Restaurants Amsterdam
TravelSavvy guide to finding a restaurant in Amsterdam
Rome's got the sun but Amsterdam's got the restaurants, a tourist advert once boasted. It's true - there are more than 1,000 restaurants in Amsterdam and nearly twice that number of cafes and bars.
And, thankfully, the menu in a restaurant in Amsterdam is not all cheese and carrots. While traditional favourites like stamppot and kroketten are never out of favour, Amsterdam offers an astonishing choice, with virtually every nationality catered for.
There are stylish, top quality restaurants alongside traditional Amsterdam cafes, pancake houses, ethnic eateries and good value snack bars . . . the variety is enormous.
This is the least of your problems. Restaurants in Amsterdam come in many flavours. Dutch cuisine has enjoyed a major resurgence and many a restaurant in Amsterdam will have local dishes on the menu.
A local speciality is the pancake-restaurant pannenkoekhuiz with endless varieties of pizza-sized pancakes and omelettes. Seafood is also extremely popular.
As a major trading port, Amsterdam has imported culinary flavours from across the world - Indonesian, French, Indian and Surinamese to Turkish, Spanish and Ethiopian, to name just a few.
Leidseplein, just off Dam Square, is hugely popular with tourists though prices reflect this. Restaurants, bars, outdoor cafes and coffee shops have a lively atmosphere and it's a great place for people watching. Try not to notice the Burger King and English-style pubs. Head for the nearby Korte Leidsedwarsstraat and Lange Leidsedwarsstraat to avoid the main tourist strip.
De Pijp is popular with students, young professionals and foreigners. The mix makes for a colourful neighbourhood packed with small ethnic restaurants and bars.
On and around Albert Cuyp are dishes from all over the world: Kurdish, Turkish, Cambodian, Assyrian and more.
The Nine Streets in the Amsterdam Jordaan area has a wide variety of upmarket restaurants, bars and cafes. The area retains its artistic roots and is full of small, cosy venues.
Chinatown has more restaurants than you can shake chopsticks at. The Indonesian rice table, or rijsttafel, invented by Dutch colonists and picked up by restaurants in Amsterdam , consists of rice and as many as 20 side dishes.
Regularaarsdwarstraat, just off the Rembrandtsplein, is the place for finer restaurants. Amsterdam menus and top notch international eateries are sprinkled among exclusive gay bars.
Spuistraat, parallel to Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, also has a good selection if you fancy an upmarket restaurant in Amsterdam.
The Dutch tend to eat early and many a restaurant in Amsterdam will close before 11pm. Reservations are recommended and even smaller restaurants get crowded. Restaurants in Amsterdam with outside terraces are always in demand on summer evenings.
Smoking is no longer allowed in restaurants since 2008 but many have an outdoor terrace. Amsterdam waiters are invariably friendly and most speak superb English.
All Amsterdam restaurant bills include 19% tax and a 15% service charge, but it’s customary to leave a tip of 5 to 10%.
Prices have risen sharply since the introduction of the euro but you can still find restaurants in Amsterdam offering good value meals. If you are on a budget choose dagschotel (dish of the day). Imported wines are expensive in Amsterdam restaurants and even a modest French table wine can add substantially to the bill.
Amsterdam has been a diamond industry centre for more than 400 years
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