Restaurant Amarone

The Restaurant

Amarone occupies a tall 19th-century building on Meent, one of the central shopping streets of Rotterdam, a ten-minute walk from the City Hall. The restaurant earned its Michelin star in 2014 and has held it continuously under chef Gert Blom. Thirty-six covers across a main dining room and a smaller side space; the bar at the entrance serves an aperitivo programme that is a city destination in its own right.

The cooking blends classical French technique with a light Japanese influence that the restaurant has refined for over a decade: a signature line-caught turbot with ponzu beurre blanc, a Dutch Waygu tartare with smoked soy, a dashi-based vegetable course that has appeared on the menu every season since opening. Tasting menus run at four, six, or eight courses (€95, €145, €195).

The name — Amarone — references the wine, and the cellar has a deliberate depth in Italian reds from Valpolicella, Barolo, and Tuscany, alongside a classically organised French programme and a short, serious Japanese sake selection. The sommelier has held the position since opening. For a polished Michelin-level dinner in central Rotterdam without the hotel context, Amarone is the right choice.