Bar Spek

My experience at Spek was a bit confusing, as I heard many good things about it. But as we are rating individual experiences, and not overall impressions of others, here goes mine: Monday dinner, 8pm, group of 9 people.
Starter 1 — Bread with hummus and aioli: The aioli was good. The humus was also good, except it was not the classical hummus. It was actually a sweet pea and mint one, so it was quite a surprise: D It was good, though, so the only suggestion would be to mention the variation on the menu. There were 2 bread versions, one softer and one ‘baked’, which was way too hard. Not a fan.
Starter 2 — Oysters: Rather small, but the product was good. Shucking was done ok. The oysters were properly detached, but with some shell residue. What I did not understand was the presentation. The oysters were served on a ruccola bed, and topped with raw spring onion. Since the ruccola was under, that was not a big problem, but I found it annoying that I had to remove the spring onion from my oyster. I was thinking: Like why? The onion should have been left aside. Raw it is too overpowering for the delicate creature. The ruccola would have been of more use in other dishes, such as the tagliatelle.
Main — Oxtail stew: Oxtail served on a creamy polenta, great idea for a comforting filling dish. The execution was ok. While the consistency of the meat was great, nicely melting in the mouth, it was missing the usual multitude of taste layers a stewed or slow-​cooked meat has. Moreover it was a bit bland, lacking salt. I really enjoyed the grilled carrots, but the grilled pieces of spring onion/​scallion were not really fitting in, and surely not necessary.
Desert: Essentially a chocolate lava cake with ice cream. Only note here is: the cake could have been 30−50% bigger. Otherwise, it was absolutely delicious. I have to add that I had to wait for a bit longer for my dessert, as the first one did not turn out as it was supposed to. So I got it on the house, however, this dis not bias my opinion, and once again: It was delicious :)
Other remarks: As to the other dishes at the table, I heard that the tagliatelle was great, but 2 beet pizzas were half-​burned. These were upon complaint taken back, and the 2 girls got a new half-​pizza of their choosing, which I understood was good. I tried a fry with the home-​made mayo, it was nice and crunchy. A friend got the chocolate mania dessert. While it was good, I would not describe it as a chocoholics dream, however, as it was visually appealing, yet there was quite a bit of whipped cream, and not enough chocolate.
Overall:
While my visit should have probably be rated 2, my final overall rating is 3. The extra star is due to our waitress, who was attentive, and genuinely interested in what we had to say about our dish, as well as the way she dealt with the issues that presented themselves during the dinner.
I think that there are some labeling issues when it comes to the dishes, as well as some execution matters that need to be addressed. Finally, while I am a general fan of all onion varieties, I do believe that the spring onion use here should be taken down a notch, or two; it was everywhere. I am looking forward to trying breakfast or lunch here, to get the full image of the place.

Wow. Love love love! I actually looked to buy an apartment across the street and am so glad I didn’t because I would be here every night.
The service was fantastic, the food was amazing and a great variety without being too large a selection and I loved the ambience, music and crowd mixture.
We had crostini (large, buttery and delicious) served with Pea hummus and aioli that was scrumptious. Both. and i hate any hummus usually without chick peas but not this one. It was citrusy, refreshing and yummy.
My son had a spicy pizza with salami and loved it. My steak (skirt?) was medium rare and lovely if a tiny bit tough but I expect that with Skirt. A little more marination might make it soften. Our veg friend had the pumpkin ravioli and raved.
All that for 60 euro including drinks.
I’ll be back… often if I can.

So I visited Bar Spek last Sunday. It was raining heavily and the wind was crazily strong and I only needed a place to avoid those disastrous weather.
When my friend and I stepped in, the bar was full of people we had to wait for half and hour in order to get a table. But it was totally worth it. The food here is simple but the taste is overwhelming. We ordered 2 dishes: one is full of exotic food such as cheese sticks, bitterballen, and shrimp croquettes and the other is wild boar liver sausage with sandwiches.
Totally fall in love with both dishes and we think we will come here again.

Just moved to Amsterdam, Bar Spek was recommended to me by the previous tenants of my house. The pizzette piccante was really nice and the coffee was nice as well. My boyfriend had the BLT sandwich, which was small and served on a big plate, which made it look smaller even. He liked the sandwich and it was enough for him as a lunch.
The atmosphere was nice, the waiters friendly and not a table was empty. The menu looks appealing, I will definitely come back for pizza for dinner or the sinner’s breakfast!

I really liked the lively, warm vibe of Bar Spek. The service was fast and friendly, the food was good, and the drinks were delicious. I was there for dinner and ordered the prosciutto and arugula pizza. The crust was nice and thin and it had just the right amount of sauce.
I ordered a mixed drink from the menu, believe it was the Ginger Marnier, and it was very good. I’m a fan of most things gingery, so this drink called to me and didn’t disappoint. I’d definitely check out Bar Spek again if in the area.

I’m almost certain that every review I’ve written in Amsterdam has contained the lines ‘simple yet delicious,’ but I really can’t think of a better way to describe the food (I’ve already considered the need for a thesaurus).
Bar Spek is simple, with a relaxed and inviting atmosphere in a great location, the kind where you’d be happy to drink the day away whilst people watching.
I had the piccante pizza and tanqueray gin. My partner had the margarita pizzq with cheese sticks to start with a few cups of mint tea.
I won’t say the pizza blew me away because it didn’t, but the ingredients were fresh, base was thin and crispy, and there were a good amount of toppings.
My goblet– yes, goblet of gin and tonic was enough to give me a good buzz. The added grapefruit was pretty special too.
Overall, food was good and the service was great. I’d recommend this place to anyone– and don’t forget your goblet of gin!

Casual lunch cannot be any better than this.
Seating o

5 étoiles pour cette super découverte.
Le bar spek est ouvert du petit-​déjeuner, au verre de fin de soirée en passant par le déj, le goûter et le diner.
J’ai adoré la déco, mélange de fleurs, de meubles récupérés, de cochon («spek» doit avoir un lien).
La carte est bien fournie, avec une vue sur la cuisine dans le fond où l’on voit les cuistos s’activer.
Pour le petit-​déjeuner, on retrouve de tout, du yahourt/​muesli, au croissant confiture, à la planchette salée.
Les serveurs sont très sympas, j’ai remarqué que le matin, le café était ouvert avant même l’heure indiquée.
Je vous recommande cette adresse que j’aurai voulu tester davantage.