Restaurant De Belhamel

Best dinner we have had in Amsterdam so far. Great atmosphere, even better if you manage to sit outside. Good service too. The food really stands out from the other places in the area, everything we ate was delicious (the ravioli were a bit salty, though, but you could still see they were fresh and carefully prepared). They were also very accommodating of my food intolerance. Would recommend.

Made reservations for dinner, and it was amazing! The attention right from the entrance was just perfect. The venue inside (it was rainy and windy evening, so terrace was not an option) is old, authentic and amazing. The food - with sufficient vegetarian options, was a big surprise! In the general simplified landscape of Dutch catering - this French blend really works. The flavors for starters and main course (catch of the day) were impeccable. The only small note was that when ordering sides - some dishes (the salmon) already had potatoes and we ended up with too much food. Absolute highlight was the desert - the advocaat egg liquor and whisky based treat, which closed the night on absolute high note. Massive recommend and will return!

We were SO impressed with the service here! We ordered our food and suddenly my friend did not feel well. They took such great care of him and offered him honey etc. They even helped us cancel our mains and takeaway the starters that arrived. For the starters we had they were amazing and we can’t wait to be back for the full menu! Honestly, the place with the best service and food I’ve seen and huge thank you to the entire crew that helped!!!

The place was magical. We went there at sunset, they gave us the terrace and the staff was very amicable and fast. The carpaccio and tartar were sublime, the entrecote and catch of the day we incredible too and well priced. The only thing we didn’t like is the tagliatelle with lobster… wouldn’t order that again, but everything else was fantastic and can’t wait to come back!

Delicious food and warm but professional service in a idyllic environment. Right in front of the canals, but protected from the crazy. So super central, but feels intimate. Food was surprisingly good, and reasonable prices considering the experience. Perfect for lunch outside in a sunny day!

My partner and I have been visiting this place for our date nights for a while. The food is always delicious. We really enjoy the steak tartar. The service is always great and the atmosphere is cozy and romantic.

Fantastic food, attentive, friendly staff in gorgeous art-nouveau decor room, with a stunning view down a classic Amsterdam canal. There's also a cosy bar area (see photo). Really nice wines available for each course too. And a lot cheaper than it would be in London. Turned out Jamie Oliver had ordered the same main I did (catch of the dsy - pike with artichoke) a couple of weeks before when he was in for his 25th wedding anniversary. My wife met him on his stag do in Brighton all those years ago - a nice little coincidence (NB she said he and his brother in law to be were really nice).

Beautiful atmosphere inside and along the canal. The lunch menu is well thought out. Escargot comes without shells — very tender and flavorful. Pasta was decent; the lobster stood out. The oeuf cocotte are a highlight. Expect a wait of about 30 minutes for food, but the quality justifies it.

I recently visited this restaurant for a business meeting, and the experience was exceptional. Opting for the 4-course meal, each dish was impeccable. The restaurant's quaint ambiance exuded a sense of history, and the fantastic view overlooking a canal added to the overall charm. Highly recommend for both business and leisure gatherings.

Amazing food. My first trip to Amsterdam (solo) and ask the waitress, Michayla, to make recommendations. She asked me a couple of questions and nailed every dish! 10/10 recommend.

The food was delicious. The muscles were unequivocal. The service was incomparable, friendly and warm welcome bathroom very very clean salad was abundant.

The menu looked great. the reviews were very positive so we booked a table. Pretty sure we the res they placed us upstairs. we entered through the 'front door' and there's tables below and a loft area upstairs. had a nice little table and the waiters work as a team throughout. Beautiful bistro fare. Had to have escargot- great. Wife had their special steak w a beautiful sauce. I had delicious fish and we enjoyed the meal, the ambience and the staff. Now when you leave it's out the 'back door' and you will find the coolest tiny bar that was our only regret. Might have liked having a cocktail in there before dinner had i known. If i was a local probably would be a regular in that little bar for a snack every week.

Stunning room with huge windows looking out on canal and great Art Neuveau interior. Food was delicious. Salmon, risotto, tuna, appetizers were all perfectly prepared. Would be happy to return.

This was a symphony for the senses. This quaint; tucked away little place is a little magical world of culinary splendor . The service impeccable ; the food fresh and masterfully prepared. The kitchen is below street level and so cute. The Normandy oysters and Escargots and mussels - one . Even the humble bread was elevated. I have pictures somewhere. It's rare that I forget to take pictures but the view from our cosy table and the food was incredible

Perfect ambience. The outdoor seats overlook a quiet canal, and indoors we were tucked away on the upper level for a cozy, romantic meal. Delicious food, great wine, and waitstaff making you feel like an honored guest.

Beautiful restaurant with a beautiful view. Very small, so make reservations. This was our first dinner in Amsterdam. This is how I learned the temperatures on beef lean toward less done. I ate it, like a local. My friend said it was "too raw" for her. ‍

What a lovely little French Restaurant in Amsterdam! The food / service / ambiance were all great. Not to mention the amazing view of the canal. We had a reservation on Friday evening and were sat right on time at our table. Once seated we were greeted by our wonderful server (Unfortunately I don't remember her name but we were seated by the window and had a 8:30pm reservation.) I asked for a wine recommendation as I wanted to try something new then my usual Sancerre & she went above and beyond. I was in wine heaven which says a lot in Europe in general bc the wine is usually good everywhere. We had escargot to start, I had the risotto for my main & my husband had the sirloin steak. Although he's not a big wine drinker our server even got him to pair a nice glass of red with his meal and he was surprising very pleased. We finished off with a Crème brûlée to share which was also Devine. 10/10 recommend if you are able to get a reservation as they are reservation only I believe.

This is a smaller local restaurant with excellent food, terrific service and old world ambience. We had the sirloin steak which was wonderful.it came with vegetables and potatoes in a smooth wine sauce. The appetizers were very good. The crepe was delicious. The restaurant is warm and decorated as it might have been a hundred years ago. Make reservations and be ready for a full meal and don't pass up the warm bread. Nice wine selection also.

Excellent French restaurant. I'm glad I was persistent enough to actually find the entrance. If you follow the Google maps directions, it takes you to the side with a huge window where you can see everyone eating and drinking inside. And there's a door there that doesn't look like a door. And a buzzer on that door that belongs to some poor schlmo who probably gets buzzed multiple times an evening. But he was very polite when he said the entrance was around the corner. I tried the first corner and no entrance to be found, and went around to the other corner and bingo! Also that entrance takes you through a deserted bar area, then through a kitchen- type area then to the dining room. Charge forward and perhaps you will find a server who will point you to a table. The service is okay, but not as proactive as servers in America, so you just have to speak up-- for instance, in the US, a server would ask if you want more wine before you finish your first glass, but not here, so you need to set the pace yourself. Nor a big deal, but don't depend on someone anticipating your every need or trying to increase the bill by asking if you want more wine or dessert. The food was delicious. Even the broccoli, which might sound strange: it was just steamed, no seasoning or sauce, and it was wonderful. Though definitely better with the buere blanc sauce. I had the plaice with salmon and veg. Plaice is a delicate flat fish, similar to flounder. Excellent. The only underwhelming thing was the wine I had: glass of prosecco was all aggressive bubbles but otherwise flavorless to me; glass of pinot grigio was flabby and only discernable taste was cork taint. It's probably because I was ordering by the glass and maybe if you're dining with someone, you can get a bottle of something better. My wine glass had chips on the base, yes, but I was impressed that the glass survived, my glasses at home would sooner shatter than suffer a a chip. It's more charming than anything. The decor is beautiful gold and brown tones, which contrasts sharply with the volume in here. On a Saturday before closing, the chatter of the patrons is almost overwhelming: everyone is having a great time, but if you want a quiet dinner, this might not be the place. Overall, very happy with this meal and experience.

We wanted to start with some wine before deciding if we wanted to stay for dinner and ordering food. The waitress told us they don't serve just wine, and we need to order food as well. We ordered wild bore paté as and appetizer, and enjoyed our wine outside. We have not stayed for dinner. The appetizer was just OK, but the ambience was great, and service - nice.

I've been to many exceptional restaurants throughout the world, some very expensive Michelin star 12 course dinners weren't up to the level of this wonderful restaurant. The Veal was absolutely amazing, even the bread and butter were great. The staff were very energetic and helpful with great suggestions and humor. This is my new favorite place in Amsterdam.

We had a really terrible experience here. My boyfriend made reservations for my birthday at De Belhamel and he told the staff that it was my birthday during the reservation. When we arrived we were sat at a table where I was not able to even pull my own chair at, since the restaurant was so packed in. We were not given menus for over 15 minutes, and we noticed that all of our glassware had chips in them. We ordered a bottle of wine to share, and I was disappointed that the server only offered for my boyfriend to try to wine first. When we finally got our food, the sea bass had no taste and the veggies were over cooked. The table next to us had ordered steaks, and both people asked the server for ketchup since their steak was also tasteless. Overall I would not recommend.

Nice restaurant right on the canal. The place is small and it gets packed. The noise level is barely acceptable. I had to ask to move table as I could not have a normal dinner chit chat with out shouting. The food is good, but I found a bit too heavy on cream (gnocchi with mushrooms). Carpaccio was good even though it was more a raw beef roll instead of typical carpaccio. Good wine and ample choice, that is excellent. Service was very friendly but quite sloppy, not sure if it was due to under staff. Quite long and not really attentive. Over all a good dining experience, central in the city in a wonderful position. I do not think though I will get around there again. Prices are average high.

This intimate restaurant overlooks the canal setting the tone for a romantic evening. The food was absolutely delicious and the service was impeccable. Thank you for a wonderful evening in Amsterdam!

Excellent service and food. Beautiful setting. Kind of old world. 5 star dinner! Visiting Amsterdam Andy this restaurant was recommended by Maritz, who plans trips for my company.

Chose this as our last meal since it was close to the train station. Dinner was excellent. The restaurant and view were both beautiful, and the service was polite and attentive. We started with the shrimp and scallop puff pastry. So rich! My boeuf Belhamel was excellent, with tasty mushrooms. My wife really liked her red snapper. Finally, we couldn't decide on a single dessert, so shared the petite grande dessert which was about four bites of everything. If I were to choose one, it would be the white chocolate cheesecake. It was more like a cheesecake flavored whip cream. I would highly recommend De Belhamel. Make reservations, and if you are lucky try to sit on the canal.

What a lovely restaurant! I really enjoyed the location. They have outdoor seating as well if you wish to view the canal directly. You can see the canal from the inside too. The inside feels a bit tight but since I'm eating for one, it didn't bother me. I had their three course meal and it was really delicious. Asparagus is in season right now so both my app and main dish had asparagus. I started with bread which was freshly baked and I took away one star because they had a piece of hair on my bread dish and it wasn't mine for sure. I had a thin sliced beef salad to start and that was delicious. The ingredients tasted very fresh and light. I cleaned that plate. For my entree, I went with the salmon wrapped asparagus and it was delicious. I must say the cream sauce they used on the fish was quite heavy and I wouldn't mind LESS of it and maybe even with lemon juice drizzled over it. The asparagus was full stalk and it was delicious. I didn't care for the potatoes that came with it. Dessert was a custard tart and THAT WAS DELICIOUS. I devoured it :) I really love the food, the view and the servers. It was a great experience overall. I highly recommend it. My whole meal with a bottle of sparkling came to about 40 euros.

4.5 stars Romantic French restaurant with a view of the canal. We didn't have a reservation when we went in but thankfully we were early enough to get a seating. The place is small but they were willing to let us bring our stroller inside right next to our table! There's a few steps good down and up to the dining area so be careful. All the dishes are delicious except for the fish dish. That was a bit bland.

Was planning on going for lunch at another bistro nearby but their kitchen was having problems so decided to eat at De Belhamel. We had the following: Corn-fed Dutch sirloin with mini boletus, yellow beans, fondant potatoes and a Cognac-tarragon sauce and Tagliatelle with ragout of oxtail, osso bucco and tomato with and buffalo mozzarella. The sirloin was juicy and tender with a rich aromatic tarragon sauce. Likewise, the pasta was equally appetizing with tender oxtail in a delicious tomato sauce. Glad to have found this lovely bistro overlooking the canal.

Great little restaurant on the canal serving some more refined dishes. I had the steak as a main. It was well prepared but pretty basic. The appetizer stood out, a shrimp and scallop in a cream sauce and puff pastry. I'd come here for a simple but nice date.

De Belhamel makes me want to return to Amsterdam. It is a MUST. Amazing views. Incredible service. Delicious food. It was a perfect ending to my trip. I felt like I won the life lottery eating dinner there overlooking the pristine canal. It was truly a remarkable experience.

What an absolute gem of a dining experience, Before you read further, you better make sure you can get a reservation. We thought we could just walk in and get a table. Fortunately for us, there was a late cancellation and we were lucky enough to get a table. This was on a Thurs night (9/29/16) Very cool restaurant layout - entering through the bar, walking right by the kitchen into main floor dining area. We were seated close to the back and they have an opening to watch the chef and kitchen staff at work preparing meals - a very unique experience we really enjoyed. The food was exceptional. I had a one of their special three course meals with, role of Sole starter, Guinea Fowl entree and poached wild peach and pear ice cream - all were absolutely fantastic. My wife ordered the roll of halibut, wild salmon, prawn with artisanal bacon off the a la carte menu. She really enjoyed her entree as well. The service was extremely attentive and personally engaging - especially for these "tourists". The price was one of the most surprising aspects - it was very affordable considering the venue, food quality and service experience.

This place is absolutely wonderful. The best on the canal experience in Amsterdam. The food is also incredible and they have a solid wine list. We highly recommend the puff pastry shrimp and scallops appetizer .

The ambience is very nice. Staff speaks English so no worries about communication. Try the artichoke with eggplant risotto - I'm not vegetarian but loved it. The steak and gnocchi are also very good. That also have a good selection of wine. End the night with the pastel de nata or the whites chocolate cheese cream Seating by the window will give you a very nice view of the canals.

Great French restaurant with amazing canal view from main window and cozy atmosphere in the interior. The eggplant ragout and cheese starter was a solid start to the meal with well developed flavors. My dinner companion (who kindly allowed sampling of all dishes) started with a slightly pickled raw halibut and greens dish that was a very nice light start. The fish was a very mild flavor. The veal, oxtail stew and risotto main was a hearty take on a classic meat dish. The risotto had a nice herbaceous flavor that went well with the rich stew and earthy veal. Both meats were cooked perfectly. My companion's quail was perfectly cooked with a delicious skin and succulent meat. The potatoes were silky smooth. The creme suisse dessert was both playful and full of light flavor. The blood orange paired with it beautifully. My companion's waffle was a bold and hearty closure to the meal. The blueberry was rich and full of intense flavor. The waffle itself was perfectly executed with a nice bite and mildly sweet after tones that sopped up the blueberry flavors with delight. For a nice romantic evening out or intimate small group dinner, this is the perfect spot with excellent food and a quintessential Amsterdam view.

I love this restaurant so much. It has such great memories for me, and is just a beautiful little romantic spot to wine and dine with a loved one. It was a tad off the beaten path but once we found it (thanks for the recommendation Lonely Planet!), we instantly fell in love. Everything we ate and drank was amazing, the wine we were recommended is still my fav wine to this day. They made the best sweetbreads i've ever had and the service was impeccable. A must-visit for anyone who finds themselves in Amsterdam!

What a fabulous find! The food was outstanding as was the service and the wine. We had the lobster chef special, the salad with chicken and bacon, sea bass and the ibérico pork chop. All were outstanding. Ezinne and Sobay were so attentive. Don't miss this place!

Lovely restaurant with an even lovelier view. De Belhamel is an intimate, upscale French restaurant that is the perfect choice for a date. It is has been awarded a Bib Gourmand by Michelin a couple of times. This is an award that recognizes restaurants for offering good value. And it definitely does, especially compared to what you would pay in the States for this level of quality and sophistication. They have a few multi-course menu options, so I opted for the basic 3-course menu that has an appetizer, entree, and a dessert. My appetizer was raw salmon placed within a crispy wonton cup. The salmon and overall flavors of the dish was refreshing. The wonton added a nice texture and crisp to the dish. My entree was a pork loin over a bed of mashed potatoes and some sort of gravy. It was cooked nicely. The pork loin was tender but the flavor was too mild for me. Lastly, my dessert was ice creamed stuffed poffertjes topped with a chocolate sauce, which I liked as well. My boyfriend got their special steak dish and that was really delicious. It was juicy, tender and topped with this delicious slightly smoked sauce. This was my favorite dish of the night. Based on my experience, I recommend looking at the a la carte menu before opting for their prix fixe multi-course menu (only bc I was disappointed with my entree). Tip: Make reservations early and try to get a seat right next to the water!

We loved watching the kitchen prepare our meal from above! It was so delicious and such a fun experience. Highly recommend.

Amazing little restaurant! Found it on Yelp while looking for a nice lunch. The restaurant itself is quaint and beautiful with a spectacular canal view. For appetizers, we had the duck salad and prawn and scallop in puff pastry which were heavenly. The scallop appetizer was one of the best things I have ever eaten! However, my one complaint was that the lamb shank was very plain. It was cooked to perfection, but definitely needed salt. My friend had the beef with fondant potatoes which were much tastier. But don't let that deter you from coming here, it really is a fantastic restaurant!

We had a great meal at this place. A very classic French taste. I am a chef myself We will defiantly come back next visit to Amsterdam. Price is very reasonable. 這家餐廳距離中央車站很近，菜色像法國菜，精緻的醬料，味道搭配得很好，酒也選得不錯，下次到Amsterdam一定再回來吃。 價格也合理，建議一定要訂位再來吃，因為座位不多，9月天氣還是溫暖，所以大家都坐外面，可在天氣好的日子，預約坐在運河旁邊。

We were on the lookout for a nice dining location since our usual favorite was booked and stumbled across this one. Neither the concierge nor a phone call from us resulted in a reservation so we resigned ourselves to another place. Walking by the canal we strolled past this place and just asked for a reservation in person and got one for later that night. They appear to be well booked usually and the waiter asked us to give them a ring if we weren't gonna make it. But not to worry, we came back and had an amazing meal. The restaurant is kind of small and packed with tables. The weather was nice so they had a few tables outside, right by the canal. Of course these beautiful tables were already taken, so we got seated inside. Because of the size of the restaurant it was a bit toasty and loud but not too bad. The wine menu featured many different wines- we choose the St Estephe which was perfect with the food. For the appetizer we shared the carpaccio which came out looking like a burrito and featured ingredients you don't usually have in there (pecorino cheese instead of Parmesan, eg) but the flavors worked together perfectly. Main dish was the sliced sirloin and the rack of veal. Both cooked to perfection (medium rare) and spiced heavenly. Though it seemed weird: the leek on the veal really complimented the spices. For dessert we shared the cheesecake with some ice cream. Perfect ending to a perfect dinner. The service was attentive, helpful and friendly and the food just superb. Definitely a place to come back to, next time with an advance reservation.

This is a great pasta place that has some seats outside next to the canal so is a good place to bring guests to watch the boats floating by. The service was quick and friendly. I had the best Bolognese here and would definitely recommend it!

The beef carpaccio I had was the best I've ever eaten! My husband said he could have several orders for dinner and would be happy (agreed)!! Everything else was delicious too! Scallop and shrimp appetizer great, gnocchi amazing, venison done to perfection, and dessert was the perfect finish. Being from NY we have a lot of options, if we lived here we would be regulars!

The food was quite outstanding but the portions were small. I had the shrimp and scallops with pastry and sauce which was heavenly but since I only had 3-4 medium size shrimps and scallops I was left disappointed. My husband on the other hand had the deliciously prepared water crest soup and the crostini's with Parma ham, gravad lax and mozzarella. We both agreed that the food was of high quality ingredients and tasteful while the location was canal side. The experience was almost perfect especially on a beautiful sunny day in Amsterdam. Perhaps I should order 2 portions next time ;-)

The quality of the food was very disappointing. The meat was unevenly cooked, the vegetables and lobster were overcooked, and in general things were lacking in flavor. I expected so much more based on the prices and the Yelp rating. The only postitive was the service and the beautiful canal view.

My favorite meal in Amsterdam. Service is great and the prix fixe lunch was flawless. The meals are an incredible value compared with other high end places in the city. Gorgeous canal views and quaint decor in the prettiest part of the city.

Beautiful and romantic French restaurant right next to the canals. The staff was kind, the food was delicious. Try and get a seat outside so you can watch the boats go by.

We tried to get a table at 7.30pm on a Saturday night in summer. The waiter got the manager and appoligzed for not having one and there could be one in an hour.... The world didn't end, we walked on and had dinner elsewhere... I'll make a booking next time.

A solid four stars. Sometimes they give places the benefit of the doubt on the four stars but this was spot on. They had a Christmas menu going, I've walked past 100 times and had good company so figured now was the time to try it. Let me first start with the ambience. It is designed with very old feeling French art deco. The wallpaper specifically it is a sort of funky metallic melting pot. The lighting is actually near perfect and I only recall this out because I can't remember how it was. I think that's a good sign have to look hard at my food or the environment. Just about any seat in the house has a nice view of the street and Canal. A fun people watching experience on a cold day. The staff were also really great, with a nice sense of humor and being really helpful. I will just run down the list of what was on the menu, as we got one of each. For starters there was a lobster dish and a French toast foie gras. Came to the conclusion that both dishes were just "missing "something. I had high hopes for the French toast, but it was sort of difficult to consume also. For the second dish there was an ox tail soup and a shrimp cocktail. It was actually an accident that they brought the shrimp cocktail instead of two soups, but we tried them anyways. The soup was really good with an almost gravy taste to it. The shrimp cocktail was doused in too much special sauce though. For the main course it was rack of venison and fish (halibut if I remember right?). Again the venison hugely beat out the fish dish. Perfectly cooked and with a cranberry sauce and potatoes wrapped in bacon on the side. The last two courses were a Dutch cheese course and dessert course. I can't say that anything stood out on either plates, but that being said they were both really good. We had a dessert wine pairing with them and The wine which was paired with the cheeses tasted like prune juice. Sweet print juice, but still a sort of strange pairing for that I think.

French restaurant with view of the herengracht. Nice food, above dutch standard customer friendly. I visited with us colleagues for business and was very please with it. Only 10 min walk from central station.

We sat by the canal on a perfect late fall day and enjoyed a leisurely lunch here. For our entertainment, a random U.S. show called "Covert Affairs" was filming a scene. I had the smoked salmon sandwich and my wife had the oxtail tagliatelle. We finished off the meal by sharing an apple tart. We enjoyed all of our food! The service is at a leisurely pace so don't go if you're short on time.

The whole experience at "The Rascal" ( I think that is it's English meaning! ) was an exquisite surprise Birthday treat from my best friend. We arrived at lunch time and could not have had better service - friendly , relaxed yet not overly intrusive. For a very popular restaurant which has awards we were not rushed through the courses and we spent a lovely afternoon watching life go by on the canals - the food was superb and beautifully presented. I look forward to my next visit.

The website describes their food as French-Italian as well as traditional Dutch dishes. There are at least three dining areas - an upstairs area, the lower floor, and when the weather is nice an outside patio area adjacent to the canals. The inside is decorated Art Nouveau. After much discussion, we decided to be seated on the first floor -this allowed us a view of the interior decorations, the canals and, looking down into a lower floor, the kitchen. We had the salad Nicoise as an appetizer, and the suckling pig and red snapper as main dishes. All dishes were wonderful but we especially liked the suckling pig - very tender and the sauce was great. They have a reasonably good wine selection. We skipped dessert but the desserts looked very good. The service was very good and it's a very nice place to have a relaxed dinner looking out to the canals. We were there on a Monday and it was very busy. Probably best to make reservations before coming just to be sure you get a seat.

Ate here for lunch today. I ordered two appetizers, and an entree. Lunch took 1.5 hours, as the service was SLOW. They were not that busy, and I was the first customer there. I had the shrimp and scallop in puff pasty appetizer. You can see a beautiful pic in Yelp. It was quite good, except the shrimp was not that fresh. I also had the carpaccio. It was good, but quite honestly I have had better. Lastly, I had the pan fried turbot with spinach and potato. Good, but not great. It was a nice lunch, but I now realize how political these Michelin ratings have become. Lunch was 61 euros. It was worth about half that amount. Sorry for the lackluster review.

Very Snooty and rude servers. I sat outside at a 2 person table and when I asked the server if I could sit there she said she would ask the male server- after a while of waiting she claimed that sorry, someone wanted to move out side into my table for two ( I was alone). I noticed they won't seat a single person during dinner hours on the web. I was planning to leave a generous tip as my husband was on a business dinner cruise and it's a shame they would rather be rude for a few extra euros. Snooty place with average surroundings- plenty of nicer places with friendly staff and great food to choose from in the area! Skip this one!

An amazing art nouveau cozy decorated restaurant with wonderful food and service and well priced for the quality and ambiance, great view if the canal, and we had the pear dessert which my husband reports was the best dessert he's ever had , high praise from a man who would forego any meal for dessert.