Birthday Dinner at The Happy Bull (Amsterdam)
So it’s day one of our three night trip to Amsterdam. Exhausted. Freezing. Starving. The best three words I can use to describe how we were feeling after missing our initial flight out here from the UK and being slightly unprepared for the harsh, cold winds that lay ahead for the next few days!
I had made dinner reservations with Karen, one of the owners of the restaurant prior to our trip. She was aware that this meal was part of a running birthday surprise for my sister Louise and managed to throw in a little surprise for her later on during the meal.. but we’ll get to that shortly.
When we arrived, we instantly began warming up inside of the cosy restaurant. The decor - very rustic but modern with natural wooden tables, stools, wall slabs and little fairy lights around the windows. Very chic. We were immediately greeted by a friendly waitress and shown to our table, where we had a quick butchers at the menu before ordering our drinks and mains.
The Happy Bull Restaurant is widely known across Amsterdam for their MASSIVE, filling burgers. We’re talking meats, cheeses, veggies, etc inside of a toasted gourmet bun. Mmm :P Although the cheeseburger looked extremely tempting, we were definitely in a ‘chicken-kinda-mood’ and opted for the chicken tenders (beautifully cooked chicken breasts with a crispy fried coating) and fries. This went down a treat and was so much more filling than we had imagined! I ended up having to take some back with me to our hotel as I was just too full! Lou on the other hand, devoured her plate! Whilst we ate, we vibed to a good selection of music including chilled/old school R&B, pop, soul and funk. Super cute.
Karen kindly arranged a surprise dessert for Lou, just as she thought the meal was over and might I tell you, it was just divine! As Louise came back after popping of to the loo, a delicious gifted dessert was waiting for her, complete with sparklers/candles! She was completely surprised! The dessert was a mouth-watering, triple scoop sundae - strawberry, vanilla and pistachio, topped with crushed chocolates, cream and a pretty little sparkler which twinkled away for ages! The pistachio ice cream was amaaaaaazing!! I have never had it before, probably because I thought there were crushed nuts in it (ew), but this one was smooth, sweet and creamy. I could eat that everyday! And Lou really enjoyed it too.
The service from the waitress was great and we were made to feel very special, as every guest should.
Our only wish was that there was a little more to choose from on the menu, particularly desserts (I am a huge dessert person), however, having said that, this is a ‘burger’ restaurant and there were plenty of different types of burgers on the menu, as well as a few starters, sides and a selection on milkshakes.
Such good value for money. I’d love to revisit this restaurant, the next time I’m in Amsterdam!!
Special thanks to Karen Farfan who assisted with our booking and arranged this lovely surprise for Louise. Although we were guests at The Happy Bull, all opinions within this post and across my blog are 100% my own!
