Amsterdam Restaurant Reviews
Eau de Vie
I’ve been on Groupon’s mailing list for daily deals for a while but a half-price, five-course meal for two at Eau de Vie was the first one that looked enticing enough to buy.
Eau de Vie served a Groupon tasting menu, so there was no choice of dishes. Instead of disregarding us as culinary penny pinchers and dishing up the ‘cheap cuts’ as it were, which I've encountered at other discount dining events, we were served five beautifully presented courses with quality ingredients.
These included king crab with crispy fried prawns to start, a second starter of plaice with briny sea lavender, and an interim course of risotto with earthy truffle.
However, the standout courses came last. The main featured crumbly braised calf's cheek, rosé slices of Irish beef, pommes fondant and cream of Jerusalem artichoke.
Some diners on other restaurant review sites have complained that Eau de Vie’s Groupon dessert wasn't sweet enough, but that was exactly what made it work for me. Tart stewed rhubarb was topped with ice cream flavoured with razz cherries (dried cherries infused with raspberry juice), which made my mouth tingle. Accompanying them were little clusters of chewy meringues and lemon verbena foam.
I would have happily paid full price for any of the courses at Eau de Vie but would have preferred fewer of them. Our waiter had the dubious distinction of being attentive, efficient and arrogant all at the same time, but the kitchen was slow. Four hours in and we were just starting dessert.
The wait would have been easier to bear if we hadn't been sitting next to two women with the worst teeth I've seen in a Western country, one of whom boasted about working in the kitchen of 'Jonnie' (de Boer, chef of three Michelin-starred restaurant De Librije) yet seemed clueless about food and chain-smoked throughout the meal.
Like family, you can't choose your neighbours in a restaurant, especially when it's full. I'll avoid Friday night next time.
Restaurant info
Opening hours:
lunch Mon-Fri midday-14.30; Sun midday-15.30; dinner daily 18.00-22.00
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Price indication: 
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City: Amsterdam
Telephone: 020 662 9588
Web: go directly to homepage
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Comments
The review of Eau de Vie above is written in 2011 when it was still an amazingly good restaurant with friendly people and a very good cook. Since a few months the restaurant is sold to a new owner and what I heard today is that the quality has dropped.
It is an extra big pity that I bought a Groupon voucher. Today I called up to make a reservation with my Groupon voucher. They just lied and said they were fully booked. Next possibility is about 2 weeks! I then looked at an online reservation website and saw they still had many seats available. When I called back about it I got a very grumpy restaurant owner on the phone who said it is his restaurant and he can decide who he allows in his restaurant and then he hang up at once.
I called back and I got an equally unfriendly, rude waitress on the phone who pretended the boss left the building.
My friend who lately has eaten at Eau de Vie told me how disappointed he was about the food. So the attitude is bad and the food is not ok.
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