Kaagman & Kortekaas

Kaagman & Kortekaas has since become part of Amsterdam's established culinary landscape, yet continues to surprise with creative dishes and bright flavors. In a completely new and more functional interior, Chef Giel Kaagman cooks intuitively,...

Kaagman & Kortekaas has undergone a thorough and successful renovation at its own location on Sint Nicolaasstraat. The kitchen is now positioned even more centrally, the restaurant has become much more open, and it exudes an elegant atmosphere. The interior design is a fusion of bistro ambiance and industrial elements. Bar seating has been added along the kitchen. There is a cheerful vibe and positive energy, but unfortunately, the acoustics leave something to be desired. Chef Giel Kaagman serves an inventive and surprising cuisine with a fondness for offal and ingredients from the nearby surroundings such as Het Twiske, and boasts a large number of regular guests. Host and sommelier Bram Kortekaas curates the wine pairings, which are undoubtedly of a high standard. The menu offers a choice between a multi-course menu ranging from four to six courses, along with an off-menu 'meat special'. To start, a thrilling cold asparagus broth with saline vegetables such as sea beans, glasswort, and codium, sweet elderflower, kaffir, and tarragon oil. An absolute flavor bomb. The German Riesling from Horst Sauer Escherndorf am Lumpen 1655 GG (Grosses Gewächs), pure, rich, and mineral, is a perfect match here. The main course features a flavorful array of lamb: fillet with rosemary jus, merguez sausage, sweetbread with salsa verde sauce, and testicle with harissa. Served with tabbouleh and sea urchin cream. In the glass, a wine from the Jura region where there is clearly a preference, as no less than a full page of the wine list is dedicated to it: from Domaine des Marnes Blanches. Do not miss the cheese cart, as the selection is extensive. We finish with vervain tea accompanied by a delicious hibiscus cookie. A lovely spot.

Located in an old industrial building, featuring a large open kitchen and bar. Chef Bram Kaagman and host and sommelier Chiel Kortekaas have been in charge here for quite some years. The atmosphere is informal and energetic, perhaps a bit too loud for some. The kitchen is creatively explosive, working with natural and wild ingredients. The wine list seems endless, and the Grand Cru Classé selection deserves its very own page. Still, it would be a missed opportunity not to let the sommelier craft your wine pairings, as they are more than excellent. After sourdough bread with two kinds of butter, the amuse-bouche sets the tone for the high standard of the dishes. The langoustine with mustard seeds and fennel salad with black garlic makes your mouth water and leaves you longing for what else the kitchen has to offer. The crispy lamb shank and lamb sausage, served with raw hard cheese, four types of beet preparations, and fresh apple ice cream, offers a rich variety of textures and temperatures. Ranging from soft to crispy and from ice-cold to piping hot. The accompanying Riesling, Nik Weis, Sankt Urbans-Hof Schiefer 2022, is fresh and youthful. Fermented savoy cabbage as an intermezzo boasts a broad flavor profile ranging from sour to umami, and the sommelier pairs it with an óbidos Quinta Várzea Da Pedra, Arinto, DOC. A Portuguese wine that fits perfectly. The veal entrecôte with a liver sausage and crispy veal brains is served with an oyster and pea sauce alongside pickled lemon. The accompaniments form a beautiful symbiosis. On the cheese plate: Laguiole from the Aubrac plateau, a white-mold cheese, and a Shropshire, all served at precisely the right temperature. The white asparagus panna cotta with ice cream, an elderflower crisp, and a paper-thin asparagus spear, combined with the Jurançon, creates an award-winning combination. We can see why. The service staff is young but certainly skilled. It remains a lovely spot.

Restaurant Kaagman & Kortekaas, housed in a former industrial building in a tiny alley in the heart of Amsterdam, has long been a culinary staple in the capital. It is packed every evening, primarily with international visitors and tourists, though locals certainly know about this popular dining spot. The atmosphere is busy and lively, yet everything flows quite smoothly. We are seated at a small table on the side where we can easily converse. Chiel Kaagman serves a daily rotating menu of modern dishes crafted from local ingredients, featuring vegetables and herbs from their own kitchen garden. Host Bram Kortekaas brings out the first course: veal tartare with yuzu dressing, wasabi cream, green apple, and seaweed. We actually prefer the vegetarian version with kohlrabi and apple, finding it more refreshing and flavorful. Next comes a duck egg stuffed with prawns, resting on a crispy baked disc of paper-thin phyllo dough, accompanied by a sweet-and-sour cucumber salad and saffron sauce. Original and delightful—a truly standout dish thanks to its harmonious flavor profile. The main courses are also excellent, if somewhat modestly portioned. We have partridge roulade served alongside a separate potato and herb salad and a sauce made with cockles. The latter is masterful; the small dish is scraped clean and finished with bread. The dessert appears simple at first glance but proves surprisingly complex: burrata ice cream and cream, an olive oil cake, raspberry sorbet, basil-infused sauce, and crunchy pistachio bits. It is not overly sweet, delightfully light, and the ice cream and cream are blissfully smooth and velvety. Throughout the meal, our sommelier pours consistently excellent wines, which we sample before each course. Highlights include the Italian white Derthona from Luigi Roveri, which pairs beautifully with the tartare (rich and well-rounded), and the Domaine des Marnes Blanches, a full-bodied white that elevates the monkfish to new heights. One final note: please do not reduce the portion sizes further, as doing so would upset the balance between price and quality.

'Hi, I'm Job,' accompanied by a firm handshake. This is how we are welcomed into the industrial, no-nonsense ambiance of chef Giel Kaagman and host and sommelier Bram Kortekaas, who met each other at Restaurant Bordewijk in Amsterdam. It sets the tone for the evening ahead: a relaxed and warm approach, extremely professional knowledge of the menu, attentive service at just the right moments, and last but not least, pure flavors on the plate. Chiel skips the fluff and frills, but cooks exclusively with the finest quality ingredients that nature provides. Many of these come from the wild-foraging garden Het Twiske. Bram thoughtfully pairs them with wines that largely originate from Old World countries. The place is packed on the weekday evening of our visit. Reservations are a must, though you can also simply drop in for a tasty dish at the bar. For amuse-bouche, we have dried calf's tongue with watermelon and wild-harvested ice plant from Texel, followed by seared ricotta with tomato and bottarga. The tone is set. We taste perfectly cooked white and yellow beetroot with pecan nuts, mascarpone, a yellow beetroot dressing, and sea lettuce, served alongside paper-thin slices of dried Spanish beef. The Come d'Incanto Bianco Carpentiere from Puglia pairs beautifully with it. We are also charmed by the quail stuffed with a filling of pike perch and Dutch shrimp, accompanied by double-peeled garden beans, new potato purée, and shrimp sauce. To finish, a classic cherry clafoutis. With, quite surprisingly, tender pieces of octopus whose subtle sweetness elevate the dish to something truly special. A particularly wonderful spot.

This establishment run by Giel Kaagman (chef) and Bram Kortekaas (host) is packed every evening. Don't expect a chic setup. Fluorescent lighting hangs from the dark green ceiling, the wooden tables feature stone tops, and the chairs are hard. A large bar sits in the center of the room, next to an open kitchen where focused culinary work takes place. The acoustics are poor, but the trendy guests couldn't care less. What matters here is Giel's pure cuisine and Bram's relaxed approach. There is no menu, only a four-course surprise tasting menu that can be extended to five courses. The wine list features a generous selection of sparkling wines and favors Old World regions. The amuse-bouche of smoked Spanish pepper with bottarga mousse is thrilling and delivers an unexpected flavor profile. Equally delightful are the two butters served with the sourdough bread—one with nori and one with leek flowers. Buttery-soft mackerel is paired with pork crackling and porcini mushrooms. A jus made with green apple and yuzu provides a refreshing contrast. For the main course, you get wild boar with a firm texture alongside giant squid, plus a wild boar sausage with fermented garlic resting on a cuttlefish ink sauce. Just from that sausage alone, we would have happily ordered one or two more! It is paired with a 2018 Syrah from Papillon. To finish, pure chocolate ice cream with poached peach. The chocolate is richly bitter, and the crunch of nuts and caramel completes the dish perfectly. This simply cannot be improved upon. Restaurant Kaagman & Kortekaas rules!

Now an indispensable part of the capital's dining scene. Chef Giel Kaagman and host, also sommelier, Bram Kortekaas shun pretension and have, over the years, established an informal venue where the focus is on genuine attention to guests and delicious plates of honest food. The dishes are inspired by nature and follow what the seasons provide. For this, Kaagman forages around locations like Het Twiske, Amsterdam’s backyard, while Kortekaas, alongside his exceptional hospitality, has developed a passion for vines and is constantly on the hunt for the finest wines. The atmosphere in the spacious building—with its unfinished walls, wooden floorboards, fluorescent lighting, vintage tableware, and open kitchen—is highly relaxed. Regulars frequent the place often. Don’t expect artistically plated dishes or snobbish behavior here. But do expect attentive service and high-caliber cuisine where pure flavors take center stage. By the way: make a reservation, as it fills up quickly.

A restaurant that wouldn't be tolerated anywhere else in the Netherlands, but here, midway down an alley in Amsterdam's tourist epicenter, is a hit. A notably spacious venue featuring unfinished walls, a mezzanine, plank floors, fluorescent lighting, worn household goods, piles of unwashed dishes, and an open kitchen. The atmosphere is relaxed, the service is brisk, and there is a fixed menu. Named after its founders, Giel Kaagman (chef) and Bram Kortekaas (host), the restaurant opened in 2015 and quickly filled to capacity. Raw slices of Westland beef are served here with paper-thin watermelon, smoked avocado, octopus, puffed wild rice, and mashua leaves. Equally surprising is a dish featuring carved carrots, fried oakleaf seaweed, candied pecans, wasabi salt, and yuzu vinaigrette—a harmonious blend of fresh, sweet, salty, and sour notes. It pairs wonderfully with a fantastic Costières de Nîmes (Mas des Bressades), made primarily from Roussanne and Grenache Blanc—full-bodied, round, and ripe. The dish requiring us to scrape bone marrow from a split beef bone is less appealing. The accompanying turbot and wood sorrel get lost in a rich, fatty sauce infused with melted kaffir butter. A much more enjoyable course is the roe deer medallion. Perfectly cooked and served alongside a slice of roe deer, cheese, and shrimp terrine atop red cabbage, accompanied by a verjus made from unripe blueberries. This isn't about high gastronomic refinement, but rather something distinctly different. Kaagman & Kortekaas certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Located on a narrow city-center street is this spacious restaurant by Giel Kaagman and Bram Kortekaas. The welcome is warm and the atmosphere is casually bistro-like. Every member of the service staff knows exactly what is on the plate, and the wine selections are thoughtfully explained. Many dishes draw from French cuisine and incorporate both fish and meat. From the weekly rotating menu, you can order up to six courses. In the starter, the tuna tartare forms a harmonious pairing with foie gras and crimson pear. The brandy used to pickle the pear has been transformed into a delicious, lightly sour sabayon with olive oil. Served alongside are fresh fig, pecans, and speenkruid sourced from Texel, which adds a salty flavor accent. In short, a well-balanced and refined dish. Next comes a tender leg and matching wing of squab. Accompanied by a pickled goose egg, its white blended with hibiscus and its yolk with sea urchin. Top-notch! Plus crispy, fried noodles dusted with citrus powder. The only downside of the evening is the slightly too salty morel jus. Thanks to the 2014 Cabernet Franc from Château de Villeneuve, the wine and food pairing is satisfying. For dessert, the fresh and crispy honeycomb pairs excellently with chamomile ice cream, fresh strained yogurt, and whey prepared as a jelly. Très bien! Welcome to Lekker.