Incanto opened his doors in summer of 2005. Italian word Incanto means 'enchantment' and have been chosen because of the splendid view you can enjoy from its window: one of the oldest place of the sparkling Amsterdam. Incanto is located on the first and second floor at Munt Square and therefore offers you an enchanting view of the flower market and canals.
The view on the Amstel from one window and Host/Sommelier JP van Schip
Incanto is a restaurant with a classic Italian kitchen.
Venetian chef Simone Ambrosin is known for his pure and simple style of cooking with feeling for nuance. Every day he composes a traditional 4-courses menu. Bread, pasta, friandise and ice cream, everything is home made with the best ingredients the market has to offer. The ingredients are, wherever possible, biological. Cheese, hams and prosecco they imported by themselves.
The Italian wine list contains over 150 Italian wines. The price for three courses lunch menu is '¬ 32 and for the four courses dinner menu is '¬ 46. Host/sommelier JP van Schip selects with great care a matching wine with every dish. There's also a great variety of traditionally distilled grappas.
The wide choice of Grappa
Both lunch and diner menu change with the seasons. There's also the possibility for private lunching or dining. On the last floor there is a wide room with a stunning view which can be used for private event. This room can accommodate up to 35-40 people.
I had my dinner there on the first floor with Francesco, an Italian friend of mine visiting Amsterdam during a business trip. I and Francesco are both coming from the Venetian area like the Chef. We enjoyed everything we had at Incanto and the service provided by JP van Schip was excellent, something which is rare to find in Amsterdam.
Starting from the home made bread going to the risotto al Tartufo nero (Italian risotto with black truffle), the fish of the day and the delicious warm chocolate cake, we ended our dinner with a grappa Prime Uve, coming from Bassano del Grappa area, where I was born. Grappa can be defined like an Italian brandy distilled from the stalks and grape skins that remain after the wine has been pressed.
The starters
In its menu Incanto also proposes 'Baccala' alla Vicentina', a typical Italian dish from my home town, Vicenza, not easy to find abroad. I could write pages and pages about the story and tradition of Baccala'. Baccala is Italian for salted cod served on or next to polenta (mais cream).
My risotto al tartufo nero and the fish of the day for Francesco
Simone and JP are running the restaurant together. Simone was born in Jesolo, a well-known beach town near Venice. In Jesolo his parents ran a hotel and from child age on he worked there. He gradually became the chef of the restaurant, but his ambition was to work abroad. After working in a lot of different restaurants he decided to open the restaurant Segugio in Utrechtse Straat in Amsterdam. This was a great success.
Our dessert "Warm chocolate cake"
JP worked in the restaurant business during his studies (clothing engineering) and gradually found out that starting a restaurant was his great dream. He worked as a bartender, manager, cook and sommelier in various places but got infected by the 'Italian wine' virus. He met Simone in Segugio and when they got the possibility to open their own restaurant, they didn't hesitate a second.
Restaurant Incanto
Amstel 2
1017 AA Amsterdam
Tel. 0031 (0)20 4233681
For more information: www.restaurant-incanto.nl
