April 02, 2026 - - | No comment
How To Feel Like a Parisian in Amsterdam - Visit La Dilettante
If you live in Paris, it can be tough to find a brown café like those you see everywhere in Amsterdam. In the same way, it is not easy to find a Parisian cave à manger in Amsterdam that truly focuses on good food and wine. Fortunately, the search is over.
Located in De Pijp in Amsterdam, you have La Dilettante; it feels like two worlds coming together. Unlike every Dutch bar, there are no bitterballen on the menu, but Gougères. We’ll let you decide which is better ;): one requires a deep fryer, the other requires a glass of Pet-nat and a certain 'je ne sais quoi.’
The Spirit of Justine
The bar takes its name from a beloved Loire Valley cuvée personified by "Justine”, “La femme qui fait ce qu'elle veut" (a woman that does what she wants). She is the woman on the wall, the figure in the logo, and the spirit of the bar. A silent goddess overseeing the room who simply doesn’t care what people think.
The spirit is rebellious, and the wine list is vibrant. The team scouts for "gems" from various importers in Amsterdam. Olivier, one of the owners of the bar, explains that they are looking for "energy." Wines that carry an emotion that is hard to describe but easy to feel.
The bar offers a warm, lived-in vibe where the focus remains on the glass and the guest. Whether it’s a quick morning coffee, a casual beer, or a celebratory natural wine bottle. Not perfectly styled, just gezellig (cozy)!
Olivier really takes time for you. When you're doubting a choice, he’ll have you taste what he has open to help you find what “feels” right, which is how we discovered a lovely, vibrant bottle called “Y a plus qu’à” from Kumpf & Meyer, from Alsace. When he’s not behind his own bar, you’ll likely find him at his local favorites: Remouillage (also for food), his old home GlouGlou, or enjoying an incredible dinner at Choux.
Why we loved it
La Dilettante succeeds because it refuses to be pretentious. It remains a place for the neighborhood first that celebrates good wines while maintaining the soul of a local pub. In a city where the natural wine community is growing, La Dilettante remains refreshingly itself: a bar that, just like Justine, does exactly what it wants.
