Envy

One of the best conversations to have at work is when someone comes to talk you and ask if you’re available for a business trip at short notice. It’s even better if the trip being discussed means a chance to fly back to Europe and in this instance a trip announced at short notice meant the opportunity for a brief visit to Amsterdam for the first time in 22 years.

The overnight flight meant that once I found my hotel and dumped my stuff (no early check in unfortunately) I was out for something to eat to help pass the time before I could officially check in. With the expectation that I was unlikely to be craving a high end place. A review of lots of websites ahead of time threw up Envy as a place that had an interesting lunchtime menu as well as being within easy reach of the hotel. So that’s my destination.

Envy is on Prinsengracht on the east side of the outermost of the four canals that encircle Amsterdam’s centre. The restaurant is owned by Bert van der Leden whose stated aim is to reproduce the feel of an Italian delicatessen where products are visible but the proprietor is keen to help give advice on what is delicacies they may like. As a restaurant they want to promote fresh foods and good wine. The dining area is a long narrow room with the busy kitchen immediately to the right as you enter. Opposite the kitchen is a number of small alcoves with low tables. Towards the back the tables for larger parties are higher with bar stool seating. 

The lunch menu lists bread, deli meats, envy delicacies, cheeses and a very limited but attractive sounding dessert menu. The lunch tasting option is a four course menu comprising 3 deli meats, 4 cold dishes, 1 warm dish and a choice between dessert and a cheese course. I’m not sure how this works but it seems the best way to go.

The tray of 3 deli meats is a generous portion of bresaola, genoa salami and salami vetriciana. The partnering breads, a crusty white bread and malty brown loaf are a delight. Of the meats, the gentle hint of gherkin in bresaola and the aggressive garlicky punch of the Genoa salami are the standout moments.

The four cold starters appear on one rectangular plate.  My scientific nature and need for order  kicks in and dictates that I have to eat from left to right so first up is a shot glass of a warm cream of asparagus soup. The cream base has a slightly sour taste due to use of white asparagus but the overall flavour is really good.

The steak tartare was another really good taster. The hints of gherkin and Worcester sauce work really well with the beef and give it a nice spicy edge. Black pepper adds a welcome heat. Lovely.

The star of the four is the salmon starter. Marinated salmon is combined with cucumber, Thai yoghurt, chicory and a lime meringue. The piece of salmon is beautifully tender and its flavour is enhanced by the intense salty bursts of the herring caviar. Cucumber adds freshness and a light crunch while the yoghurt provides a subtle spice that ties everything together.

The spicy shrimp with pickled radish sounds great but is probably the least successful of the four tasters. The shrimp is treated very sympathetically so it’s wonderfully tender and it works well with the sweet burnt onion and mildly acidic radish. The problem is the Thai lime sauce that’s just too tart to work well with everything else. 

The main course is a tender entrecote with white asparagus and port sauce. The meat, cooked medium rare is really lovely and the asparagus is a good partner although its bitter edge is not wholly to my taste. The port reduction and accompanying béarnaise are both excellent so overall I’d call it a successful dish.

The dessert is a deconstructed tiramisu and combines chocolate ice cream with coffee gel, sponge fingers and coffee soaked sponge and although it’s pleasant it represents the weak point of the meal.

Overall the lunch combines good food in a pleasant setting and two days later when I’m walking round the canals I leave it too late to find somewhere different for dinner. A quick check on my phone shows that Envy opens late so it’s time to try the late evening service.

The Envy appetiser is listed as different and changing homemade delicacies so by ordering it you’re making yourself subject to the kitchen’s whims on whatever day you visit. On this visit the kitchen sends out a dish with pumpkin, avocado cream, celery cream and Parmesan crisp. It’s a lovely dish to look at and although it seems simple the mix of flavours is great. The rolled slivers of fresh pumpkin are the texture that the whole dish hangs on with additional emphasis from the pumpkin purée in the gel capsules. The celery cream is a particularly good accompaniment while the finely diced vegetables in vinaigrette give a welcome sharp contrast. The crunchy Parmesan crisps are intensely flavoured and crown a very satisfying appetiser. 

In addition to the selection of cold meats, Envy has seven different styles of Dutch sausage to try out. I opt for the garlic sausage and it comes with a dollop of mustard, a generous portion of delicious crusty bread and a bowl of olive oil. The garlic in the sausage is soaked in wine during preparation and the hard sausage has a very pleasant flavour.

I hit a problem with mains. The first choice of roasted mackerel with mackerel tartare, daikon and mint is sold out so it’s back to the drawing board. Despite feeling gun shy about more white asparagus, I opt for the grilled turbot with leek, pork belly and white asparagus and when it arrives any concern is swiftly dispelled. The fish is excellent and flavour-wise is the equal of the other components so they all add up to a nicely balanced dish. The excellent leek sauce and hollandaise both team really well with the fish and the grilled white asparagus is much nicer than in the earlier beef dish. Passing on dessert means that I finish at Envy on a high.

I like Envy a lot even though the menu is a bit strange when you first browse through it. The room has a nice informal feel and the food was of a good standard throughout. It’s certainly somewhere that I’ll happily return to and if I lived nearby I’d regularly go for the lunchtime tasting menu

Overall rating – 4/5