Very nice serene atmosphere. Excellent flavours of Italian inspired dishes. The amuse was a nice start and the real starter was excellent. The waitress actually persuades me to try the polenta instead of the carpaccio and I am thankful to her. The risotto was perfectly al dente and the desert sweet and pure. We both had the lemon cake. The wine the waitress adviced was excellent!
Frances O.
Tu valoración: 5 Portland, OR
I am so glad that I read the previous review of this restaurant and decided to eat here, it is amazing! It is easily one of the best places we have eaten during a four country 4 week European vacation. We started the meal with the scallops and they were perfectly cooked and just the right texture. They were paired with a zucchini wrapped orange and a tasty pumpkin purée. An amazing appetizer! Then I had the steak stuffed with cheese and spinach, roasted potatoes, and asparagus entrée. Again, everything was incredible! The meat was nice and tender, the veggies had a good crunch and the potatoes were superb. My husband had the clam fettuccine with mint and zucchini sauce which was also extremely delicious. And then we finished with a tiramisu and the fruit with frozen yogurt parfait for dessert. We couldn’t wait to photograph it, we devoured them both! This is an excellent place to eat, I highly recommend it! Everything was really fresh and cooked just right. Plus the service was wonderful! We had two really friendly waiters who made it a great experience.
John N.
Tu valoración: 5 Atlanta, GA
Fellow Unilocalers, When you read this first review you may assume, as I might, that this was written by the restaurant owner, since I am going to rave about what a wonderful and special experience I had here. But I do not have any association with this place — you can see from my other reviews that I try hard to be objective, and that I value Unilocal as a solid resource for traveling professionals who need good places to eat.(Too bad bogus reviewers have really diluted the overall value of the site over the last year or so). So here goes… I went here because the owner of the hotel I say at when I am in Amsterdam, Hotel V, recommended I go there for a good meal.(By the way, this is a FANTASTIC boutique hotel.) Last night I went out for a business dinner, and as is frequently the case in Amsterdam, ended up in a so-so restaurant with over priced food which had been prepared ahead of time from low-quality ingredients. Unfortunately this is not an uncommon experience in Amsterdam in the areas frequented by tourists. After last night’s disappointment, I really wanted to have at least a decent meal — ended up having a great experience. Di Sale is located on the #2 tram line not far from the museum square Museumplein(sp?). Those of you who have iPhones or other phones using Google Maps beware — the location of the restaurant is actually about two blocks South of where your phone says it is. When I arrived, I was met by a very pleasant young adult who turns out to be the owner’s son. I was seated at a comfortable table in the restaurant which probably has about ten or fifteen tables(I did not count). About average size for a family run restaurant. The menu was great, with a good assortment of fine Italian food — steak, fresh fish, soup, a pasta dish, and so on. Good menu selection, but not fru-fru stuff. And It was a good sign that the menu was not overloaded with twelve pasta dishes and three kinds of pizza. This feels like real Italian food to me, but you be the judge. After debating between the soup, scallops or fresh oysters, I settled on the oysters. They were fantastic. Just what you would expect. I know raw oysters are not everybody’s thing, and they are not for me all the time, but I was in the mood, and they certainly fit the bill. For the main course I settled on the entrecôte(steak) in a pepper sauce(the sauce had another name, but unfortunately I did not remember it), with roasted potatoes and a green salad. This particular dish was pretty straight forward, but I had a hunch that I was in for a treat, since the oysters had been so good. I was right — the steak, obviously a high-quality cut, arrived perfectly cooked on a warmed plate with the oven-roasted potatoes. The sauce was a perfect complement. The salad, pretty basic, was served on a separate plate. In a restaurant where they did not care, they might have piled the salad on the heated plate next to the steak, with obviously poor results. The greens were fresh, the steak had fantastic flavor, and the red wine picked by the waiter was a perfect complement. Fantastic service by the attentive staff made it so I did not want for anything. A waitress stopped by and we engaged in some conversation, which was great since I was dining alone, but she was not at all disturbing my meal and she and another waiter added to the great atmosphere with their friendly and attentive service. At one point, the owner, Sasha, came over to my table and struck up a conversation, asking how was my meal and whether I was enjoying myself. This was a much-appreciated touch. Many owners are afraid to venture out of the kitchen for fear of what the customers might say. Here was someone out in front seeking feedback. Well done sir! I finished the meal with a wonderful Italian cheese plate, guessing(correctly) that since this was the Netherlands, that they would have high-quality cheeses, even if they were from Italy. The platter was wonderful, and the Port was a great complement. I finished the meal with a cappuccino, which was just great. As I was preparing to leave, I again struck up a conversation with the Sasha, and he was very glad to know that I had noticed the quality ingredients. He said his steaks come from farm-raised beef, not factory-raised beef, and that he tries to get the best ingredients for his meals. I have to say he has done a great job. My experience is, if you are going to hang it out there with what is basically steak and potatoes, you better have mighty good steak and you better pay attention to the details. Sasha has nailed it with attention to not only the food, but also in the staff he has working there. He told me that he has been open for about six months, maybe a little longer, and that at first things were slow, but that it has really taken off. I am not surprised. I am sure this will be a very successful restaurant in a very competitive market. Sasha, if you read this, I wish you the best of l
