Stubbe's Haring, Amsterdam: Herring with onions - from hand to mouth

When it comes to restaurants with two stars, the Michelin Guide says it's worth the detour. The gentlemen then accept long distances and, of course, usually come by car. On our first visit, we walked around twelve kilometers to visit Stubbe's Haring - and have been going back every time we visit Amsterdam ever since, even taking the streetcar closer. Stubbe's Haring doesn't have two stars, it's not even a restaurant, but a snack bar. But one with style!

What currywurst is to Bochumers and kebab is to Dresdeners, herring is to Amsterdammers. Especially at the end of May/June, when the matjes (or maatjesharing in Dutch) come onto the market. However, we are usually there at the end of April/beginning of May, so we ate the old herring - but it didn't matter, because we liked it too. And we bought Hollandse Nieuwe later in Dresden.

Back to the Stubbe family, who have had their snack bar at the Haarlinger lock at the beginning of the Singel (the name of the inner canal) since 1903. The place is strategically located at the beginning of the Haarlemer Straat, a lively shopping and pub street, and very close to the central station (about a ten-minute walk to the Stubbe). There are all kinds of seafood on offer, as you would expect from fish stalls: crab, eel, mackerel, salmon - and everything looks good. But if the place is called Stubbe's Haring, then you should also order herring, if you please. So we did, and so did all the others.

In fancy restaurants, you would call it an open show kitchen, but here it is simply the setting of a snack bar: friendly women take your order at the front (I never tire of emphasizing: as always in Amsterdam), two other women stand at the back and tirelessly clean the herrings in stoic calm. They (the herrings, not the women) then slide onto a sheet of parchment paper, the service girls cut the now boneless animals into bite-sized pieces with six swift slices and drape onions and/or gherkins if desired. Done - almost: flag-decorated toothpicks are both decoration and eating utensil.

This bite-sized meal is a concession, but a nice one. Because you actually take the headless herrings and put them in your mouth one by one, tail down. This is not so effective for the smell of the hand or the taste of onions/cucumber, and you can do without tradition. Otherwise, we found the herring super tasty, fresh and - as mentioned at the beginning - worth coming back for.