Duende Tapas Bar

Dark, crowded and informal, Duende is one of the best places to sample Spanish tapas in Amsterdam. The dozens of options - grouped into meat, fish, cheese, vegetables and so on - can make choosing difficult but ordering as you go is also part of the fun.

We started with the classics, which Duende does well: albondigas (meatballs), patatas bravas (spicy fried potatoes), bread with aioli and triangles of goat's cheese that you nibble down to the rind. However, we were most impressed with our second serving.

Spanish tapas restaurant Duende Amsterdam The crispy vegetarian croquettes were filled with an unctuous combination of spinach and melted cheese; while a generous trickle-decker tapa was made up of a bed of Serrano ham, spiky, slightly overcooked asparagus tips and a mound of glossy gambas cooked in garlic oil. The top tapa was wilted spinach with raisins and apricots soaked in sherry, topped with crunchy pine nuts (who said vegetarian food had to be boring?).

We were seated between the bar and the half-open kitchen, which is also where the dishwasher is. The clatter of cutlery and crockery being loaded and unloaded was at times deafening. A word of warning: if you can't take the noise, stay away from the kitchen. But be aware that the Spanish restaurant's quieter backroom becomes a venue for flamenco performances every Saturday from 22.30.

Duende doesn't accept reservations (except for groups of 10 or more), so get there early for a couple of tapas with a drink, or visit late for a chance of getting a table and put together a full meal. Three or four tapas per person is usually enough.