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Recently I visited the Lounge of the WAmsterdam to have a lunch with a friend. I have been several times to the WLounge and I like the atmosphere, the view, the open fire with chairs around it, the terrace in summer, the friendly casual service, etc.
However the lunch menu was still the same as it was a few months ago and I think thats a little dissapointing since I was expecting a new menu with more/different items for lunch. My appetite Wished for something else so we only had some coffee. The price for a chapuchino was five euro, a high end price for what is offered.
We had a quick look into the The Duchess and in Mr. Porter. The first glance of the The Duchess made us think it over if we wanted to have a small lunch in this opulent restaurant. And I did read some negative reviews of the restaurant….
But after our coffee we decided to give it a try …… We were greeted at the reception of the restaurant. The receptionist took care of our coats and she escorted us to our tables.
We were totally impressed by the beautiful interior of the restaurant. It reminded me of some restaurants in other historic Starwoodhotels. The Duchess is located in the Bankbuilding of the WAmsterdam.
The waiters did not speak Dutch, only English at that moment, and I was not pleasantly suprised. The menu was also only in English and we did not like it being in Amsterdam.
The waiter who helped dus was very formal and a little coldish in his attitude. It was not helpfull when deciding which choice to make. The menu offered a wide range of plates and it was so hard for us to make a choice. Even more since the menu offered only ample information of the dishes. Finally the waiter could offer some help and advised the Ceasarsalad. We wanted to order it, but I do not like fish or seafood. So I asked for another dressing since only the dressing included anjovis. But I was rather shocked to hear it was not possible! I just asked for another dressing, not a total different salad. But it was not possible ….. and so we had to find another kind of small lunch. We did not take some of the special selection of prepared water, though it was tempting. I like the Shiraz wines and asked for a glass… finally I ended up with the served Chardonny which my friend ordered. So I mentioned it and the waiter changed it for me. It seemed not possible to taste the wine first. Another waiter served us a small delicious bread with some olive oil and tomatodressing, we loved dit!
To be honest, the formal cool attitude of this waiter spoiled our experience. I have been to many restaurants worldwide and even with Michelinstars but his formal attitude made me feel unWelcome and uncomfortable.

We made our choice for the Green Salad with almonds and Crispy Gnocchi with hot Cherry Tomatoes. I was pleasantly surprised by the large salad, which tasted excellent. As for the small portion of Gnochi, the taste was even better. We enjoyed the freshness and quality so much.
We did speak to another waiter, from Estland, and he was much more spontanuous and open in his attitude. He even did say goodbye to us and we appreciated this attitude very much. We did notice our first waiter was leaving too….
A young waitress was on duty now, I told her I was not pleased with service. Until sofar nobody asked us if we liked the lunch/food/wine and if we needed something more. She immediately asked us….. She was nice and was Dutch, so that makes it even easier to talk about our experience in this beautiful restaurant. She made us feel Welcome and explained to us the personnel of the restaurant is trained to give a more formal serice to the guests, which are mainly foreigners. I told her I did not like this formal cold attitude, and I do not feel at home or comfortable with this kind of approach. She did not know of Starwood standards and did not know Starwood at all. Though the restaurant is located in Starwood WAmsterdam hotel, they seem to have minimal interest in the standards of the hotel. I do know the restaurants are under a different management and not part of Starwood, which I do regret. In more Starwoodhotels around the world they have this situation. The WAmsterdam is different since they do not offer another restaurant which is under management of the hotel, being a Starwoodrestaurant.
This waitress helped us pleasantly with making a choice of the dessert wich ended up in a choice of the delicious capuchino and friandise. The friandise is heavenly! Our tastebuds exploded with such delicious brioches, bonbons, cakes, etc., all handmade!

The restaurant was not busy for lunch and with the kind waitress it was possible to take our time to enjoy. The prices on the menu were ok, only the price of the Crispy Gnochi was on the high end regarding the small portion. The wines tasted fine and the desert was heavenly.

My impression.
The attitude of the first waiter made us feel uncomfortabel and the English Menu was at first confusing for us due to a lack of information or a helpfull waiter. After a change of the waiter I felt at home and enjoyed my experience in this restaurant very much. I am a little dissapointed the personnel did no know the standards of Starwood/Whotels, since the restaurant is located in a Starwood/Whotel. I do know the management of Starwood/Whotels have contacts with these restaurants, regarding the level of service tot he guests and Wishes of these guests regarding their dinnerexperiences.
In fact, breakfast is served inTthe Duchess, being it with Starwood/Whotel personnel. So a little more interest of the personnel of the The Duchess into the standards of the hotel should be more then Welcome, so guest can continue to enjoy the high standards of Starwood.

I don’t know if I Wish to have dinner here, since it seems to be very busy in the evening and I guess with a very formal/coldish service. Guest only have a maximal time, I believe 2 hours, to complete dinner and I would not like to feel hurried but Wish to have time to enjoy this Wonderful experience, to enjoy the excellent quality and taste of the products.
Though we only had a very small lunch it seems very promising to have another “tastebud explosion” here!


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