Restaurant in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Two Bib Gourmands. Noord's best-value table.

Lazuur has held the Michelin Bib Gourmand in both 2024 and 2025, making it the strongest value case in Amsterdam Noord at the €€ price point. Chef Sherif Khalil cooks rich bistro food with Portuguese and global layers, backed by a serious port and Portuguese wine list. The Noord location keeps booking easy — more so than most restaurants operating at this award level.
A 4.6 on Google across 147 reviews tells you something useful: Lazuur is not a fluke. The Bib Gourmand in both 2024 and 2025 confirms it. At the €€ price point, this is one of the strongest value cases in Amsterdam's dining scene, and for anyone who has already been once, the question is less whether to return and more when — and what to order next.
The address is Purmerplein 8 in Amsterdam Noord, which means a bike ride across the IJ. That detail matters for planning. Noord's restaurant scene is thinner than the canal-side centre, which makes Lazuur easier to book than a Bib Gourmand of equivalent standing closer to the Rijksmuseum. If you were charmed on the first visit by the neighbourhood feel and the richness of the cooking, that accessibility is part of the proposition: a genuinely rewarding dinner without the weeks-out reservation race that defines places like Ciel Bleu (€€€€ · Creative) or Flore (€€€€ · Contemporary).
Chef Sherif Khalil works in a bistro register , rich, direct flavours , but layers in Portuguese references and what the Michelin record describes as global nuances. The documented example: red mullet cooked in crispy filo pastry, paired with marinated ginger, a curry sauce built on umami, yuzu, and Jerusalem artichoke textures. That combination tells you the kitchen's range. The base flavour is confident and European; the seasoning logic reaches further. It is not a fusion exercise for its own sake , the Portuguese wine and port selection that accompanies the menu suggests a coherent culinary point of view rather than eclecticism. If your first visit was anchored by the bistro richness, the chef's tasting menu is the natural next step: it gives Khalil room to build those layers across more courses rather than in a single plate.
Hours are not confirmed in our data, so verify directly before planning a lunch visit. What the record does make clear is that Lazuur's identity is built around evening cooking , the warmth of the room, the depth of the wine list, and the kind of food that rewards a slower pace. The bistro format and the chef's menu both read as dinner propositions: dishes involving filo pastry crusts, curry sauces, and umami-led reductions are not concepts that translate particularly well to a quick midday sitting, and the port and Portuguese wine focus is an evening argument.
If Lazuur does serve lunch, it is worth going for the value angle: a €€ kitchen operating at Bib Gourmand level at lunchtime prices typically represents the sharpest entry point in its category. But for a first return visit, dinner remains the format where this kitchen does what it does most deliberately. The convivial neighbourhood atmosphere the Michelin note describes , cosy, welcoming, the kind of local everyone wants nearby , reads more fully in the evening when the room is full and the wine list gets used properly. Compare that to a lunchtime visit to De Kas, where the greenhouse setting earns the trip at any hour; Lazuur's strongest argument is the evening room.
If the a la carte impressed last time, the chef's menu is the move. It is structured to show the range the kitchen has, and based on the documented cooking style , technically involved plates with multiple flavour references , it reads as a menu designed to be experienced whole rather than sampled selectively. The port and Portuguese wine list is also worth treating as a destination in itself rather than a background detail: it is described as impressive, which at this price point and in this neighbourhood is worth taking seriously as a differentiator. Ask what is currently pouring by the glass.
Compared to the broader Amsterdam scene, Lazuur sits in a distinct gap. It costs less than Bolenius or Wils, delivers more culinary ambition than most €€ neighbourhood spots, and has the kind of specific wine focus , Portuguese and port , that gives the meal a coherent identity. It is not trying to compete with Spectrum (€€€€ · Creative) or Vinkeles (€€€€ · Creative) on formality or ceremony. What it offers is a high-execution neighbourhood dinner at a price that does not require a special-occasion justification.
For context on where Lazuur sits within the Netherlands' broader award-winning scene, the country's Bib Gourmand tier consistently includes kitchens operating well above their price point , venues like De Groene Lantaarn in Staphorst and De Bokkedoorns in Overveen are part of the same recognition framework. Lazuur's consecutive Bib Gourmands suggest consistency, not a one-year anomaly. Within Amsterdam itself, the neighbourhood setting in Noord adds an element that the centre cannot replicate: a genuinely local room rather than a tourist-facing one. That distinction matters on a second or third visit.
Lazuur is worth considering alongside other Amsterdam options depending on what you are prioritising. For Mediterranean comparisons at the same price tier, Gitane and Escobar offer different angles on the same broad cuisine category. For a full picture of where Lazuur fits within Amsterdam's restaurant scene, see our full Amsterdam restaurants guide. If you are planning a wider trip, our Amsterdam hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of the city. For day trips combining food and travel, Aan de Poel in Amstelveen and the Michelin-starred De Librije in Zwolle are the natural next tier up.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lazuur | €€ · Mediterranean Cuisine | €€ | Easy |
| Ciel Bleu | €€€€ · Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Bolenius | Modern Dutch, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| De Kas | €€€ · Organic | €€€ | Unknown |
| Wils | €€€ · World Cuisine | €€€ | Unknown |
| BAK | €€€ · Farm to table | €€€ | Unknown |
Comparing your options in Amsterdam for this tier.
Lazuur is a neighbourhood bistro — cosy, welcoming, and the kind of room where solo diners don't feel like an afterthought. The counter or smaller tables typical of this format suit a single diner well. Two back-to-back Bib Gourmands at €€ pricing means you're getting serious cooking without the commitment of a high-stakes tasting-menu room, which removes pressure from a solo visit.
Yes, clearly. The Michelin Bib Gourmand — awarded in both 2024 and 2025 — is specifically a value signal: it flags good cooking at a fair price. At €€, Lazuur sits well below what you'd pay for comparable bistro technique in central Amsterdam. The Portuguese wine list adds further value if you're willing to explore beyond the usual by-the-glass options.
If you're already making the trip across the IJ to Amsterdam Noord, the chef's menu is the stronger call over a la carte. Chef Sherif Khalil's cooking — bistro-register flavours with Portuguese and global layering — shows more range across multiple courses. The documented preparation of dishes like red mullet in filo with curry, yuzu, and Jerusalem artichoke suggests the kitchen is doing more than comfort food.
Book at least 1–2 weeks out. Lazuur is a 25-cover neighbourhood bistro with Bib Gourmand recognition, which means demand outpaces what the room can absorb on popular evenings. Hours are not confirmed in our data, so call ahead or check directly before planning a specific sitting — particularly for lunch.
For Mediterranean cooking at a higher price point and more formal setting, Bolenius is the comparison. De Kas focuses on greenhouse-grown produce with a set menu format and is worth considering if provenance matters more than bistro flavour. BAK in Noord is geographically close and shares the neighbourhood-restaurant ethos, but leans more contemporary Dutch. Wils is a good option if you want natural wine focus alongside seasonal cooking. Ciel Bleu is a different tier entirely — two Michelin stars at a significantly higher price — and only makes sense if Lazuur's €€ register feels like you want to step up.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.