Vuurtoreneiland
Boat out, six courses over fire, a lighthouse island to yourselves.
Amsterdam's most extreme dinner reservation: a boat, a lighthouse island in the Buiten-IJ, and a six-course menu cooked largely over fire by people who grow, pickle and preserve most of it themselves. In summer you eat in a glasshouse among the island's greenery; from October the whole operation moves into the vaulted nineteenth-century fort, all candlelight and stone. The €110 ticket covers the crossing, snacks on board and dessert served on the way home, which beats any petit four ever plated. It sells on a rolling three-month window, new dates drop daily at 13:00, and persistence is genuinely required. Worth it: this is slow, smoky, deeply Dutch cooking in a setting no city restaurant can counterfeit, on an island that spends the rest of its time as a nature reserve. Take someone you're serious about and let the boat do the rest.
Save room, dessert is served on the boat back to the mainland.
What to order
- Six-course set menu€100
One menu, cooked over open fire on an island with no electricity, the food is the place.
- Wine pairing€65
Generous pours; the half pairing is the smart move before the boat back.
- Boat trip from the Lloyd Hotel€35
Non-negotiable part of the deal, snacks and aperitif on board.
More in Noord
The whole chapter
Hotel de Goudfazant
The garage that invented Noord dining, still its best-value French table.
Café Modern
Set-menu cooking in a former bank, with private dining in the vault.
Coba Taqueria
Amsterdam's most serious Mexican cooking, in a shed behind the workshops.