Last Updated on May 18, 2024
Asian-fusion dining in Central Amsterdam
A short trip to Amsterdam to see the Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum had me wondering where to eat after enjoying the superb collection at this world-famous museum. Amsterdam is small enough to walk almost everywhere, but at the end of a long day on my feet, I knew I wouldn’t want to wander too far. Invited to review MOMO Restaurant, Lounge and Bar, I was pleased to discover that it is situated a few minutes’ walk from Amsterdam’s Museumplein where the big hitters include the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh as well as the MOCO museum are located. Open for lunch and dinner MOMO makes a great stop for a drink, a meal, preferably both.
We arrived suitably tired and were welcomed warmly by the staff who were getting ready for the evening shift. As the elegant bar area is open all day, there were already guests seated on comfy leather banquettes, drinking cocktails, in the bar area which boasts an impressive steel-topped bar. Within minutes the restaurant tables began to fill up and remained so throughout a long evening. While I had planned for a relatively quick meal, the atmosphere and the food and drink at MOMO were all so enjoyable that we ended up spending many hours having fun. From Thursdays to Sundays there is a live DJ. Looking around at the full tables I would estimate that most people were in their 20s and 30s. Despite being considerably older, we felt perfectly at home.
MOMO Restaurant, Lounge and Bar is an Asian fusion restaurant. It is elegantly designed and appointed with chairs and banquettes covered in a jaunty fabric. Light-diffusing screens break up the space along with overhead lamps. The restaurant occupies a corner site and its floor-to-ceiling windows afford great views of the Amsterdam life outside as well as beautiful light throughout the large space. The staff are simply dressed in black, appropriate to the minimalist decor, and were most helpful in helping curate our meal from an extensive menu. Diners can see the open kitchen where the Japanese sushi chefs were hard at work.
We began with cocktails from an interesting cocktail menu. My husband tried the Mount Fuji – having recently visited Japan, we were feeling nostalgic – while I had the Much’a de geisha. Served in a long glass, the Mount Fuji contained Grey Goose vodka, sake, yuzu, vanilla and Fever Tree ginger beer and was a refreshing twist on a Moscow Mule. The Much’a de geisha was gorgeous to look at – pisco, lime, yuzu and cherries served in a coupe with a small cherry skewer perched on the rim. Along with drinks, we nibbled on a bowl of spicy edamame, salty, garlicky and strewn with chilli flakes.
The MOMO restaurant menu is designed as a series of sharing dishes and was divided into small plates, ceviche and tiradito, signature bao buns, salads, special dim sum and tacos. There is also a sushi and sashimi menu and main courses offering fish, seafood and meat. Plus desserts. This is not a menu for those who find decision-making difficult but even for the decisive diner, the choice is difficult. Fortunately, we were guided through the menu; I find that this is often a good idea in Japanese restaurants. Our waiter suggested that we try a bottle of white wine with our starters although there is a sake menu representing a number of Japanese regions should you prefer. He recommended Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc 2022 which hails from Marlborough, New Zealand. It was noticeably strong on the nose, with a refreshing fruitiness – peach and green apple. Very crisp with good minerality.
We tried a variety of starters including a yellowtail ceviche served with coriander chilli and yuzu soy. This was pretty to look at and delicate to eat. Toro tartar with wasabi soy and Beluga caviar certainly took the prize for luxurious presentation with the tuna served in an igloo that takes three days to make. While the tuna had a good flavour, the texture was rather unusual.
From the sushi selection, we had the tasty MOMO roll which contained tuna, salmon, sea bass, avocado and tarragon miso with crispy rice. An excellent wasabi sauce was served in a hollowed-out cucumber slice. The sushi was served on an attractive beechwood stand. The importance of presentation in Japanese cuisine cannot be overstated and the chefs at MOMO have taken care with this aspect of the meal, providing much enjoyment to the diners.
Three nigiri from the Signature Nigiri section included salmon aburi with tomato; toro with Beluga caviar (the texture here was better than the tartar), and my favourite of all – Wagyu aburi with yuzu Kosho. This was an excellent mouthful, the A4 grade Wagyu was well seasoned with a good grilled flavour. I could happily have eaten many more mouthfuls of these.
A lovely-looking plate of crunchy octopus with grilled corn sauce brought a very tender piece of char-grilled octopus, a lovely rust colour that contrasted with the grilled baby corn and sauce and the green ceramic platter on which it was served. From the special Dim Sum section came lobster truffle Bermudas – four delicious gyoza with a yuzu truffle soy served on a black ceramic, semi-circular platter. This was another dish you might want to order a spare of so that you don’t need to share. This was luxurious eating. That truffle sauce was gorgeous.
With this generous number of starter plates already eaten, we opted to share a main course of Jurassic prawns with spicy yuzu sauce. Here the prawns were served along with their heads but they had been deshelled and were beautifully presented, topped with emerald samphire. The prawns were sweet and tender and served with a slightly spicy sauce which had a citrus note from the yuzu. As a side dish, the chefs made us a special dish of seasonal, white asparagus marinated with dashi, soy sauce and wagyu butter. This was served as a three-layered stack – like asparagus jenga – with a delicious grilled flavour, and crunchy texture – an all-round umami bomb.
Our waiter brought us a glass each of Malbec Tapiz, 2021, Mendoza, Argentina which was a full-bodied wine with fruity and spicy notes. Although it was served with our prawns, it simply cried out to accompany some red meat. And so we went on to a very last plate – 100g of seared Wagyu beef, served with a trio of sauces. These included more of the lobster truffle and yuzu sauce we had tried earlier in the meal, a spicy seafood XO sauce and a sesame sauce. All three were utterly delicious. The beef was served with grilled king mushrooms on a lovely brazier which kept the food warm. In Japan, we were accustomed to grilling our breakfast fish on similar small braziers which are designed for table use and are both practical and attractive. The beef was heavenly, the marbling on this Wagyu giving it a fabulous mouthfeel and flavour. This dish brought our meal to a very satisfying climax. If you eat at MOMO, order this dish.
By this point in proceedings, we were as chilled as the Sauvignon Blanc we had enjoyed earlier in the evening. We had no need for a dessert but as it was Mother’s Day, MOMO had a special offer on and we couldn’t refuse. I love a bit of tableside theatre and this dish delivered. The server brought a red rose along with an ice bucket filled with dry ice. There was also a dessert dish that contained a pink sphere. She opened the ice bucket and suspended the rose in the swirling mists. Then she held the now frozen rose over the dessert dish and asked my husband to pull off the petals. They cascaded into the dish, covering the pink ball with a blanket of edible petals. The pink sphere was a vanilla mousse wrapped in white chocolate and an outer layer of a hard strawberry coating. As it was broken open with a spoon, lime and rose jelly with rhubarb caviar was revealed. Dramatic and delicious in equal measure.
To round off this excellent meal we had green tea with cherry blossom. It was so fragrant that I enquired as to its origins. I was delighted to discover that it is a Mariage Freres tea (my favourite brand) called Sakura! Sakura! (Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom). This was served in a lovely Japanese teapot along with macarons. As if we had not had more than our fill of flavours, textures and drinks, a glass of limoncello was served to bid us on our way.
MOMO Restaurant certainly knows how to show its diners a good time. All around us were couples eating and drinking their way through the evening. Some had come for the food, others were working their way through the cocktail menu. The staff are well trained, the food is good, the flavours punchy, and, perhaps most importantly, we emerged having had a really good time.
Hobbemastraat 1,
Amsterdam
Netherlands
Fact Box
MOMO Restaurant, Bar & Lounge is a centrally located Asian fusion restaurant in Amsterdam. A short walk from the museum quarter, the restaurant offers bento boxes at lunch and an extensive menu at dinner as well as the option of private dining. Guests can choose to meet for drinks at the attractive bar or stay for a meal in the restaurant. MOMO is part of The Entourage Group which has multiple restaurants in Amsterdam. These include IZAKAYA Asian Kitchen and Bar as well as THE BUTCHER Social Club. MOMO Restaurant, Bar & Lounge opened in 2008 and is a well-known destination on the Amsterdam scene. While the bar is open from morning to the early hours, check the lunch and dinner times on the website as they vary slightly during the week and weekends.
For more about where to stay in Amsterdam see my feature on the NH Collection, Amsterdam Flower Market Hotel
