STORY | AMSTERDAM

A Dinner in the Wintertuin of the Krasnapolsky

By Aleksandria Rudenko | Updated 2 November 2026

Wintertuin of the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky seen from above during dinner, guests at round tables on a black-and-white checkered floor

Hundreds of guests sat down at round tables under an iron-and-glass roof in the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky. It was the dinner in the Wintertuin, on another evening of Strategic Resource Group’s Middle East Summit.

A dinner of this size moves fast, and nobody wants a camera in the way. That balance is at the heart of my business photography in Amsterdam: close to the people, never between them.

From Dam Square to the Winter Garden

I began outside on Dam Square, where the National Monument faces the hotel and its name on the roof. Behind the front of the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky lies the Wintertuin, its Winter Garden. Around 1880, the owner, A.W. Krasnapolsky, had it built in his back garden, to a design by the architect G.B. Salm. Its roof of iron and glass was a novelty at the time.

Dam Square on a gray day with the National Monument, cyclists on the cobbles and the hotel's name on a roof in the distance

Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky sign on the roof of the hotel's brick front, two flags against a pale cloudy sky and green trees below

Empty Wintertuin set for dinner, round tables under a glass roof turning blue at dusk, faceted lamps and a painted arch above the balcony — Dam Square by day, then the Wintertuin waiting for its guests

Tables Under the Glass Roof

The room was still empty when I photographed it, well before the dinner in the Wintertuin began. Dusk turned the glass roof deep blue, and big faceted lamps hung low over tables dressed in white. Gold vases held orange and red flowers, a printed menu lay at every place, and the salmon starters were already on the plates.

Round table in white linen with a gold vase of orange and red flowers, swing-top water bottles and a salmon starter at each place

Place setting with a printed dinner menu, a dotted white plate, polished cutlery and empty glasses on a white tablecloth

Smoked salmon starter with halved quail eggs, fresh greens and a thin crisp on a white plate with a black rim, gold cutlery beside it

Drinks and Small Bites Before Dinner

First, the guests met over drinks. At the bar, a server in a black bow tie waited behind rows of sparkling wine and bottles of red.

Server in a white shirt and black bow tie behind a bar lined with bottles of sparkling and red wine and rows of upturned glasses

By the welcome banner, two guests stopped for a portrait, side by side. A little later, a baby in a floral dress reached up to a woman with a name badge. The woman bent down to hold both little hands. Small gold vases with orange flowers also stood on the high tables.

Two smiling guests standing close in front of a welcome banner, a man in a gray check blazer and glasses, a woman in a blue shirt

Woman with white hair and a name badge bending down to hold the hands of a baby in a floral dress and pink headband at the reception

Small gold vase of orange flowers and a red rose on a black high table, warm lamps glowing out of focus behind it

Guests laughing over glasses of sparkling wine at the reception, a blonde woman and a woman in a red shirt with a blue lanyard — Sparkling wine at the reception

Most guests seemed to know each other already, so the laughter came easily. I moved between the high tables, close enough for faces and far enough to stay out of each conversation.

Woman in a silver jacket leaning on a high table as she listens to two men in conversation, a green exit sign glowing above

At a reception, I often watch the listeners rather than the speaker. A good story shows on the faces around it.

Man in a checked shirt and blue lanyard laughing between two women with drinks, one of them in glasses telling a story

Dinner in the Wintertuin

Trays of small bites went around: oysters on a bed of dried beans and crisp tartlets topped with herbs. After that, the guests found their tables, and soon there was no empty seat under the glass roof.

Oyster shells filled with small bites on a bed of dried beans in a long wooden tray, passed around before dinner

Long white dish of crisp tartlets topped with herbs, resting on dried beans and carried by a server in a white shirt

Guests at dinner in the Wintertuin under large faceted lamps, a man in a pink shirt laughing at a table near the painted arch — Small bites, then a full Wintertuin

During dinner, I worked table by table. Between courses, people lean back and turn to their neighbors, so that is when I come closer.

Three men laughing at a dinner table with lanyards and red wine, one resting his chin on his hand, softly lit white columns behind

At one table, three men laughed at the same joke, one with his chin on his hand. Nearby, a guest in a patterned shirt explained something with both hands, while his neighbor listened.

Man in a patterned shirt explaining something with both hands to a guest in a pink shirt who listens with folded hands at dinner

Stories Across the Round Tables

Meanwhile, the lamps above the tables gave every face a warm glow, and the columns behind them shone a soft pink. A woman in a green jacket told her story, hands raised.

Woman in a green jacket talking with both hands raised across a dinner table, faceted lamps glowing above the Wintertuin

Across the room, a woman in black laughed as she talked, while her neighbor took a sip of wine.

Laughing woman in black with sunglasses on her head gesturing at a round table, a neighbor sipping wine in the foreground

Then another guest, in big black glasses, held the whole table with one story.

Guest in large black glasses and a gold watch telling a story with open hands at a dinner table, lit columns behind her

For the last frame, I held the camera high above one table. Plates were half empty, a guest pointed across the cloth, and the room was still full behind them. That is how I like a dinner in the Wintertuin to end: the conversations still going.

High view of a full round table during dinner in the Wintertuin, a guest pointing across the cloth and more tables behind — A full table under the lit columns of the Wintertuin

The summit had another evening too, in the hotel’s ballroom under blue light. You can see it in A Summit Evening at the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky.

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