On saturdays me and the BF want to have lunch at places where the mini is also welcome. The recently opened Vondelpark 3 seemed like a perfect spot to try. I made reservations at 12h30 and after parking our car, we arrived at a super crowded spot. The place was packed with all different types of people. Youngsters, hipsters, friends, families, tourists, basically you name it and they were sitting there. Staff was very welcoming, so we were assigned to a table pretty fast.

We got the menu and I always order for the mini first, so I asked her what she wanted and she responded with a big smile saying I want to have a ‘Kroket’ mama. If your wondering why I do this; its because she gets her food first, we can help her eat while we wait on our own food. When our food arrives, she can play while we enjoy our food. Perfect compromise ;).

On the menu it said they served Oma Bobs “kroket” aka croquette. For those of you who don’t know Oma Bobs, they are pretty notorious for their “krokets” or as they say themselves croquettes. It all started with Jurgen Ottenhof making his Oma Bobs (a french lady, who’s name was to complicated for the Dutch, so her hubby called her Bob) croquettes and selling these in his restaurant. Nowadays, you can buy these croquettes at numerous restaurants.
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What we liked about the menu, is that they say that Vondelpark 3 being situated in an old building (1881) brings back Old Dutch Classics with an innovative twist. According to them, the difference between back then and now is minimal. They work with the recipes and methods from the past but use ingredients we have available now or vice versa. In both cases, they call it #NieuwHollands meaning New Dutch.

Niw’s back to the lunch. While the mini really enjoyed her two croquettes, we had a good look at the menu. I ordered one of their popular dishes, a quinoa salad topped with shrimps, avocado, tomato and coriander. The BF was eager to try the steak tartare, so he went for the 2 course lunch special, consisting of the notorious steak tartare made with meat from Piet van den Berg and a second course with the daily fish.

Our food arrived and it all looked so pretty and we couldn’t wait to dig in. Very colorful and fresh innovative way of presenting the food. I really liked how they presented the steak tartare, with the sauce served in a little white tube. My quinoa salad was a little off taste wise (the avocado mousse was a bit bitter), so I talked to the waiter and he took back my plate. He came back and apologized for the fact that it was not supposed to taste like that and that he could offer me something else. I gladly accepted and got the other notorious salad on the menu, the Spelt salad with grilled pumpkin, goats cheese, walnut and oranges. Very nice, subtle flavors and I didn’t even miss meat or fish there. It also filled me up for the rest of the afternoon, so portion wise it almost felt like a real meal. The fish, the BF ordered was cooked to perfection and he really loved the sauce made with capers and cream.
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On their teaser board with tips from the chef it said they had these ribs served with a spicy red cabbage salad. Being me, I checked it out on Instagram and they looked delish. You’ve guessed by now that I need to go back for dinner to try these myself. I can imagine summer nights, first having drinks on the terrace and after that dinner. For now I say to be continued…..

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If you liked this review, be sure to check out my other reviews of more restaurants here.

Vondelpark 3
Vondelpark 3

1054 HK Amsterdam
T: 020 -639 25 89
info@unlimitedlabel.com

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