With passionate reviews in magazines like Elle or jubilant critics from Amsterdam’s most feared food critic Johannes van Dam (the one who gives notes to restaurants that they put in their windows) I was quite curious to find out what Gartine had in store. Furthermore my most attractive single friend planned her romantic rendez-vous in Gartine. For that reason alone, it must be something special I thought. And in a way it definitely is.

In this part of town between the Rokin and the Kalverstraat, the pedestrian zone, it’s really a pleasant thing that you finally have a decent alternative to pizza slices or disgusting sandwiches. Hidden in a small alley, Gartine specializes in breakfast, lunch and high tea made with ingredients from the owner’s own vegetable garden. I had a delicious breakfast with wentelteefjes (French toast) and home made jam.

Being myself a fan of French painting from the eighteenth-century and having a soft spot for Watteau and his Fêtes Galantes, I was impressed by the choice of decoration: Nicolas Lancret, Le Déjeuner de jambon. Frankly they hit my taste, served such good food, collected their china on several flee- and antic markets and yet Gartine will not be one of my favorite spots. Because it’s too small, too rustic - almost provincial. 

Actually it’s utterly unfair. It’s just that I can’t stand village atmosphere and maybe my expectations were a bit overstretched. However, since a good breakfast place is worth gold - especially one which boosts your energy for the rest of the day – forget about my anti-village neurosis and enjoy slow food par excellence.

GARTINE; Taksteeg 7, Amsterdam