RIJKS
Bijdendijk's Low Countries cooking is the Rijksmuseum's best exhibit, and it's edible.
Since 2014, the Philips Wing of the Rijksmuseum has housed the most convincing argument that Dutch food is worth taking seriously. Executive chef Joris Bijdendijk and his kitchen chefs Yascha Oosterberg and Friso van Amerongen call it 'Low Food': Dutch soil, Dutch water, and every spice-route flavour that four centuries of trade dragged back to it. The room is all high glass and calm confidence, with an open kitchen that hums rather than shouts, and a Michelin star that has sat comfortably here for years. Lunch is quietly the smart play, same brigade, softer bill, museum light pouring in, while dinner is a full-dress occasion. Yes, tourists find it. Doesn't matter. When a kitchen this ambitious sits inside the national museum and still cooks like it has something to prove, you book the table.
Do the full chef's menu and take the vegetarian version seriously, the vegetable courses are where Bijdendijk flexes hardest.
What to order
Full menu- Beetroot millefeuille
Bijdendijk's signature, beet layers, Tomasu-soy beurre blanc; the plate every review circles back to.
- Dry-aged duck (to share)
Dry-aged from a local farm, carved for the table, the move if you're two.
- BBQ leek
Regulars say skip the set menu, order this à la carte next to the beetroot.
More in Zuid
The whole chapter
Wils
Michelin-starred fire worship on the third floor above Stadionplein.
Restaurant Blauw
The rijsttafel that converts skeptics, served where Vondelpark meets Amstelveenseweg.
Ron Gastrobar
Ron Blaauw traded two Michelin stars for this, and won the trade.