Kösebasi

Just dicovered this restaurant near to my house! Yes, very nice food. Very Friendly service. It is unsure if the restaurant will stay as they might move to The Hague. Plans will be announced mid Sept 2014. I hope they stay!

I think the food was quite nice! You start with the mezze (appetizers) and they bring you a demo plate from which you can directly pick items. There are some that are freshly made so you need to request those. My favorite was hands down the spicy raw beef one (not on the demo plate)… I haven’t had raw meat at a Turkish place before and it was deeeelicious! I also enjoyed the fresh bread :)
The main courses were just sort of average… because it’s just grilled meat on a plate, so my excitement is limited. The desserts were also just average in my opinion.
The restaurant is nicer than I expected and has both indoor and outdoor seating by the Amstel. It’s a bit pricey for Turkish food, but a nice vibe and pretty good service.
In conclusion… go for the mezze and don’t hold back :)

Looks:
It looks good, on the outside… super physically than. Nice linnen servets, nice lighting, smart dressed people… but plastic woodlike tables, plastified menu and the lightbulbs are all different (and not by design, just because that was the lightbulb they could find) Just looks like in about 6 months, it will be stormtroopered by big groups of footballplayers on bachelor night, having kebab befor clubbing… auch.
Tastes:
Not bad… Meh. I’ve experienced much, much better at Kosebasi in Istanbul.
Nothing wrong, but i do get the feeling that the chef just settles for watery tomatoes, day old humus and olive oil that was on sale.
Service:
Great! Really very friendly and helped out when i was fussing about with the buggy (incl the baby) very nice people, extra cup of tea? Sure! Need anything else? Nope? Good… well thank you!

Yummy!
Double yummy!
I love Kosebasi for several reasons. I’ve eaten here so many times lately that I’ve been able to specifically detail all the many ways in which I love this Turkish haunt.
1. Service is lovely. Seriously, everyone I’ve encountered here has been helpful, generous and with personality.
2. Food: Oh, hell yes! Super-​duper gobble-​it-​up type grub served here. A great spot to try Turkish for the first time or enjoy it as a long time Turkish fan. Either way, you’re in for a treat.
3. Location. Nevermind the fact that it’s a few blocks from my house, it’s set on the River Amstel. The building is pretty and the décor is clean, modern and pretty.
4. Raki. Beware or don’t beware: this Turkish drink will go down smoothly and take you with it. A very potent alcoholic drink that changes colors when ice is added. Go on — give it a try. :)

I was completely disappointed with this restaurant. I was looking forward to dining here. I called a few days in advance to make reservations to dine on a Saturday evening. I specifically requested for a lovely table for a couple. I was eager to see what this restaurant was all about. Unfortunately my dining experience here came to a short halt. We made reservations for 6:30, so we could eat in time to avoid maybe the potential crowd of people and avoid possibly being placed at a bad table despite the restaurant being big, must I add with plenty of lovely seats. We entered the restaurant around 6:30. There was only a small hand full of people eating here. I was thinking great, then we are off to a good start.
Low and behold, so little did I know that with in seconds, we would be leaving this restaurant. I believe within 15 minutes we were paying 10 euros for one glass of orange juice that I just drank. The only thing I found pleasant about this restaurant was the aesthetics. This review is based primarily on our short experience before I type any further, which means we were not able to eat here because the experience was so unpleasant.
The hostess sat us in the most unattractive table in the corner. My face dropped immediately the closer I got to the table. We politely requested for a better table because #1. There was no way my tall Dutchman was going to sit comfortably in a small corner and #2. If I knew that I was going to be placed in some small corner then I would have never made reservations. What is the point of making reservations to find out your still going to get placed at the last table that most people would avoid or find appalling. I think what really bothered me about this restaurant is that there were plenty of tables available in this restaurant, so they could have easily sat us some where else, but refuse to. So we strolled right over to a fantastic Italian restaurant, which was a 5 minute walk from the restaurant. I had a wonderful experience again at Ristorante-​Pizzeria Sa Seada. The food had me reminiscing of Italy. I firmly believe you can quickly turn a negative scenario into a positive situation at the end.