Michelle N.
Yelp
If I had written this review prior to Saturday night, I would've given the Amsterdam a very rare five. We've eaten here several times for brunch & dinner, and never had a bad meal. After eating here Saturday night, I'm settling on 4 stars. Service has always been friendly and attentive, and has never been a problem. The food has always been delicious and well prepared. The meat and cheese platter is my favorite and we generally order it each time we visit. However, on our last visit, I made a reservation and did not realize until we arrived that I did not have a choice of seating when reserving. Previously, when making a reservation, I had the choice of the porch, downstairs dining area, or upstairs dining area. The porch is lovely for brunch and the upstairs dining area is perfect for an intimate dinner when we have a rare child free evening to ourselves. The market in the downstairs dining was removed since our last visit and converted into more dining space, which is where we were seated on our latest visit. It's a nice space but not as intimate and cozy as the upstairs dining area. I'm not sure the upstairs dining area was open on Saturday but I would've much preferred sitting up there in a less cavernous space. We arrived 20 minutes prior to our reservation and they graciously accommodated us and seated us early. I'm assuming due to staffing shortages, they had limited staff working because most of the dining room remained empty while we were there despite a sign at the entrance saying they were fully booked for the evening. My one major complaint is that in the time since we first visited the restaurant, the menu changes very little. Appetizers vary seasonally, but entrees remain the same and there's generally one burger, one seafood dish, one pasta dish, one pork, one chicken and one duck dish that rotate sauces/vegetables. On our latest visit, I asked if there were any specials and the only option we were offered was a portion of three scallops to be added to any dish for a cost of $22. We recently went on a beach vacation in Delaware and I was able to get a scallop entrée for not much more than that. On this most recent visit, I had the duck entrée, which was a whopping $45. The meat was good and flavorful and well seasoned and cooked properly, and I understand costs have risen, but it was not a $45 dish in my opinion. Our prior visit was a bit less than a year ago for our anniversary and the Chinese five spice duck entrée I had then was much more interesting and cost less. There was nothing wrong with my entrée, and the corn accompaniment was quite tasty and hearty. I felt my husband's pappardelle needed another minute to qualify as al dente, and though tasty, again, it was pricey considering there was no protein in it. $29 for noodles is steep. Cocktails have gone from $15 on our last visit to $17. The cocktail list does not change very much and generally there's one tequila/vodka/rum/Mezcal/gin etc cocktail on offering. The cocktails are very well-made but at $17, they should be. Costs on each item have risen a few dollars and I understand food costs are up but with rising food costs, comes increasing standards. Food and service have to be exceptional and unfortunately, our last visit fell short. The downstairs dining room felt like eating in a bar with a dining room attached, albeit a more upscale one, and I missed the ambience of the upstairs dining area. There was nothing wrong with our last visit, but there was nothing really exceptional, either. We'll be back, but perhaps next time for brunch. I can't help but feel that on our most recent visit, we ordered less than we normally do but spent the most.