Salivating at Sofitel (after saving up)

I am not necessarily one for Hotel chains, but this one has to be mentioned.
Sofitel Amsterdam, Hotel The Grand. It houses a fantastic restaurant called BRIDGES (Fins & Vins).
The hotel sits on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal, facing the canal.
Now if any of you ever decide to visit, you may be surprised to find that the hotel is VERY close to the red light district, but that little detail does not seem to bother anyone.
I have found that this is the way it works in Amsterdam. One side of a canal can be 'posh'  and the other...not.

I had decided that it had been a while since we last tried out a well known restaurant and see what all the fuss was about, and so we ended up going to BRIDGES.

Those who know me, know that I like to really taste food. This was like tasting a 'symphony'. It all came together beautifully.

I just want to show pictures of the food (because I like that sort of thing) but for a better description and idea of ingredients please click on this menu-link Bridges Menu
One warning though. I wasn't joking when I said I needed to save up. Wallet?➠➠BIG!

It was a beautiful day and when we got there, we decided to start with a drink in the elegant courtyard, where we sat on very comfortable couches, sipping our Champagne. Very nice indeed!

We were then escorted into the modernly decorated restaurant (with a slight sense of 'strictness' to it) and decided to go for 'the lot'.
This restaurant is known for its fish (hence Fins and Vins) and therefore we started with a 'fish-amuse'.

For 'starters': 1 Salmon tartar and 1 Octopus Carpaccio (smoked?).

For our main meals we had Monkfish and the Dish of the Day, 'Fish Menu'.

And finally, for desserts we had a 'Choco Fondant' and choice from the heavily laden Cheese Trolley (accompanied by a beautiful Muscat and Port).

Love this picture

BON APPÉTIT!
As we walked out of the restaurant, into the inner courtyard and then through to the entrance courtyard (with fountain) we watched some hotel guests practice their cycling skills on some 'rental bikes'. What fun. Cycling through Amsterdam on a 'soft' (no other description for it) night. I felt it had been a wonderful evening, well spent.
(marks: 8.5)