Banbury's Little Amsterdam receives double recognition

Little Amsterdam, Banbury, has been included in 'Where Chefs Eat'. Proprietor, Ilja Abbattista, centre, with left, Faith Faulkner and right, Katie French, team members. NNL-180320-185310009

The North Bar café has been included in Where Chefs Eat, a guide to chef’s favourite restaurants after receiving a recommendation from Robert Ortiz, a Michelin starred chef of Lima in London, the first Peruvian restaurant in Europe to be recognised by the Guide.

Founded and run by Ilja Abbattista and husband Lino, Little Amsterdam stands alongside Michelin starred restaurants Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons and the Nut Tree Inn as the only Oxfordshire representatives.

Ilja said: “I can’t quite believe that I saw Little Amsterdam in the book, I have been on cloud nine all day.

Little Amsterdam, Banbury, has been included in 'Where Chefs Eat'. Proprietor, Ilja Abbattista. NNL-180320-185248009

“I’m ecstatic to say the least, it feels wonderful that we have celebrity chefs coming to dine here and recommend us, we also have other celebrities dining here.”

The café has also just won a national silver medal from the ‘Feed With Confidence Awards’, awarded to eating establishments supporting breast-feeding mums.

The cafe is no stranger to receiving accolades. Just nine months after its’ opening in December 2014 Banbury Guardian readers voted it Cafe of the Year and for three consecutive years the cafe has won the national Good Food Award and was a finalist at last year’s UK Food Awards.

Where Chef’s Eat features 4,500 restaurants from 70 countries and more than 650 of the world’s best chefs.

Lino, who runs the kitchen, said: “It makes all the hard work and long hours worth-while.”