the menu.” Two menus, one in Dutch and the other in English, were displayed low in a front window. We crouched down to look at the offerings. A woman seated at a window table turned toward us, pointed at the menus, then gave two thumbs up. We were sold.
De Kleine Kapitein (The Little Captain) was run by a guy from Egypt who appeared to be the owner, host, chef and bartender. Our waiter provided the best service of the trip. Super chill, friendly, attentive and someone Colin and I would’ve befriended if we lived near each other. It turned out he wasn’t even a server. He worked 8-5 in finance, was friends with the owner and randomly helped out at the restaurant a few nights a week. The food and drinks were so good, Colin and I returned for dinner Friday night, which happened to be ping pong night. (The thumbs-up lady dined there both nights as well!) We were there for almost four hours of eating and drinking. Pumpkin-stuffed ravioli, shrimp marinated in Grand Marnier and paprika, jenever and ginger beer, free shots, dessert. It was delicious and glorious.
