I know you were thinking, when is she gonna get to the good stuff? Well, now so chill all right? Dutchies themselves will tell you their national cuisine leaves a little to be desired. Hutspot, a traditional dutch dish consisting of boiled, mashed potatoes and onions with carrots or peas, isn't exactly soul food. But, the food scene in Amsterdam is changing dramatically, until about 3 years ago you could not find an authentic taco anywhere near Holland. Now there are a few 'as close to authentic mexican as you can get 5,000 miles from mexico' pop up cafes and food trucks to satisfy your south of the border cravings. And wouldn't you know, right after I left, an American teamed up with a Brit to open a joint called "Fraiche" serving real American breakfast. Chicken and waffles even. By real I mean, fluffy not flat pancakes and pork sausage links. Sounds silly but one can only take so many flat pancakes. Yummy, just not that 'tastes like mom made em' type. So here, without further jibber-jabber, is a semi exhaustive list of my favorite eateries in Amsterdam. All are googleable or click the hyper-links for websites! Bon apetit! Or as the dutch say, Eet Smaakelijk!
De Bakkerswinkel A cute little tea room that serves one of the BEST brunches in Holland. They're famous for their scones with huisgemacht or house-made jam and cream. Trust, they're the bomb-dot-com. They bring you 3-4 different jams, the passion fruit lemon curd being my very favorite. I've been known on every occasion to pour the jam onto my plate and eat it with a spoon after devouring the scone. Go ahead, judge me! I will continue this tradition. Their coffee drinks are nice and their sandwiches are yummy. B-dubs also has fantastic pastries and deserts. Fresh juices, croissants, quiches, chocolate tarts, cheesecakes, soups, salads, they have it all. You can even have a classic british style high tea in the afternoons on a reservation basis. Don't forget to stick out that pinky and buy a jar of jam before you head out the door.
The Pancake Bakery You thought you knew pancakes, oh but you don't. I think they have over 80 kinds. Savory with bacon and gouda, or my favorite the Indonesian, with spicy chicken, peppers and peanut sauce. Their sweet pancakes are also delish, with pear and cinnamon ice cream or warm nutella and bananas. Its pancake flipping paradise! Haha, flipping...get it? Its also fun to play with the 'stroop' (syrup) in the big stone crocks on the tables. This place is extremely popular so get there early and prepare to wait a while during dinner hours or high season. Trigger warning when viewing their website, you will drool like Pavolov's dog in a doorbell factory. I'm drooling now.
Wok to Walk Ok, yes its fast food Asian. BUT its GOOOOOD Asian. Its also very inexpensive for the quality of totally fresh everything you're getting there. You pick your noodles or rice then meat and whatever fresh vegetables you want, then the sauce. Plenty of vegan and vegetarian options too. They make it right in front of you behind a glass wall, its quite spectacular. Easy, fast and so very lekker (delicious). Now pay attention, Wok to Walk is NOT to be confused with Wok to Go, and I can't emphasize this enough, do NOT get the two confused! You will be mad. Or sad. Or both. But you cannot blame me because right here I'm warning you, Wok 2 GO is not the same! They use frozen everything and it tastes like a tv dinner. Look for the orange sign with the little running guy. Tragedy averted.
Soup en Zo Because you have NO IDEA how crazy good soup can be when its made right. My good friend, Thomas, started this fantastic soup/salad/sandwich shop. Easily the best fresh, organic soup in the city. Conde Nast Traveller Magazine just rated them the Best Quick Lunch in Amsterdam They have different varieties everyday from North African Lentil, to Potato with Roquefort and Thai Black-Eyed Pea with Shitake Mushroom. This is nothing you could ever find in a can my friends. No other food so perfectly hits the spot on those cold, rainy Amsterdam afternoons and evenings like a hot bowl of Soup en Zo. There are 3 shops now, yay! So pretty much whatever part of Amsterdam you're in, there's a Soup en Zo nearby. I also highly recommend picking up their new cookbook! Because I promise you'll be craving their soup when you go back home.
Maoz is a fantastic little falafel bar. Its cheap, delicious, and offers an ALL YOU CAN EAT salad bar. That's right, probably the only place in Amsterdam, or Europe for that matter, with this option. They're found all over the city so you'll see loads of tourists filling their bellies there but don't let that deter you! What a tragic mistake that would be! It really is fantastic food. It is fast food but the quality is definitely not. Their fries are awesome. The pitas are warm and chewy. The salads are full of flavor and the falafel isn't greasy or heavy. Its a great vegetarian option. Seating is very limited. Most of the shops are very small but they are ALWAYS busy too. Some people do take away since its walk-friendly food. Just don't skimp on the garlic sauce...mmm.
Dabka I wish i had found this place WAY sooner. Its tucked in a small passageway
off the oldest street in Amsterdam, the Zeedijk, on the Oudezijds Kolk. Serving the best, authentic Lebanese grub this side of Lebanon. The prices are great for a sit down restaurant in Amsterdam and the amount of food you get plus the outstanding quality, makes you wonder why you're not shelling out more euros? Just look at the pictures on the website, if you're not drooling immediately, you should get your drool thingy checked out. The guy who owns the place is super friendly. He gave my friend and I a free desert because we had a nice conversation about how much we enjoyed the middle east. Seriously, go here. The chicken plates are my favorite, the bread is hot and home-made. This food is made with truest of love ya'll. I promise you won't be disappointed. Promise.
Manneken Pis Is the counterpart of this two-way tie for the best belgian style fries in Amsterdam. And don't freak, Manneken Pis is just the name of a famous statue in Brussels, its not a secret ingredient. Soft and hot on the inside, crunchy and salty on the outside. They've got three sizes: I could eat fries, I really need some fries and I need ALL the fries, the last option being a KILO of fries. Your frites or "patat" as dutchies call them, are servied in a handy paper cone and come with a tiny wooden fork, which is helpful. But by the time your greedy little fingies reach the cavernous depths of this cone of ecstasy, your knuckles will be slathered in the tantalizing sauce of your choice. Speaking of sauce, there are many to choose from. My favorites are Oorlag, Kerrie Speciale and Joopie sauce. Do NOT get ketchup. I forbid you. Get outside your comfort zone, these ain't some diner fries you're eating. Treat them with the honor they deserve by showering them in one of 22 classic dutch specialties. Curry ketchup is acceptable. The stand is located on the Damrak, a 3 minute walk from Centraal Station. Seriously, if you get regular ketchup...
Vleminckx Frites aka "the Sausmeester" (sauce master) is the counterpart of the two-way-fry-tie. This stand has been voted the 2nd best in Amsterdam because apparently they were...what?! Too salty...really!? Pff, amateur fry eaters. Don't listen to them, listen to me. They are fresh, hot, home-made and sooooo dang good! Its been around since 1957, they have 25 different sauces, my favorite being Samuraisaus (spicy mayo) and Joppie (no idea but its ridiculously good). Prepare to stand in line for a bit because thanks to trip advisor and hungry locals, everyone knows this place is the jam.
Het Kaasboertje is a small deli tucked away in the picturesque Jordaan district. It was 2008 when a friend and I first discovered Hans' simple, delicious and inexpensive sandwiches. In 2012 I stumbled up on it again after wandering around the city one chilly Sunday night. He recommended his award winning sandwich, the Broodje Hans. A warm, toasted sandwich with spicy italian salami, rocket, gouda and tomatoes. So unbelievably good! It was almost closing time so he invited me to sit on a bench outside the shop (there is no seating, its very small) and split a heineken. A true Amsterdammer, he told me about his life, his glory days as a popular disco club owner and how he left that crazy life to open his little deli. Go visit Hans, he will inevitably pass you the laminated newspaper clipping about his famous sandwich, beaming with pride and tell you, "its the best in Amsterdam!" He's right.
de Broodbar If you're like me and love a
fantastic breakfast followed by a delicious
slice of cake, this place is waiting for you! I am a breakfast freak, the female Ron Swanson, if you will. And you will! But color me surprised when a simple breakfast sandwich, eggs over easy and bacon cooked to a perfect crisp atop toasted dutch bread, fulfilled my American sized breakfast longing. AND it was under 5 euro! This is the cheapest and best breakfast I've had in the dam. The coffee is, again great, because there's no such thing as bad coffee in Amsterdam. And if this is weird to you we can't be friends, but I'm a huge advocate for desert after breakfast. Try it, you're welcome in advance. Normally carrot cake is not my go-to but this cake will knock your freaking socks off. I'm not sure exactly what is in that frosting but its dirty, in a very good way. So I enjoyed my naughty slice of cake and cup of coffee (tapping into my German side) watched people passing by while admiring the cool graffiti across the alley. The woman who owns Broodbar is a culinary wonder-woman, she makes everything from scratch and you can tell.
Metropolitan Deli is not a typical deli. Let's call it a desert deli. They have incredible gelato, made right in the store. They also make their own chocolate and everything that has chocolate. Canolis, cheesecake, truffles, waffles, cookies, cakes, so much sweet deliciousness. They even make their own chocolate beer. One of my favorite things at Metro is their Mexican drinking chocolate. Its so thick and rich, they serve it in dixie cups because that's as much as even the biggest chocolate addict (me) can handle. Its made with just enough spicy chile for a slight sock in the chops. Fresh poffertjes (small, pillowly pancakes served hot usually covered in butter and powdered sugar) are made daily and you can get them swimming in Metro's own melted dark chocolate. I also recommend the Elvis milkshake. You can also snort pure cacao (no narcotics involved) while you're there, yeah its weird.
de Winkel was voted as having the BEST apple pie in Amsterdam. For dutchies, apple pie is a big deal. I don't like apple pie. BUT, I eat theirs. Its bomb. I also like my mom's apple pie, these are the only two I will eat. The crust is made of some kind of cinnamony cookie crumbles and the apples are perfectly sweet and tart. They top it with a mountain of home-made whipped cream, no cool-whip here folks. They don't skimp either. De Winkel is a bar, but they serve sandwiches and light snacks. The best time to get appeltart is NOT Saturday mornings. Unless you enjoy standing in lines wrapped around city blocks for a long-ass time. True story. Go on a Monday afternoon, when its way more relaxed. Or a weeknight with friends. Their cheesecake is also wonderful, but you can only get it at certain times...which is not advertised for whatever reason. They have a nice terras and tables across the street on the church square everyday except Saturday mornings and afternoons while Noordermarkt is going on.
Febo ...Ok, even though its not the most gourmet choice, it sure does hit the spot at 1am when 1.) its the only place open 2.) its across the street from your house and 3.) it won't cost you more than 3 or 4 euros, unless you're a greedy pig. Or drunk. Or you're my German friends, Josua and Heiko, who insisted on going there every time they came to visit. Anthony Bourdain even stopped here on the Amsterdam episode of "the Layover" and he liked it. And the timing couldn't be more perfect because by now you're tired of lugging 18 pounds of 1 and 2 euro coins around town, so bring em all here. There's no better way to rid yourself of excess weight while gaining it back at the same time, than spending it sliding those €-babies through a magical slot, then retrieving a tasty, deep fried dutch delight plucked from a tiny window of equal magicness. That's right, automated fast food joint. Snackbars are very common in Holland. Comparable to Dairy Queens, Dairy Dandies and any local deep-fried-everything-with-ice-cream-joint with the word Dairy. Bitterballen is a must. Deep-fried-meat-gravy-goo-balls, they are scrumtrulescent! Eat them with the mustard provided. They're also served in tube form called kroketten. The rundvlees (beef) is my favorite but the vitaaltje (vegetarian) is also quite good. Chicken burgers and fries are tasty, but steer clear of the "milkshakes". Emphasis on MILK because that's basically it, milk and sweet flavorings. Febo sounds bad, I realize this. But its not. And its fun. You really must try dutch fried snacks or your experience there is totally incomplete.
Ocha Thai is my favorite Thai restaurant in the city, for a few reasons. Thai is huge in Amsterdam. The Zeedijk, aka china town, has loads of good thai places. You'd think with so many to choose from, the prices would be more competitive. You are so wrong. Thai can be very expensive, even if the quality is not that great. Jasmine Thai, for example, is amazing but crazy expensive. Unless you've got more than 1 Michelin star, paying over 20 euros for one dish is crazy. One reason why I love Ocha. Its delicious, authentic, and not pricey considering the same dish a couple blocks away will cost you twice as much. The staff is so friendly and they know how to cook, its like eating in your grandma's kitchen. Its literally that small but cozy. The entire staff was women when I was there, almost all sweet, mama types. I usually get the red or yellow curry, both are delicious. Their hours are 4-10pm so if you want a seat, get there early. Order take-away, there's a bench outside you can sit on or a nice canal right down the block where you can wait. If you're a large group, get take away because you just won't fit. There's real thai love in the food, every bite is worth sitting across from a stranger, or on a stranger. Its small, remember? Also keep in mind they don't take cards, only cash. I forget that almost every time.
Burger Bar ...I used to think Burger Bar had the best burgers in the dam. (They're good, but I'll post my new favorite burger below.)...Its a great concept, pick the kind of meat you want, it varies in cost from kobe beef to angus. Then choose your fixins. Sorry to those of you used to wide open spaces but again, you'll wait in another crowded, small yet trendily designed space, sharing a table with some Italian guys all wearing "I <3 Amsterdam" snow hats, because that's just how it is there. (I actually love that you are forced to sit with people you don't know, you meet some cool people that way. Don't know why no one does that here?) Their fries aren't great but this was my go to when I was homesick for cow. Its hard to find good beef in Holland, but Burger Bar found some. And they have free super cool bike-seat covers...which lame people actually steal off your bike. Weird and gross. But I'm over it...
la Place is cafeteria style dining found on the 7th story of the Amsterdam Public Library, the largest library in Europe. I know what you're thinking, it sounds like a super mysterious speak easy type joint. Shifty nare-do-wells lurking in the shadows of the microfiche machine. Well you're wrong. The library is actually ultra hip. It doesn't smell like an old fish tank. (my hometown library smells like that) and everyone's first impression is that apple designed it. For a few years, it was the best view of Amsterdam, with an outdoor terras and seating that's open spring through fall, due to the frigid blasts of winter wind knocking you over when the doors are opened. I don't recommend sitting near the doors ever really, unless you like rocking a rat's nest hairdo for the rest of the day. Its nice to eat outside, just not on exceptionally windy days. Which is...almost everyday...anyway...My favorites there are the salads and baked goods. Most things are made to order like pizza, stir fry, burgers and pasta. I don't recommend their smoothies, they're pretty sour. Deserts are discounted to one euro after 8pm. Its also a great place to study in groups or have meetings. There's plenty of seating and its a great place to eat some nice food while reading a book you can't check out because you missed the deadline for expats to sign up for a freaking library card.
Lombardo's website says, "Some say Amsterdam's best burger". I'll take some credit for that because I say it IS THE BEST burger in Amsterdam. I had to edit my blog after eating there, it would be a travesty to not correct my mistake. Located in a small, oddly shaped crook of a building on the Nieuwe Spiegelstraat, this place is an expat's dream come true. This is coming from a cornfed, born and raised midwestern girl, spoiled with the world's best beef. So listen up...My favorite burger is the Pork-a-licious. Piled high with cheddar cheese, bbq sauce, lettuce and slow cooked pork. Yes, I know you're thinking, "sounds super healthy!" but I've had enough of your sarcasm! They also have lamb and salmon burgers, a couple salads and even a reuben! A REUBEN you guys! Go try it and tell me. Like most great places in Amsterdam, its small. There are a few tables inside but be prepared, again, to wait in line outside a bit. But again, feeling like a broken record here, its totally worth it.
Ijscupje I am an ice cream freak. What's this, "Its winter, you can't eat ice cream in winter!" business? Nonsense I say, nonsense! Ijscuypje which means, little cup of ice cream, is a chain and THANK GOD. They're kind of like the Starbucks of ice cream places, more are popping up around town. Probably because its marvelous in every way imaginable. How they can make the best tasting ice cream maybe in the world is beyond me. They say its the milk from dutch cows. If so, these creatures are surely not of this earth! They also use real fruit, like mangoes from Brazil, that are made into ice cream as soon as they're delivered. Chocolate, lemontart and mocha are my favorites. You can also get sorbet or frozen yogurt, so when you spend as many lonely nights there as I did, those lesser calorie options can cheer you up right quick.
Almost every restaurant in Amsterdam offers delivery. Services like Thuisbezorgd.nl are lifesavers if you are sick or you just feel like a night in. Tipping in the Netherlands is also encouraged. Even though servers don't work for tips, you'll see what I mean, its a nice gesture if you had a pleasant time and the service was helpful and friendly. After working in service I really respect the "customer is NOT always right" approach in the Netherlands. I've only had a couple bad experiences with poor waiters. Most serving staff are super friendly and enjoy their jobs. Just please represent America well and remember that you're not always right there ;)
Coming soon...
Reviews on new places like Bar Mitts, Stacked T's, Bakers and Roasters, Fat Phill's, Pllek, Scandanavian Embassy, Betty Blue, de hallen, hendrixx, broers coffee and the breakfast club. Plus more I'll hear about on my next trip to Amsterdam ;)