It was close to becoming one of those cliché moments when one comes in through the door expecting to be seated but instead ends up leaving because there was no reservation.
Anthony wanted to try rijstafel in Amsterdam and the first place that came to mind was, for better or worse, Tempo Doeloe. Having eaten there once before, I knew the service was decent, the atmosphere was cozy, and the food was pretty good but – as with most restaurants over here – I thought paying that much for Indonesian food was just outright robbery. In any case, I thought it was the best bet for dinner that evening and so I made reservations online for 7 p.m. on the dot.

After visiting Cafe de Jaren and walking through the area around the Hermitage and the Skinny Bridge, since we were already in the neighborhood and even though it was only past 6 p.m., we thought to go direct to the restaurant to see if we could be seated earlier. After a bit of hemming and hawing on the restaurant’s part – they apparently didn’t have our reservation as I didn’t receive an e-mail confirmation back, and that night had been booked solid since two weeks ago – things did work out and we were, eventually, able to get a table. So long as we were out by quarter to eight, that is.
In the end, it turned out to be enough time for us to enjoy a leisurely buffet of Indonesian dishes courtesy of the never-ending generosity from our friend and guest. Thanks, Anthony! Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.