2. D'Vijff Vlieghen (Five Flies)

The food was okay, if overpriced for quality and Amsterdam standards. The service polite but slow. The setting interesting but stuffy. After the food was gone for our plates we really wanted to leave the restaurant. Worst of all was the clientèle. Not a single local, but instead full of somewhat annoying Americans like the ones you see in a Woody Allen film set in Europe. I wouldn't be going back, I wouldn't even recommend going there if you're the kind of visitor that doesn't like to be described as "tourist"...

Poor. Service pitifully slow, sullen and at times downright rude. Only gets 2 stars for lovely setting and good main course, but starters were bland and serving our party melting ice cream deserts at different times not helpful. Took more than 1 hour to even take our initial order. Not recommended

Brilliant !! Better than 5 stars

I felt the 5 Flies to be a fine restaurant but not a romantic one nor that easy to enter. It's hard to enjoy a reasonably good meal with 12 Japanese businessmen discussing buying the bank you work for (in Japanese) behind you... Best left for those business dinners with visiting out of towners, ideally American (it's an old building). The wine list was needlessly expensive.

Make sure you have a reservation, for if you don’t you won’t be getting in. The low ceiling and dark wood gives a feeling of intimacy. A little stuffy, but you’ll know you’re in Europe when dining here!