Eetcafé Koevoet

Nicely historic interior, but some overly cheese-​and-​cream laden dishes.
The wooden steps up to the dining area are worn into deep cups, the harder knots in the floorboard stick up above the softer grain; dark brown walls, antique wallpaper, and a nice view into a back yard well stocked with olive oil for the kitchen. (There’s also a old-​fashioned wall-​mounted tank for the toilet, but most people wouldn’t count that as part of the décor.)
The mixed-​seafood looked like a solid pick, but we’d had something similar the night before so went for pasta; this turned out to be a somewhat regrettable choice. The daily special pasta, just described as «Lasagne» on the blackboard, turned out to be a carbonara version with speck and a very, very heavy cream sauce. Some nice flavors but also some weird ones, and really just full of cream.
We also got the tortelloni funghi, which was severely lacking in mushroom flavor, and drowned in butter, oil, and ground parmesan cheese. Not particularly good on its own, and truly paled in comparison with a recent lunch at Ree7.
The strongest part of our meal was the tiramisù, where Koevoet’s signature is using whole-​wheat biscuits instead of ladyfingers. Fascinating, and well-​covered in marscarpone and cocoa; not as much coffee flavor as I usually like, but it worked well.

It was a very quaint place, nice meal but the service left a lot to be desired. Everything was great until the owner slammed our check on the table and requested that we hurry up and leave immediately because of the second seating. We were so surprised by the unbelievably rude owner/​manager. Was he drunk? Had a bad day? All we know is we won’t be going back.

Loved this place. The service was great and, as a previous reviewer mentioned, the burrata (flown in from Napoli that same morning) is out of this world. A mix of bufala and cow’s milk, it’s slightly gamey (as good bufala should be) mozzarella with a mild and gooey inside that melts out onto your plate. The potato and vegetable side is also delicious. I had the filetto ai funghi porcini and loved it. Tender meat with a subtle sauce and earthy, woody, delightful mushrooms. My companion had the delicious and light octopus carpaccio followed by the homemade ravioli trio, all three of which were excellent as well — I demanded many bites of all. For dessert we had a tartufo which was amazing, but the real stunner was the Prosecco and vodka lemon gelato. Made in a frozen bowl with a whisk at your table it was everything a dessert should be and paired wonderfully with the rich chocolatey tartufo. An excellent dining experience in every way.

Hands down favorite Italian place (outside of Italy :)). The servers are hilarious and always make the visit fun (but don’t bother you too much either). The food is incredible. They have recently gone up slightly in price (13Euro for the ravioli, I think) but it’s still not overly expensive for Amsterdam.
The burrata as appetizer is incredible and totally worth the 30Euro (easily split with 6 people if you wanted to). The homemade ravioli’s are so delicious. The pear-​cheese is my favorite. It’s served simply with melted butter, parmesan and some pepper. It doesn’t need more. Italian food should be simple so that the amazing taste of the food comes out. The side of veggies and potato that you can order on the side is also amazing. I’m not sure what they cook them in but I had to eat it all even though I was full. The ravioli of the day is also always a unique and good ravioli.
Make sure to make a reservation! They are always full. If it’s just one or two people they will try to squeeze you in late but then you might miss out on some of the best menu items because they will be out.

This Italian restaurant is disguised in an authentic brown café. The food is a bit pricy, but you will not complain about the quality and unique ambiance. It’s one of the best Italian experiences I’ve had in Amsterdam!