Restaurant Bridges
Seafood-first fine dining behind Karel Appel's mural at The Grand.
The Grand's house restaurant hides behind Karel Appel's 1949 mural, he painted it for the building's canteen back when this was City Hall, allegedly in exchange for meals. Fitting, because Bridges is still about the food-for-art trade: chef Raoul Meuwese does French technique on North Sea fish, think langoustine with a sharpened-up beurre blanc, sole off the bone, and a caviar service for birthdays with a bonus. The room is calm, creamy and grown-up, staffed by people who actually enjoy their jobs, and the courtyard terrace is the quietest square metre within two hundred metres of the Red Light District. Weekend lunch is the smart play: same kitchen, gentler bill, daylight in the courtyard.
Start with the oysters, then the North Sea sole; the weekend lunch menu is the value play.
What to order
Full menu- Oysters from the raw bar€7
Fish reigns here; reviewers start with creuse (€7) or garnished (€9) every time
- Catch of the day€43
The à la carte benchmark for Meuwese's French-leaning fish cooking
- Salt-baked sea bass€140
The tableside showpiece for two when someone else is paying
- Menu du Chef, five courses€115
The full seafood-led tour; seven courses if you're seated before 21:00
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