The restaurant
Restaurant Contrast is the new kid in town and we're loving it already.
Located on a former cargo ship, docked in Amsterdam Noord, the scenery alone is very different than what you would expect from a regular restaurant in Amsterdam.
A white minimal interior, wooden tables and chairs and lots of natural daylight fill up the place.
The humble size of the ship makes it a cozy and comfortable place for lunch or dinner.
The upper deck is where the restaurant is located, while the lower deck serves as an art space, with an opening exhibition of Sanne de Wilde currently.
The kitchen
Contrast is led by resident chef Iñaki Bolumburu, hailing from the outskirts of the culinary city of Bilbao.
Having travelled the world cooking and exploring different cultures, techniques, ingredients and flavours, you'll see there's nothing traditional about the food Iñaki serves.
In the chef's bio it reads that Iñaki comes from a family familiar with the environmental side of the gastronomic world; with farming, foraging, fishing and fermenting.
And that shows on the menu — it's contemporary, enticing and a new voice in Amsterdam's culinary world.
On the menu: the starters
We start the menu with a radish crudité — served with a kosho of tomatillo, purple daikon and an emulsion of soy sauce. The appetizer was crunchy, fresh and left us wanting for more.
We continue with the fried pumpkin (photo) — one of our favourites of the menu. Served with a vodka batter, a beautiful alioli and dusted with cumin powder. There are few things in life that are as simple but good as fried food with mayonnaise. But this was a sophisticated execution. We'd go back for a platter of this alone.
Highlighting vegetables
For our next dish we have confit artichoke (photo) with a smooth celeriac cream, black olives finished off with crispy kale leaves — a pleasant dish that highlights vegetables at its best.
Seafood and mushrooms
Next we're served cockles (photo) on an esparregado of potato and Swiss chard, with seaweed and wasabina leaves — a light and wonderful seafood dish that makes you long for a summer by the coast.
In contrast, the next dish takes you on a walk in the forest in autumn. A dish of chantarelle mushrooms and black trumpets, with confit egg yolk, a parsley and miso dressing and topped off with fried breadcrumbs and roasted yeast. This was a lovely savoury dish — hearty and rich.
Dessert
Finally for dessert, we're served a fresh, summer-y granita (photo) of Dutch clementine, spruce oil and candied apple — a delightful palate cleanser between the previous and next dish.
Our last dish is a cacao, olive oil and almonds wet cake with a snowy dusting of almond shavings on top — dark and rich and the perfect end to an excellent menu.
Visit Contrast
Find Contrast at Ms. van Riemsdijkweg 306 in Amsterdam Noord.
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