Restaurant Showw

What to Expect

Restaurant Showw sits at Gelrestraat 28 in Amsterdam's Rivierenbuurt district, a residential neighbourhood south of the city centre that keeps the atmosphere noticeably calmer than the tourist-dense canal belt. The room is described as lounge-like and open-plan; not a hushed, white-tablecloth shrine, but a space designed for ease and conversation. For a first-timer, this matters: the formality level is high enough to signal a serious kitchen, relaxed enough that you are not performing at dinner. The spatial arrangement encourages lingering, which suits the pacing of a multi-course meal.

The team behind Showw is Chef Dorus Floris and sommelier Lendl Mijnhijmer, who first worked together at the Michelin-starred Restaurant Bougainville in Amsterdam. Their collaboration shows in the coherence between what arrives on the plate and what lands in the glass. Mijnhijmer serves wine blind, without revealing the label, adds commentary once you have formed your own impression. For a first-timer this is either a pleasure or mild pressure depending on your confidence, but it is genuine hospitality rather than a test. The service approach across the room reflects that same attention: described as palpable in its synergy, it does not get in the way of the food.

On the ingredient side, Chef Floris works with global seasonings and what Michelin's own documentation calls "refreshing nuances", a kitchen vocabulary that draws from multiple culinary traditions rather than anchoring to a single national cuisine. His sauce work is technically demanding: a bisque enriched with espresso and curry oil, paired with langoustines and Jerusalem artichoke, is the kind of construction that requires sourcing precision as much as technique. The vegetables are not background. Showw explicitly offers a dedicated vegetable menu, four to six courses, alongside its broader tasting format. For a city that has built a reputation around plant-forward fine dining, this is a considered position: the vegetable menu at Showw is presented as a peer choice, not a concession.

The tasting format runs four to six courses, the consensus from available documentation is that the full six-course version is the better choice. Partial menus are available, but the kitchen's design logic favours the longer arc. For a first visit, book the full menu. You are here to see what the kitchen can do, that argument is made across courses, not in one or two dishes.

Booking is hard. With fewer than ten services per week and a room that reads as intimate, availability moves fast. Plan on reserving three to four weeks in advance as a minimum for weekend dinner; the Monday and Sunday lunch sittings may offer slightly more flexibility but are still limited by the compressed 90-minute window. No booking method is confirmed in available data, so check the venue directly for current reservation channels. Phone and website details are not publicly confirmed at time of writing.

For Amsterdam context: Showw earned its Michelin star in 2024, which places it in the same tier as Lars Amsterdam and Flore, and one level below the two-star Ciel Bleu. Across the Netherlands, the one-star category includes strong regional options such as Aan de Poel in Amstelveen, De Bokkedoorns in Overveen, and Brut172 in Reijmerstok, as well as two-star destinations like De Librije in Zwolle, 't Nonnetje in Harderwijk, De Groene Lantaarn in Staphorst, Inter Scaldes in Kruiningen, and Parkheuvel in Rotterdam. Showw's distinction within Amsterdam's one-star tier is the combination of the plant-forward menu option, the wine-blind service format, a room that sits closer to a lounge than a formal dining hall, a profile that differs meaningfully from the more architecture-forward The White Room by Jacob Jan Boerma.

The €€€€ price tier is consistent with Amsterdam's Michelin-starred set. You are paying for technical cooking, a curated wine pairing with genuine sommelier engagement, a room that has been designed with the full experience in mind. For the city's fine-dining tier, that combination is positioned well. See our full Amsterdam restaurants guide for broader context, or explore hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences in Amsterdam if you are planning a full trip.