Trump in East: bistro where honest food beats ego

Sometimes you just want good food. Not something that has to be described three times before you understand what's on your plate, and not a chef who fires his whole story at you when you're really just hungry. At Trump, on Schollenbrugstraat in Oost, they get that. Founder and chef Raymond Plat, who previously cooked at De Lindehof and restaurant 212, has built a bistro with co-founder Niels Leijssenaar around a simple idea: honest and tasty food, without the chef's ego coming first.

The menu is completely à la carte. No choice stress about which set menu you take, no surprises you didn't ask for. Starters start from 20 euros, main courses from 25 euros. The base is classic French bistro cuisine, but Plat throws in Mediterranean accents that make the menu change seasonally. And then there's the signature dish: eel from Giethoorn. Not something you find on every street corner, and that's exactly the point. Trump doesn't bother, and in this town, that's sometimes the hardest thing to find.

The space helps. The kitchen is open and visible from the dining room, so you can just see what's going on. No mystery, no curtains. That suits the approach: transparent, direct, no fuss. There is also a separate wine room as part of the business. The wine list here is as serious as the cuisine, and you can tell. Trump has two locations: in addition to the location on Schollenbrugstraat, there is also a spot on Europaplein, which makes the place just a bit bigger than you expect at first glance.

Trump doesn't act tough, and in this town, that's sometimes the hardest thing to find.

Trump is open for dinner seven days a week, starting at 5:30 in the evening. In East, within walking distance of enough to make an evening of it. No reservation maze, no mandatory menus. Just grab a table and eat what you want. That's the charm of this place, and the reason people come back.