Date night: Lion Noir

Much as I love our little tradition of traveling somewhere (or being “whisked away”, as Marlon and I like to say) to celebrate a birthday, I just couldn’t muster up the energy to do it this year. Not even within the Netherlands, not even to a hotel in Amsterdam. How life changes with a baby! The pinnacle of my ambitions could be summed up in four words. Babysitter. Heels. Cocktails. Dinner.  

My dashing date gave me all of that in one smooth move by taking me out to Lion Noir, a restaurant on the Reguliersdwarsstraat in the center of Amsterdam.

The Reguliersdwarsstraat is one of the most happening streets in the city center for wining, dining and partying. It’s also a well-known gay and lesbian strip, good to know if that’s what you’re after. I love my gays, but I wasn’t out to be a fag hag that night. I just wanted to put on red lipstick, totter around in heels, and get all fancy.

Lion Noir, with its stylish interiors and moody, slightly mysterious atmosphere, is the perfect place to do just that. The dim mood lighting also gave me a chance to test my new Sony RX100 MII in low light.

Date night began with cocktails and fresh oysters at Lion Noir’s beautiful copper-topped bar on the ground floor. Cocktail bars are still somewhat of a fancy novelty here, with the practical Dutch being more the type to enjoy a beer with buddies at a no-frills neighborhood bar. For a chic place like Lion Noir, though, cocktails are a must.

Dark, rich green walls, red leather chairs, suede banquettes and stuffed game—all these luxurious details come together in a subtle and homey way. The Dutch are crazy about coziness (gezelligheid); I would say the whole look of Lion Noir is gezelligheid luxe. The next time we come here for drinks, I’m going to ask for that cozy table by the fireplace!

Lion Noir’s main dining room is on the first floor. It was packed the night we were there, so I didn’t take any pictures. I did remember to capture these striking, moody paintings near our table.

The new camera does well in low light, don’t you think? The only thing I wasn’t happy about were the food pictures—they looked flat and cold, and basically just screamed trying-hard food blog, so I won’t post them here. Just so you know, the food was superb: French fine dining with seasonal ingredients (check out the menu here) that left us sighing and satisfied.

Marlon and I let our date nights slip for a few months, but our experience at Lion Noir was so lovely that we’re inspired to start them up again. Time to start planning the next one!