You can remember a place quite clearly and still forget its name. A canal, a corner, a plate of calamari and a few small dishes. In this case, the name is Shiraz: the wine bar at Lijnbaansgracht 267-HS in Amsterdam.<\/p>\n
Shiraz calls itself a Jardin des Vins<\/a>. Its own description combines French and Middle Eastern influences, with a wine selection intended to make room for both familiar favourites and something you have not tried before. The adjoining wine boutique provides a straightforward answer when you find a bottle worth taking home.<\/p>\n A long wine list is more useful when the first decision is a small one. Fresh and bright, or fuller and rounder? Something for the food, or simply a glass you want to sit with?<\/p>\n Describe a wine you already enjoy and ask the team for a nearby alternative. That gives the conversation a starting point without turning an evening out into a vocabulary test. The bar explicitly encourages guests to ask for advice when choosing.<\/p>\n The calamari and small plates are what brought this place back to mind. That is a good shape for an evening: a first glass, a couple of dishes for the table, then a decision about what comes next.<\/p>\n For fried calamari, a crisp white or a dry sparkling wine would be my starting point. That is a pairing suggestion, rather than a claim about a particular bottle currently being poured. Ask what is open and what the kitchen is serving that day.<\/p>\n Shiraz is at Lijnbaansgracht 267-HS<\/a>. Its contact page currently says ordinary reservations are not available and guests should walk in; larger groups have separate arrangements. Check that page and the current menu<\/a> before heading over, since dishes and opening hours can change.<\/p>\n This is a place to keep in mind when the plan is pleasingly modest: good company, something in the glass and enough food to justify staying a little longer.<\/p>\n Photograph: Shiraz \u2013 Jardin des Vins, from its official website.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The wine bar on the Lijnbaansgracht has a name: Shiraz. Wine, small dishes and a good excuse to slow the evening down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpai_generated_summary":"","wpai_meta_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudonfire.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudonfire.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudonfire.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudonfire.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudonfire.nl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9027"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudonfire.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9033,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudonfire.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9027\/revisions\/9033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudonfire.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudonfire.nl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudonfire.nl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudonfire.nl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Start with a direction<\/h2>\n
Order a little, then decide<\/h2>\n
Leave the timetable outside<\/h2>\n