There are restaurants that want to get big. John Dory doesn't. Four nights a week, Wednesday through Saturday, the door of this 1680 warehouse on Prinsengracht opens. City landmark, narrow staircases, and a chef who decides each day what goes on the table. That's the concept, and it works.
Chef Sonny Speelman is the face and brain behind the menu. He works with daily fresh fish as a starting point, supplementing that with local meats, poultry and whatever else the season offers. The evening on the second floor always begins with refined amuse-bouches, small bites that set the tone for the chef's menu that follows. That menu changes with what's available that day. No set menu, no guarantees about tomorrow. Open four nights a week, a menu that moves with the season, a warehouse older than most of the streets around it.
The building plays a major role in the experience. A warehouse from 1680, designated as a city monument, on the Prinsengracht in the center of Amsterdam. Two floors, two totally different atmospheres. Upstairs is the restaurant: intimate, quiet, focused on the menu. Downstairs is the John Dory Bar, where you can also go for individual dishes and a glass of wine without a reservation for the full menu. On Thursdays and Fridays, the bar is open from as early as noon.
Open four nights a week, a menu that moves with the season, a warehouse older than most of the streets around it.
The Gault&Millau jury included John Dory in their guide as a recognized fine-dining address. That says enough about its ambition, without the restaurant itself making much of a fuss. John Dory is not the restaurant screaming for attention. Nor does it need to be.