After several attempts over the years and wondering all this time whether it was worth the effort, I finally found out what the fuss was all about with Dignita. Given few good brunch options in Amsterdam it wasn’t unusual to hear about places that stood out from the limited brunch landscape but even then it wasn’t so easy to get the chance and make time to venture outside my comfort zone in Osdorp. After all this time and in the company of a former colleague I was able to muster the opportunity this afternoon, but not without getting waitlisted and whiling away half an hour to get seated. Brunch wasn’t supposed to be easy said no one ever.

It was your typical Amsterdam establishment – small and shamefully ‘cozy’, which meant I was practically elbow to elbow with the stranger next to me. The service was good enough though I was peeved when they tried to force a two person table behind me to fit three grown adults which meant that the sardine atmosphere we were already in would get worse. Luckily they sensed my lack of appreciation and understanding and decided to sit elsewhere. As for the food my fallback dish – pancakes done American-style – was a mess to look at. If it wasn’t for the froufrou marshmallows and caramel popcorn it would I think be just as satisfying as Bakers & Roasters or even, heaven forbid, IHOP. The healthy side serving of bacon did make the overall experience better and in the end my plate was cleaned out. I thought I’d stretch my appetite further with a piece of ‘blow your mind’ brownie – waitress’s description – that ended up instead more like a faint summer wind and forgettable at that.

Overall Dignita was nice but simply too much work. This being Amsterdam though it’s too much to expect a bit more of anything – space, convenience, and maybe restraint. Time to stop wondering and continue the search for the next great brunch adventure.