Missing the tropics this year? You need to visit Mondi!
This summer Amsterdam’s newest Caribbean restaurant popped up in The College Hotel, Oud Zuid, and it’s seriously worth a visit. As we move into winter and the weather becomes increasingly miserable you can find an escape from the city’s damp pavements and windy streets in this Caribbean oasis.
‘Mondi’ has a special meaning in Papiamentu, a language spoken in Curaçao, Bonaire, and Aruba. It refers to areas of wilderness, unexplored or uninhabited by people, where plants grow in abundance, and it’s the perfect name for this restaurant. Here there are new flavours just waiting to tantalise your tastebuds, designed and cooked by a chef whose name you might recognise (if you watch too much foodie TV, like me).
Curaçaoan-born Chef Justin Niessen competed in the 2016/17 series of Dutch Masterchef and the same passion that drove him to compete can be seen in the food served at Mondi. Whether you order a simple salad or the incredible jerk chicken, there’s going to be a whole lot of flavour on your plate.
One look at the menu will tell you that the food here comes from a mix of influences around the world, and that’s true of Curaçaoan food in general. It’s a place where culinary cultures mix to create incredible flavour combinations, and you can sample some of those at Mondi with added flair from the chef.
Here you can try seabass ceviche, which is an absolute must if you haven’t tried it before, alongside Japanese tuna tacos. Not a fan of fish? Well, how about pumpkin crème, pork belly and pico de gallo? There are veggie options too, such as the zapallo taco, containing baked pumpkin, crème fraîche, radish, and huancaina sauce (a Peruvian speciality made from yellow peppers and soft cheese).
There are plenty of wines, soft drinks and cocktails on offer to wash all of that delicious food down with, and on nice days you can even enjoy it all on the beautiful terrace. To read more about Mondi, check out the menu or book a table, you can visit the website here.