Mr & Mrs Smith

College Hotel was the last stop of our honeymoon and it didn't fail to impress. Although you can sense inexperience in the staff, what they may lack in experience, they more than make up for in passion and desire. Everything we needed was taken care of quickly, we just needed to ask. Our room was beautifully appointed and very comfortable, in fact I'm on a mission to find those pillows. We were fairly unlucky with the weather but when we finally gave in to the rain, we found comfort in enjoying the hotel and our room. Breakfast in bed was abundant and delicious. I can't imagine staying some place else in Amsterdam. Thank you Mr & Mrs Smith.

One eating discovery was the Cafe Loetje on Joh. Vermeerstraat 52, just five minute's walk from College Hotel. At 7.30pm it was packed to the gills with locals, who waited to eat, having signed at the bar for a table to become available. The wait was worthwhile – generous, tasty portions, and a mixed menu of traditional Dutch and ethnic food.

We ate at Envy (+31 203446404/7) at 381 Prinsengracht, Amsterdam, 1016HL on Saturday night and the food was stunning. Bite-size portions of heaven on a plate. The menu is designed to give you a taste experience; sampling some of the finest foods available – quite often in what seems like a strange combination, but when you tasted all the flavours together each dish was absolutely delicious. The service was a little slow (it was very busy) but attentive and informed when they did get to you. Their knowledge of the menu and the ingredients was excellent, so we had just the right amount of food and a stunning bottle of rose which accompanied our meal perfectly.

We had a great stay, don't be put off by the sound of student staff. Everyone was extremely courteous, met our needs and ensured all requests were dealt with professionally and speedily. A great hotel with great service to boot!

Gorgeous hotel with possibly the most amazing bathroom I've ever been in – not sure of the room no. but highly recommend it, and a nice walk from the main stretch, not too daunting. Highly recommended.

Having lived in Amsterdam previously I'd assumed there was little left to discover... However, we happened upon two little surprises: 1) The Bock Beer Festival in De Beurs van Berlage, you pay €8 on the first night for a glass and then buy tokens, keep the glass and just get it refilled. There must have been hundreds of beers to try and a great atmosphere in the hall, with live music to boot. Great fun, and it hapens every year. 2) Wandering through the Jordaan we found Tante Agaath at Boomstraat 41-A (+31 (0)20 6222402), a lovely place to eat lunch at the weekend, or dinner anyday of the week. Really great service, great choice of dishes and quite reasonable too. Gezellig.

On the 9th September I took some clients out to eat in Amsterdam. We wanted an off the beaten track restaurant, with delicious food and some privacy, and ideally we wanted to venture out from the centre as well.

What we found was Gorgeous, both by name and by venue. Gorgeous Restaurant lies on 2e van der Helststraat 16, slightly off the tourist track, but within walking distance to the College Hotel. The restaurant is small with the dining area dominated by a massive painting by one of the most famous Dutch tattoo artists Henk Schiffmacher, a.k.a Hanky Panky.

Having placed our order we were treated to a small soup, compliments of the chef before our starters arrived. We enjoyed a selection of bites from their taster menu, a loveyl pick and mix of small samples of their larger dishes, followed by a delicious but not very large main course. Thankfully the main was not very large as there wouldn't have been enough room for the fantastic dessert and the petits fours that accompanied the coffee otherwise.

The wine list was excellent, with a wide range of excellent wines, very few were by the glass, but they had 'today's specials' on wines per the glass as well, based on what was available. The restaurant turned out to meet all our needs and provided for a lovely evening with excellent service and delicious food. Definitely worthy of a trip away from centre.

Once again I had an absolutely wonderful dining experience when I popped by Amsterdam with work. Someone suggested the absolutely wonderful Restaurant De Kas (http://www.restaurantdekas.nl/) to me.

De Kas is not just a restaurant, it's actually a beautiful greenhouse that in addition to the charming restaurant and bar, also contains real greenhouse areas where herbs, vegetables and edible flowers are grown, later to be used in the delicious food served on the premises. Harvesting takes place at sunrise every day, ensuring that you will have the freshest produce on the table for your delicious dinner!

The kitchen serves a daily menu, unique for each day based on what fresh produce is available and what is in season. You will enjoy a selection of three small starters, followed by a main and a dessert. We enjoyed a fantastic selection of starters consisting of oysters in a Hollandaise sauce, raddish salad with mozzarella and vegetable tempura. This was followed by a delicious pheasant dish as a main and rounded off with a delicious mousse for dessert.
The wine list is extensive and includes a wide variety of delicious wines at a reasonable price. The house wine proved to be a great choice just like the slightly higher priced Albariño.

Restaurant De Kas is not just a dinner, its a unique experience that will be different every time. I would strongly recommend this as a laid back, stylish casual restaurant for people who love their food and who appreciate attention to detail, both when it comes to the preparation of the food as well as the sourcing of the ingredients.

After a long day at work my colleagues and I rewarded ourselves with some gorgeous centuries-old kaiseki ryôri, Japan’s haute cuisine, at the Yamazato restaurant. The restaurant is within walking distance of College Hotel and offers a space of tranquillity with its stylish decor and beautiful Japanese garden outside, and the lovely waitresses dressed in kimonos attending to your every wish. Since we were so many, we tried one of their set menus, the Tohban Kaiseki, a five-course meal with the choice of beef fillet or seafood as the main. The selection also contained delicious selection of Zensai appetisers, prawn and vegetable tempura and a miso soup might have been the best I have ever tasted. The assortment of fresh fruit that rounded off the dinner was excellent as well. After all these words of praise, it probably wont surpise you that in 2002, Akira Oshima, the man behind Yamazato, became the first Japanese chef in the Netherlands to be awarded a Michelin star.

To celebrate our product launch we had dinner at Lola's. Lola's was recommended to us by our PR agency as a fantastic bar/restaurant with an artsy, stylish deco where you can have delicious food and great cocktails among the beautiful people in Amsterdam. The restaurant turned out to be all that and more. It serves light bites downstairs in the bar/brasserie area, ideal for lunches or after work drinks, and dinners in its more secluded upstairs restaurant area. Upstairs in the dining area, gorgeous food in big portions is served up, accompanied by a wine list featuring a great selection, and excellent service. In the end, we had a fantastic night, met lovely people and even got to rub shoulders with Dutch royalty over a glass of champagne.