Blue Pepper Indonesian

The food and service were excellent. Very flavorful and well prepared dishes. The aroma strikes you the moment you walk into the restaurant. A reservation is recommended as the space is not large and it’s popular.

Sensational is short for devine, superbe, awesome, fantastic. Really. I love Indonesian food, but this restaurant is just that at the highest level! And I am a spoiled brat! Euh… Bart

Authentic Indonesian with a smart twist without compromise. Friendly quality service. Nice atmosphere that encourage good conversations. Good choice for business or personal meals.

Great location, right off a canal. I loved the blue color of the room. Very modern, which matches the food.
I felt that the menu, while nice was a bit limited, although it included some interesting protein options.
It is also rather expensive. I would recommend this as a special date night place, but with lighting on the brighter side. It does show off the artwork, produced by one of the waiters.
The food was delicious and inventive. For a starter, we shared the venison satay. I am not sure I’ve ever seen venison on a menu, anywhere else (although we cook it at home) so of course we had to try it. This was an excellent preparation of a meat that can be on the game-​y side. Fantastic.
The kitchen sent out a small salad with apples, arugula, orange slices & pomegranate seeds, very nice.
For mains We shared the Bengali Prawns and the Bison. Prawns were so tasty! Nice and large. Great sauce. Perfectly cooked. The bison was lovely as well.
No dessert as we were rather full by this point due to the generous serving size.
Overall a great, albeit pricey find.

While I would not call this «authentic» Indonesian food, it is definitely full of delicious Indonesian flavors… really more like modern Indo-​fusion. All of our dishes were cooked well and were generously portioned for eating family style.
The décor was a little too modern for my taste, but that seems to be the angle the owners are after, so I suppose it make sense.
When I am in town again, I may go back, but with so many great Indo options, who knows for sure…

So much looking forward to this! This small restaurant is very close to our house… so I needed to go after reading the great rev’s.
To fall with the door into the house:
Décor: 2 (Meh…)
Staff: 3 (a-​ok…)
Wine: 4
Food: 1
Wallet value: 1 (the bill was € 160…for two people…)
Because it was so «off»??? I really cant give more than 1 star.
Décor: Blue! My favorite color, Cobalt Blue. …but, this? Really? Food and blue in your face… 90’s bad Pollok-​like paintings and a poor attempt to have a cool looking ventilation system with lamps sticking out of it… and the very attractive high lit white kitchen with… yet an other Irish person! The cook is Irish, i kid you not.
Cliental: Russians and Americans. (no, really… no locals, let alone Indonesians) To all the tourists visiting our lovely city: DON’T GO HERE! …you will NOT get real Indonesian food.
How do all those people get here? Well… they were featured in the Holland Harrold, KLM’s inflight magazine… On the website, it is said that the chef is a lovely, classy looking Indonesian lady… All the staff was Irish! Even the cook! What… hahaha! Even red Irish! … (come on, that was funny, yep! I saw you smiling whilst reading that last line!)
A NOTE TO THE FRESH PEOPLE VISITING THE CITY (AKA TOURISTS):
RIJST TAFEL BY WIKI and altered by me: Elaine …
The Dutch colonial feast, the rijsttafel, was created to provide a festive and official type of banquet that would represent the multi-​ethnic nature of the Indonesian archipelago. Dishes were assembled from many of the far flung regions of Indonesia, where many different cuisines exist, often determined by ethnicity and culture of the particular island or island group — from Javanese favourite sateh, tempeh and seroendeng, to vegetarian cuisine gado-​gado and lodeh with sambal lalab from Batavia and Preanger. From spicy rendang and gulai curry from the Minangkabau region in Sumatra, to East Indies unbiquitous dishes nasi goreng, soto ayam and kroepoek crackers. Also Indonesian dishes from hybrid influences; such as Chinese babi ketjap, loempia and bamie to European beef smoor. And there are many others from the hundreds of inhabited islands, which contain more than 300 regional and ethnic language groups.
During its centuries of popularity in Dutch East Indies, lines of servants or sarong-​clad waitresses ceremoniously served the marathon meal on platters laden with steaming bowls of fragrant foods. The first to be served was a cone-​shaped pile of rice on a large platter, which the server placed in the center of the table. The servers then surrounded the rice platter with as many as 40 small bowls holding meat and vegetable dishes as well as condiments.
Brought back to the Netherlands by former colonials and exiled Indonesians and Indo-​Europeans (Eurasians) after Indonesia gained its independence in 1945, the rijsttafel was predominantly popular with Dutch families with colonial roots. On the other hand, in Indonesia, when the country proclaimed its independence in 1945, Indonesian nationalism increased among its people, and this sentiment projected through the rejection of Dutch colonial culture and customs, including the flamboyant rice table.

My cousin had never been to Amsterdam, so in addition to showing him the grittier parts of the city, I also decided to show him some of the finer, tamer side as well.
We found Blue Pepper at the recommendation of our very hip concierge. When we asked about having a proper Rijsttafel, without hesitation he suggested this place. When we got there, it totally wasn’t what I expected. They have bright blue walls, and lack a lot of the kitschy pseudo Indonesian wares that a lot of other places have. It is very understated. The interior is really non-​descript, but clean and elegant (in that minimalist kind of way).
Enough about that, and on to the food! The food was simply breath-​taking. The presentation and flavors were simply amazing (truly not enough words in my vocabulary to praise them)! I started with the open lumpia of goose in cinnamon and clove flavors and teamed winter roll of chicken (which was the stand out for me. It was perfectly balanced and flavorful. I literally had to stop conversation to properly appreciate the mastery that was this appetizer). Then there was the saté of garlicmarinated beef with Indonesian lime and soy sauce with a spicy tropical fruit salad with tamarind. Once again, perfectly executed and delicious! I followed that up with the filet of cod in a Sumatran sauce of chili and turmeric, complimented by stirfried vegetables with white pepper. The fish had been flash fried that bathed in sauce– absolute perfection! Finally in the line-​up was a dessert trio– lychee mousse, tropical fruit salad and mandarin icecream on a bed of berry compote. All in all, a great meal! Honestly one of the best I’ve had in Amsterdam, and maybe ever!
I would totally recommend this place for a special occasion or simply for a food lover seeking indulgence. Out of this world good!

If you are looking for a Rijsttafel (rice table) in Amsterdam, or just some nice south east asian fusion cuisine, the Blue Pepper is a great choice, This small (seats 36) place with bright blue walls is an expensive — but really well executed meal. Here is what it was the night I visited.
Rijsttafel — The Sultan and I
Chicken w/​sweet pepper sauce
Salada asinan segar soft shell crab, mango and pineapple in a refreshing green salad with tamarind
Otakotak grilled fish paté in a peanut chili sauce
Salada bebek roasted duck salad with a green turmeric leaves dressing
Soto ayam pedas — spicy soup of baby chicken with quail eggs and glassnoodles
Saté kambing lamb saté with an Indonesian lime and soy sauce
Saté ayam chicken saté with a peanut sauce
Ikan pepes spicy fish steamed in banana leaves Balinesestyle
Classic rendang the national dish — spicy beef Padangstyle with turmeric leaves
Kambing kecap lamb and chili in a sweet and hot sauce
Udang blado spicy prawns with a fiery red sauce
Tofu in a Javanese soy sauce with a touch of sweetness
Urak arik stirfried veg and eggs
Steamed Asian chocolate brownies, brown rice cakes and a rich fermented blackrice pudding, Coconut icecream, served with a shot of sherry
Of the above, I found the
Saté kambing, Ikan pepes, kambing kecap, tofu, and urak arik truly special and all was very good. We had a bottle of Sancerre ”Ammonites”, Matthias et Emile Roblin, Loire, France, which went very well with the food. And the Nektar Pedro Ximenez sherry with dessert — delightful!
Make reservations if you plan to go…

you would not be able to have this meal in this way in any other city.
it’s indonesian, but unmistakably dutch. what fusion cuisine was before it was raped and pillaged. when it was actual rape and pillage and bringing spices home from merchant ships 400 years ago.
which is why you have to do the rijstaffel (rice table)
an amsterdam must. to say any more would be spoiling it for you. ok, i’ll say this: blue pepper is small. it has an even smaller bathroom. it feels like a culture/​dimension warp of right-​now new york city restaurants and a centuries-​old imperialist spice trade with less oppression and more awesome. in 14 tiny, delicious. well-​paced, unpretentious, forks-​only courses.
omg– holland is the imperial kevin bacon. have fun contemplating that in the coffeeshop after dinner.

Came here a few days ago, my bf and I ordered the Saltan and I and it was amazinggg!!! 14 course meal was delicious and each dish was amazing. It is a fairly small restaurant so make sure to book ahead, we were lucky enough because someone canceled their reservation and we had the Conservatorium Hotel book a table for us. I would definitely recommend coming here if you are a major foodie.

Usually i am not to keen on Indonesian food, although my ancestors are from Indonesia. But Blue Pepper makes a difference! Amazingly heavily food. Not like the ordinari Indonesian restaurant you will find anywhere in town. This is beautiful food. A little more expensive than the normal Indonesian, but worthwhile!

great Indonesian restaurant with fantastic food and a very good wine selection. I can strongly recommend their Rioja 98er vintage.