Menu Guide

Restaurant 212 Amsterdam Menu: What to Order

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Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Sourced from the venue, its published menu and city food press · How we work · Corrections

Restaurant 212 does not run a table service you graze through — Richard van Oostenbrugge and Thomas Groot built a two-Michelin-star counter at Amstel 212 where 24 seats face an open kitchen and the meal is a fixed multi-course menu, roughly 268 euros for the five-course sequence. There is no traditional dining room; proximity is the point. The menu changes constantly with the market, but the langoustine has become the fixture the regulars come back for.

Where the Menu Peaks

The plate that has outlasted the menu changes is the langoustine confit in duck fat, poached slow and served with an Arabica coffee-bean dashi — a savoury-bitter pairing that reviewers keep singling out. Around it, the kitchen works exceptional international product: Japanese uni, French squab, North Sea shellfish, each given the restrained, technical treatment two stars demand. You are not choosing plates so much as choosing to sit down; the sequence is set. Our Restaurant 212 review calls the counter the best seat in the house.

How the Counter Menu Works

The format is the order here. The counter menu runs about five courses near 268 euros, with wine pairings built to track the sequence, and the whole thing plays out in front of you at the pass. That is the reason to book: watching extraordinary ingredients become dishes in real time is the entertainment 212 sells. Because van Oostenbrugge and Groot rewrite the menu with the season, the smart move is to take the pairing and let the kitchen lead rather than hunting for a la carte. For the reservation window and deposit terms, see our guide on how to book Restaurant 212.

Save Room for the Apple

End on the dessert the room is quietly known for: the ‘apple’, an apple-and-ginger sorbet hidden inside a blown-sugar apple case that you crack at the table. It is the playful full stop after two hours of precision, and it photographs as well as it eats. A counter menu with pairing puts 212 firmly in destination territory, which is why it anchors our fine-dining guide and the Amsterdam entries on the seafood index.

Not for a spontaneous group dinner or a table in a corner — 212 is a 24-seat counter with a fixed menu near 268 euros, and everyone eats the same sequence at the pass.
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Frequently Asked Questions

What should you order at Restaurant 212 in Amsterdam?

Restaurant 212 serves a fixed counter menu, so you order the format rather than individual plates. The course everyone remembers is the langoustine confit in duck fat with an Arabica coffee-bean dashi, and the meal closes on the 'apple' dessert, an apple-ginger sorbet inside a blown-sugar apple. Take the wine pairing, which is built to track the sequence, and let Richard van Oostenbrugge and Thomas Groot's kitchen lead from the open pass.

How much is the tasting menu at Restaurant 212?

The counter menu runs around 268 euros for the five-course sequence, with wine pairings offered on top to follow the courses. Because the menu changes constantly with the market and the format is fixed, the price covers the full sequence rather than plates chosen a la carte. That puts 212 in Amsterdam's top tier for price as well as pedigree, matching its two Michelin stars in the 2025 guide.

Does Restaurant 212 have tables or just a counter?

Restaurant 212 is built as a counter: 24 seats face an open kitchen, and there is no traditional dining room. Van Oostenbrugge and Groot designed it on the premise that proximity is the point, so every guest watches the pass work the same fixed menu in real time. If you want a private corner table, this is the wrong room; if you want to see two-star cooking up close, it is the best seat in the house. See our Amsterdam dining guide for alternatives.

What is the signature dish at Restaurant 212?

The langoustine confit in duck fat with Arabica coffee-bean dashi is the plate that has survived the menu's constant changes and the one reviewers name first. On the sweet side, the 'apple' dessert, an apple-and-ginger sorbet inside a blown-sugar shell you crack open, is the signature finish. Both sit inside a fixed counter menu of roughly five courses near 268 euros, served at the open kitchen where the whole meal takes place.