Rijks

Not your standard museum restaurant

21 days dry aged duck

Rijks, a modern European restaurant is located right next to The Netherlands' national museum, which shared the same name. Rijks is not your typical standard museum restaurant, along with a slick modern interior design and outdoor sitting, it has a Michelin star. The menu is highly ambitious, with a mixture of international influences, from India to Italy. It also offers some ballsy dishes, such as veal brain and duck heart, so if you are into adventurous and surprises, this could be an ideal restaurant for you. It is a very popular restaurant and booking is highly recommended. 

Green gazpacho, burrata, avocado

Garlic veloute, clams, mussels, scallops, razor clams

Steamed chicken, fried rice, butter chicken sauce

Duck egg, duck broth, tongue, wild garlic

The garlic veloute dish was almost like a giant ravioli, the sauce mixed was well balanced without overpowering the subtle tastes of the shellfishes, which was also finely cooked. The restaurant's signature dish, the dry aged farm duck turned out to be pretty special, served 4 ways containing duck egg, leg, heart, and breast. The egg was sensational, cooked to perfection, the use of wild garlic added such a lovely sharpness and richness, served inside a duck broth which was packed with delightful umami taste. The final serving of the duck dish was the breast, very moist with crispy skin just as I was hoping for, but what really made this dish stood out was the liver-cream which offered more earthy and gamey taste to the finish, while the sourness of the rhubarb offered a lovely contrast.

Glazed duck leg, citrus marmalade, ginger gravy

BBQ duck heart, yoghurt, crispy rice

Duck breast, liver cream, rhubarb

Cheeses board

Salt crust roasted beetroot, almond, hibiscus

To sum it, Rijks is indeed a fun restaurant with some real edgy take on some dishes, not everything worked  (such as the curry sauce with crispy rice and chicken), but when it does, the end result was so rewarding. On the other hand, the service could have been a little bit better, while I understand the restaurant is a casual restaurant, the pace of everything was a little too fast for my liking. Our waiter took away our plates the second we put our cutlery down when we have finished our starters and the main course came pretty much right away a moment later. I just wished it was at a slower pace so I could really sit back and enjoy the Rijks dining experience, but got to say the cooking here is great and I totally understand why it has a Michelin star to its name.



Food 4/5

What I paid: 
£65 per person with wine

Average cost without drinks and services:
£60 Tasting menu
£35 Lunch menu

Museumstraat 2, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands

http://www.rijksrestaurant.nl/