5 September 2026. Inspired by a review in De Standaard of ‘Queer Amsterdam, the Pink City‘ exhibition at De Nieuwe Kerk, Thanh and I travelled to the nominal capital of the Netherlands. To make it a proper excursion, we added a lunch a at Michelin-starred MOS Amsterdam and some walking around.

While planning our Amsterdam excursion, Thanh spotted restaurant Esra. But it was or closed or fully booked – I don’t remember – but either way, we had to find an alternative. Thanh found MOS or MOS Amsterdam on the Michelin website. MOS has one Michelin star. 

One star means “A very good restaurant in its category”. Two stars: “Excellent cooking that is worth a detour on your trip”.Three stars: “Exceptional cuisine that is worth a special trip all by itself”.

Introducing MOS

At the far end of IJdok, just a short distance from Amsterdam Central Station, MOS combines fine dining with one of the city’s most impressive waterfront settings. The restaurant opened in 2015 and earned its first Michelin star only a year later, an accolade it has retained. Chef-patron Egon van Hoof runs the kitchen together with maître-sommelier Henry Pattiwael van Westerloo.

The setting is a major part of the experience. MOS occupies the tip of the IJdok, with large windows looking across the IJ towards the EYE Film Museum and A’DAM Tower. Ferries, pleasure boats, cruise ships and other vessels provide a constantly changing backdrop while you eat. The interior is warm and elegant rather than formal, with velvet, earthy tones, flowers and intimate seating areas. I amsterdam describes its design as combining influences from Paris and Marrakech.

French with an international twist

Van Hoof’s cooking is rooted in French cuisine but draws on international influences. MOS describes its approach as French-international, based on seasonal produce and a combination of high-quality ingredients, technique and creativity. The result is a menu that is recognisable without being conventional, with combinations that deliberately put different flavours and textures together.

That creativity is also what Michelin highlights. The guide classifies MOS as Creative French and praises Van Hoof’s technical skill, elegant presentation and willingness to experiment with unusual combinations while maintaining a sense of harmony.

The current lunch menu illustrates that philosophy well. Dishes include sea bass with anchovies, pickles, salted peach, sesame and crème fraîche; North Sea crab with mustard bavarois, smoked trout, sorrel, chervil and shellfish vinaigrette; and BBQ monkfish with Zeeland (Zealand) mussels, green apple, white bean cream and escabeche. Later courses move to sweetbreads with butter beans and tarragon, roasted quail with chanterelles, cherries, risotto and cecina, followed by raspberries, champagne, financier and mascarpone.

The menus change regularly and can be taken as four, five or six courses. The current lunch menu is €90 for four courses, €105 for five and €120 for six. An optional cheese course costs €22.

Fine dining without the stiffness

One of MOS’s distinguishing features is that, despite the Michelin star and elaborate cooking, it aims for a relatively relaxed atmosphere. The restaurant’s own philosophy puts as much emphasis on hospitality and the overall experience as on the food. Van Hoof has described his cuisine as constantly evolving, with the menus changing frequently rather than becoming fixed signatures.

That balance between sophistication and informality is reflected in the room. It feels like a special-occasion restaurant, but not one where the surroundings or service are intended to intimidate. The combination of polished cooking, attentive service and the constantly moving panorama outside makes the setting almost as important as what arrives on the plate.

MOS is therefore a particularly appealing choice for diners who want Michelin-starred food without having to retreat into Amsterdam’s historic centre. Here, the city is very much part of the meal: water, boats and the Amsterdam skyline form the backdrop, while Van Hoof’s kitchen provides the culinary spectacle.

The lunch menu

On the day, the lunch menu consisted of:

1. Sea bass. Anchovies, pickles, salted peach, sesame, crème fraîche. Imperial caviar on the dish for 10 g per person, €25.
2. North Sea crab. Mustard bavarois, smoked trout, sorrel, chervil, shellfish vinaigrette. Included with the 5-course menu.
3. BBQ monkfish. Zeeland mussels, green apple, white bean cream, escabeche.
4. Sweetbreads. Butter bean, spring onion, tarragon, piccalilly. Included with the 6-course menu.
5. Roasted quail. Chanterelle, cherries, risotto, cecina, spinach, poultry jus.
6. Raspberries. Champagne, financier, mascarpone.

Optional cheese selection: €22. It would be served before the dessert. And of course there were some pre-meal nibbles. 

Thanh opted for the five-course version, myself for six. No cheese, no caviar. We also didn’t drink alcohol. Thanh doesn’t drink much or often, and neither do I. Also,  when having alcohol at lunch struggle to fight sleepiness.

And how does it taste?

One star means “a very good restaurant in its category”, and that is what we got. Everything was perfectly cooked, the dishes were well balanced. Green is a running theme. Every dish has some green… except the dessert. 

As you expect at this level, the meal builds up to the crescendo of the main dish, the quail, and then dessert. It was just a very nice meal and experience. Nothing revolutionary, true, but just very well executed. 

Amsterdam being Amsterdam 

A little side note. We were greeted in English, while everyone speaks Dutch. It’s an Amsterdam thing. For some reason, we went along, until we didn’t. 

The English language being the prime language in Amsterdam is a bit of annoyance for Flemings. In Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, we speak Dutch. surely, with different accents, sometimes different words. But the differences are not more major then those between British and American English. Yet, many Dutchies have trouble with Flemish Dutch. They find it cute, ‘gezellig‘. But that’s also condescending. 

Anyway, when “the ape fell out of the sleeve”, we spoke Dutch with the MOS staff. And all this did not spoil our experience at all. 

So?

Yes, I would recommend going to MOS. Prices are very reasonable for 2026. Dinner service is some 20 euros more. 

Amsterdam Adventures

• REVIEW | ‘Queer Amsterdam, the Pink City’ exhibition at De Nieuwe Kerk (until 4 April 2027).
• ‘Freedom’ by Erwin Olaf enters final days at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
• Ype Driessen’s ‘Vanilla’ explores sex, friendship and breaking free from romantic expectations.
• BOOK REVIEW | ‘Vanilla’ by Ype Driessen, daring to question the societal precedence of the romantic relationship.
• REVIEW | F1 The Exhibition in Amsterdam.
• REVIEW | Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam.
• REVIEW | Crowne Plaza Amsterdam – South.
• AMSTERDAM | Pokémon at the Van Gogh Museum.
• Zandvoort, home of the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.
• REVIEW | Holiday Inn Express Amsterdam – Schiphol.
• A tour of Amsterdam avoiding the clichés of cannabis and mass tourism.
• De Hallen Amsterdam.