L’Osteria – Amsterdam
Last year, we went to Amsterdam to visit our mutual friend, Nadir, who was starting to finish the interior design of its apartment. Jilly booked a table in advance at Loulou Pizzabar but I received a last minute cancelation that they were out of gluten-free pizza dough. After a few drinks and snacks home made by Nadir, it suggested to pay a visit to L’Osteria in Amsterdam. Together we walked to the restaurant while he told that he had become an uncle! Later, we got to meet the little one in real-life at Suzanne & Ramzi’s wedding. At the restaurant Nadir and I, had this funny encounter with the staff. Usually, the kitchen staff know what can be done to cater to a celiac. Therefore, I searched for a crew member from the kitchen. Despite my efforts, they were busy and we directed our attention to a team member who turned out to mainly serve the drinks. I started speaking in Dutch and got interrupted by Nadir — while we were standing in front of this guy — that he spoke English. I, then told Nadir that he probably was not able to tell me if the kitchen could cater to my dietary restrictions. After, this I started speaking in English and after I had finished my question, he said: “Ik spreek gewoon Nederlands”, which really had me laughing but it did directed us back to the kitchen staff. I managed to speak to someone from the kitchen and they were able to cater to my diet — meaning we could finally be seated and eat some dinner!
L’Osteria in Amsterdam is not a gluten free establishment so it is better to stay away from the pizza in the photo. They have an allergen list on the premises that clearly shows which dish contains gluten. All their pasta’s contain gluten except for the Zoodles Gamberetti (€14,50 at the time). This is not a dish made with gluten free dough pasta, but with a version of pasta made from zucchini. The dish includes the so-called ‘zoodles’, garlic oil, spicy oil, prawns, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, salt, and pepper. For me they adjusted the ingredients and left out the garlic oil due to my allium intolerance. With all naturally gluten free ingredients, a clearly marked menu, and an extra notification for the waiter, all went well at L’Osteria. The Zoodles Gamberetti were a bit watery from the zucchini, but nevertheless delicious. As you can see it was also quite a filling plate. The dish was enjoyed outside on L’Osteria’s sunny patio, which offers a view of the river Amstel. Well worth a try if you are in the area.
Safety: Gluten are on the premises. They do their best to prevent cross-contamination when you do clearly state you have celiac disease. They even take other allergies and intolerances into account!
