Gebr. Hartering
Restaurant Gebr. Hartering has taken over the premises on Peperstraat occupied by Rosario. The former Italian restaurant had made way for brothers Paul and Niek (the name translates as Hartering Bros.) who serve Dutch - and a few French - classics made from local, seasonal ingredients.
Inspired by the table d'hote concept, the restaurant in Amsterdam's Rapenburg area offers a changing set four-course dinner (€35) from 8pm. A small à la carte menu is also available from 6.30pm.
Gebr. Hartering advertises itself as a neighbourhood restaurant. We live just a few minutes walk away, and in neighbourly fashion, the brothers invited us for a complimentary drink shortly after they opened. We were much too early for the set menu, but were charmed enough by the à la carte options, chalked up on a blackboard balanced against the wooden bar, to stay for dinner too.
The older brother leads a one-man show in the restaurant's open kitchen - and is clearly the sibling with the most catering experience – while the younger, sporting a magnificent auburn quiff worthy of a gel commercial, waits tables with good intentions but a few fumbles and forgotten drinks along the way.
The mixed meat platter starter set the tone for the rest of the meal. Chunky farmer’s pâté, generous slices of liver sausage and three kinds of dried sausage were served on a wooden board with pickles and coarse mustard. The dried sausage, made by the owners' friends who have started their own artisanal sausage business, were delicately flavoured with garlic, lavender and nutmeg, giving an exotic twist to a very Dutch snack.
The fish of the day was described simply as ray wing, which was exactly what I got. A fan-shaped wing was draped across the plate and garnished with a drift of salty capers. The fish was perfectly cooked, but in fact the whole dish was overly salty.
The chef brought R.’s raw ribeye to the table for his inspection and approval before searing it briefly on the restaurant’s charcoal grill. Both main courses were served with new potatoes (also very salty) in a playful red and white checked cone.
Portions at Gebr. Hartering are perfect for strapping lads, but defeated us. We passed on dessert - crème brûlée and cheese - on this occasion in favour of more wine.
Like the menu, the wine list is small but carefully chosen. I would go back just for another glass of the spicy, intensely golden La Rocca Soave Classico.
Restaurant Gebr. Hartering has a few serving and seasoning issues to iron out, but without any pretensions it succeeds in being a celebration of Dutch food and everything it can be when made with care and (brotherly) love.
Restaurant info
Opening hours:
Tue-Wed 18.30-22.30; Thur-Sat until 23.00
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Price indication: 
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City: Amsterdam
Telephone: 020 421 0699
Web: go directly to homepage
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Comments
Next came pumpkin risotto with some crispy bacon bits (we think??) on top. The risotto was good but the crispy bacon was incredibly salty. Next came ox tail stew for one, and rib eye for two. The ox tail stew was clean in its flavours--essentially flavoured by a mirepoix but oh so salty! The salt hit the palate instantly and spoiled an otherwise pleasant dish.
The rib eye arrived with beetroot garlic sauce and marrow. The garlic sauce was also very salty. The rib-eye was sliced and was cooked "blue". This is no exaggeration.
Finally came the dessert--we all chose creme brulee which was good and we don't have any real criticism of this dish.
Could it be that the Dutch peoples' love of salted licorice has lead them to season their food to excess?
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