Café Wu

A butcher's Chinese bistro on the Dappermarkt that Parool, Volkskrant and NRC all fell for at once.

Timo de Beurs already ran one of the city's best butcher counters, then opened this Chinese inspired bistro on the corner of the Dappermarkt in February 2024 and watched it detonate. Parool came early, published late, called it one of the most interesting restaurants in Amsterdam and gave it a 9 minus; the restaurant logged 800 reservations before dinner service that day, and Volkskrant and NRC piled on with praise of their own. Wu means the house of five flavors: a set menu or a short a la carte of snacks, small and large dishes, Chinese technique with French product fetishism and plating that would not embarrass a starred kitchen. Chi Ling Wu curates the wine with Enoteca Sprezzatura, and music comes off vinyl through a proper sound bar, because everything here is slightly more considered than it needed to be. Tuesday through Saturday, dinner only. Book ahead; the hype was correct.

First visit, take the set menu so the kitchen can walk you through its five flavors logic; the a la carte is for return trips. Tue-Sat from 18:00, book via the site widget.

Photo: Café Wu, via Gault&Millau