The best restaurants in Amsterdam
It's easy to eat your way round Amsterdam. Why not start with lunch at an apothecary shop-turned diner, or enjoy a blowout supper at a double-Michelin restaurant with high-rise views? You could swing by a sparsely decorated canalside joint which knocks out some of the city’s best sandwiches or head to an upscale food hall with vendors selling everything from Turkish meze to sushi. Foodies should make a beeline for the über-hip eateries in the dining quarter of De Pijp, but just as pleasing is a traditional meal at a classic Dutch restaurant.
Our expert picks out the city's gourmet highlights below. For more Amsterdam inspiration, see our guides devoted to the city's best hotels, bars and cafés, shopping, things to do and things to do for free, plus how to spend a weekend in Amsterdam.
Canal Belt- West
Vinkeles
In a 19th-century former almshouse bakery, complete with fairy-tale cast-iron oven doors set into rough brick walls, and overlooking a secluded garden courtyard, comes cuisine that transports you to another realm. Chef Dennis Kuipers combines pure ingredients with poise and flair: Dover sole with fennel, white grapes and roast onion, perhaps, or succulent sea bream with a sauce of almond milk infused with preserved cherry blossom and discretely dotted with caviar. Vegetarian options are just as sublime. You sit in comfortably padded chairs, at widely spaced tables, and are treated with relaxed, friendly attentiveness: high-end without hauteur.
Contact: vinkeles.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential
Bluespoon
Curious quilted chairs, bulbous baroque table legs, subversive Delftware patterns – design guru Marcel Wanders’ Alice-in-Wonderland dream world demands a star turn from the kitchen too, and the cuisine dazzles in response. Think handmade, truffle-touched gnocchi, cosily enfolded in egg yolk and Old Amsterdam cheese, with a tangle of salty Salicornia (a samphire-like dune plant). Or velvety pigeon, laid out like a little sculpture park, with coins of barbequed beetroot, wine-cooked cabbage and chanterelles. A knowledgeable waiter makes adventurous wine pairings, even for the inspirational cider soup and, quince and pine nut pudding.
Contact: bluespoon-restaurant.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Check availability on OpenTable
Goodies
A perennial favourite for a lunchtime stop-off in the Negen Straatjes, between the main canals. Shoppers slip their bags under the tables, and take a break over sandwiches and big salads, with mainly organic ingredients. The vegetarian club sandwich bulges with pumpkin, avocado and grilled peppers and courgettes; the ‘forgotten vegetable’ salad (heritage squash, yellow beet and more) has a deliciously earthy mushroom dressing. There’s a really good line in homemade cakes (including moist carrot cake with cream cheese topping) and puddings, too. Décor is simple – bare tables, bright photographs, bold colours.
Contact: goforthegoodies.nl
Prices: £
Reservations: Not necessary
Best table: Go for the window counter, or one of the few terrace tables, for a good spot of people watching
Jansz.
Through an old apothecary’s shop (its original shelving still intact) find a series of rooms, simply decorated with plain wood floors, grey wainscots and bentwood chairs. Shoppers from the Negen Straatjes quarter appear for lunch, young couples and Amsterdam foodies arrive at night, to savour cuisine that's robust, big on flavour, and full of subtle surprises. Scallops come accompanied by caramelised red onion and pea purée; perfectly cooked salmon with black rice (gently infused with dashi) and a tang of lime leaf. And all this with a canal view – sublime.
Contact: janszamsterdam.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Best table: One table (seating four) is in a room of its own, with cut-out silhouettes on the walls and a view of the canal
Check availability on OpenTable
Canal Belt - East
Bouchon du Centre
A tiny restaurant, where Hanneke Schouten runs the show entirely on her own. You sit on bentwood chairs at one of a handful of tables covered with cheerful checked cloths, as if you were in her home kitchen and take pot luck – from the breads and saucisson, to pork-neck confit and coq au vin. By Hanneke’s own admission, it is food that is not for picky eaters, or vegetarians. This is a spot for long, luscious weekday lunches and although open on Friday evenings, Hanneke likes an early night, and last orders are at 6.00pm.
Contact: bouchonducentreamsterdam.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Essential
Spectrum
Amsterdam’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel occupies a stretch of six of the city’s grandest 17th-century canal mansions. The hotel has lured one of the Netherlands’ top chefs into town to establish a restaurant looking out into the garden at the back. From the langoustines with kimchi, magnolia and tulip bulbs, through carrots with fermented garlic, caraway and morels, to duck with bergamot-flavoured yoghurt, and then nori nougat, Sidney Schutte’s cooking represents all that is inspired and adventurous in Dutch cuisine. Try his cheeky take on the classic Waldorf salad: the same ingredients (walnuts, apples, celery) transformed into a surprisingly scrumptious dessert.
Contact: restaurantspectrum.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential
Lion Noir
Dimly lit, with dark wood, deep-green walls, bright prints, flashes of foliage, and the odd bit of surreal bric-a-brac such as a stuffed peacock. Staff are friendly and efficient, and without a bristle of pretentiousness that such a venue seems normally to inspire. The chef is unafraid of big, unfussy flavours – duck with parsnip cream, carrots roasted with cumin, chicory, shiitake mushrooms and almonds; and sauteed sea bream with lemon risotto, purslane and crayfish tortellini. Vegetarian dishes aren’t wimpy either: truffle humus with smoked beetroot and roast chickpeas.
Contact: lionnoir.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Best table: Try for a table in the courtyard garden, beside the building’s supremely elegant rear façade
Tujuh Maret
A favourite spot for an Indonesian rijsttafel – a feast of tiny, spicy dishes served with rice and relishes. The restaurant is simple and homely, and the service has delightful, personal touches (such as a basket of reading glasses, for those who have forgotten theirs at home.) Elsewhere, rijsttafel dishes can be a set of barely distinguishable curries, but here each is subtle and different. You can order courses individually, but the Rijsttafel Minahasa is recommended for its bounty, and subtlety of flavours. You'll end up stuffed: consider skipping lunch if you’re coming for dinner.
Contact: new.tujuhmaret.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
De Juwelier
Two of Amsterdam’s top chefs, Richard van Oostenbrugge and Thomas Groot, come up with no-fuss dishes with a firm classic backbone, but with inspired touches, in an atmosphere poised between traditional ‘brown café’ and no-nonsense brasserie (wooden wainscotting, crisp white tablecloths, padded banquettes and bentwood chairs). Their aim of providing a more affordable, accessible counterpart to their exquisite, multi-Michelin-starred (but credit-card-melting) restaurant 212 nearby is achieved with aplomb. Marrowbones come with the bones stuffed with marrow and chanterelle mushrooms, served with bread smokily toasted over an open fire; hearth roasted wild duck, glazed with blackcurrants, comes with a classic sauce royale.
Contact: restaurant-dejuwelier.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Essential
Oosterdok and Amsterdam East
Café Cliché
Sidney Schutte, the starry chef of Spectrum at the Waldorf Astoria snatches a few moments of culinary downtime from haute-cuisine to come up (together with a friend, who cooks here in situ) with affordable, no-nonsense dishes in a neighbourhood-café atmosphere. But this is simple cooking Schutte style: green curry ceviche that plays pinball with your taste buds, or mussels baked with tomato and lemongrass (comfort food made in heaven). And the ‘neighbours’ are Amsterdam hipsters and media stars who flock to enjoy fine food and good cheer. You can’t book, so come early and be prepared to sip a cocktail or two while you wait.
Contact: cafecliche.amsterdam
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Greetje
A portrait of Greetje, the owner’s mother, smiles out at you from the wall amidst wooden wainscoting, Delft blue-and-white wallpaper, and the odd chandelier. And most contented she would be, could she see what was happening in her name. Greetje harks back to good, traditional values in Dutch cooking, to a world of pure ingredients and forgotten flavours, but often with a cheeky twist. Think wolf fish with beetroot and Roseval potato confit. Greetje’s Big Beginning is a must – a magnificent tier of starters: chicken rillettes cooked with orange, veal-tongue terrine, salsify and horseradish soup, and more.
Contact: restaurantgreetje.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Essential
La Rive
A stalwart of Amsterdam fine dining: La Rive offers crisp linen and silver service beside the languid River Amstel. Chef Rogér Rassin shows a fine touch when it comes to classic flavours (such as seabass with creamy bagna càuda), coupled with an insouciance and daring that results in dishes you’ll remember for months; it will take me even longer than that to forget the bittersweet, crunchy marinated tomato amuse on ginger sorbet, or grated dehydrated balsamic vinegar giving a cheeky kick to raw scallops, ceps and veal tartare. Sommelier Ted Bunnik makes imaginative wine matches, and though the atmosphere is formal, it’s by no means stuffy.
Contact: restaurantlarive.nl
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential
Best table: Ask for one at the riverside window
Rijsel
A trendsetter in the local move towards no-nonsense ruig (literally 'shaggy', or 'rough') cuisine, Rijsel occupies what was the canteen of a former health clinic. In some ways, things have barely changed – bright lights, ceiling fans, noisy conversation, the clink and clash of crockery and cutlery. But there the comparison stops. The food, though hearty and traditional, is subtle, flavourful, perfectly prepared, in dishes such as cod with mussel vinaigrette, and skirt steak with a classic shallot sauce. The rotisserie chicken is superb – and the Anjou pigeon (should it be on the menu) is even better.
Contact: rijsel.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Essential
Museum District and De Pijp
Bakoni Khinkali
A cosy spot behind the Concertgebouw serving heart-warming Georgian cuisine (that’s Georgia as in the Caucasus, not USA). Fat, steaming khinkali (dumplings) come from the tiny kitchen, juicily stuffed with meat or mushrooms; glistening grilled kupati (spicy sausages) pop at the prick of a fork; grandma-style brown-bean stews appear, as well as delicate guinea fowl braised in milk and garlic. Some intriguing Georgian wines, a relaxed, family-run atmosphere, an open kitchen run with verve, and affordable prices all help make this a good choice for a meal à deux before a concert, or a longer, more gregarious feast.
Contact: 00 31 20 358 5491; facebook.com
Prices: £
Reservations: Recommended
Auberge Jean & Marie
Among the foodie flummery and über-hip eateries in the dining quarter of De Pijp comes a calming breath of classicism – and a sweet breath it is, too, if tinged with a little garlic. Auberge Jean & Marie offers traditional French cuisine and superb wines in a fresh and modern interior with pale grey walls and white-clothed tables decorated with a single rose. Indulge in delicate prawn bisque poured over lightly stewed fennel; slow-cooked cheek of veal with salsify (a root vegetable with a distinctly oyster-ish taste, fried and home-pickled) and a perfect risotto.
Contact: aubergeamsterdam.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Ciel Bleu
Onno Kokmeijer, who picked up two Michelin stars in quick succession in his early thirties, comes up with delightfully wayward creations such as oysters with elderflower, green apple and celery, or pigeon with pistachio cream and smoked beetroot, in a full silver service, classical setting. Well-heeled, well-dressed epicures rub shoulders with business folk on fat expense accounts. There’s an excellent wine list, worth exploring for its odder corners. The restaurant, on the 23rd floor of one of the tallest buildings in town, offers a rare unrestricted view across the entire city.
Contact: cielbleu.nl
Prices: £££
Reservations: Recommended
Best table: Ask for a table at the window, on the northern side for the best views
Couscous Club
Just couscous, and only three types to choose from, but made with fine ingredients, in the traditional manner (with the couscous being steamed over the bubbling vegetable stock), and served in convivial surrounds. The Couscous Club does indeed have a clubby feel – a relaxed, neighbourhood place, full of regulars, popular with groups of friends getting together to chat, grab a bite, and enjoy a couple of bottles of wine. The vegetarian couscous is varied, subtle in flavour, and hard to beat. The couscous ‘Royal’ with succulent lamb and a touch of spicy merguez is what most people come for.
Contact: couscousclub.nl
Prices: £
Reservations: Recommended
101 Gowrie
With one assistant, in a cupboard-sized kitchen, young wizard of invention Alex Haupt draws on his Australian and Japanese heritage, tosses into the pot a keen interest in foraging and an invigoratingly fresh approach to old Dutch ingredients, and comes up with dishes such as oysters topped with carrot granita and oyster leaf (a dune plant that taste uncannily like the real thing), or wild duck with barbecued radicchio and quince (sweet and tart flavours playing wickedly together). Blissed-out diners sit at small wooden tables, in a subdued, unfussy atmosphere, chatting to Alex through the hatch or discussing the ins and outs of adventurous pairings with organic and natural wines.
Contact: 101gowrie.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential
Elements
A training restaurant for students in their final year at hotel school, diners might expect to encounter the odd wobble, but most will never be disappointed here. The dishes are refined, well-presented and a real treat – not to mention easy on the pocket. Try the successfully adventurous dish of mussels with coconut and Franco-Indian vadouvan spices, and then farm-kitchen veal with aubergine and Marsala sauce. The kitchen closes early (7pm), but the restaurant is only a short walk from the Concertgebouw, making it an ideal for a pre-concert meal.
Contact: heerlijkamsterdam.nl
Prices: £
Reservations: Essential
Little Collins
Australian owner-chefs rev up the dining scene at one of the most popular spots in De Pijp. It’s brisk and busy and emanates no pretensions with a 'it’s the food that matters' atmosphere: plain walls, scrubbed wood, jars of home-made pickles. Top-quality ingredients and imagination and style go into dishes such as grilled stilton bruschetta with pears, and saffron-pickled mackerel. The idea is to share dishes tapas-style. Brunch (highly hip in Amsterdam) is big at Little Collins, with such stalwarts as kedgeree and eggs hollandaise joined by the likes of oysters with tequila-lime granita.
Contact: littlecollins.nl
Prices: £-££
Reservations: Recommended
Maydanoz
Splendidly patterned Turkish tiles line the walls, light glints through the coloured glass of lamps and lanterns, and from the kitchen come prime grills and Turkish cuisine. The old favourites are there – baba ganoush, homemade with smoky, wood-grilled aubergine and crisp filo börek stuffed with feta. But there are more adventurous dishes, too, such as rocket salad with pomegranate dressing. The grilled fish, fresh from the nearby market, and a real treat. There’s a mixed crowd – Maydanoz gets its share of hip De Pijp diners, but it is also a popular neighbourhood hangout.
Contact: maydanoz-amsterdam.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Not necessary
Moksi
Moksi is the epitome of good, old-fashioned 'mamma-cooks-best' food found in the heart of hyper hip De Pijp. The décor is basic; you might even find catering equipment piled on the table next to you, and the place has limited, and often erratic, opening hours. But if you can get past that, you’ll be rewarded with the best Surinamese cooking in town. The kitchen is ruled by a matriarch (the frequent closures happen when she’s catering for a party), who comes up with superb curries, sate and roti dishes – her wild duck roti is my personal all-time favourite.
Contact: moksi.nl
Prices: £
Reservations: Not necessary
Rijks
Star chef Joris Bijdendijk glitters in this small restaurant found beneath the Rijksmuseum. There is a delicate, sophisticated touch given to his dishes: wild duck with sweet-and-sour fennel; pumpkin, aromatic with fresh porcini and hazelnut. This is by far the best cuisine to be had near the big museums, and well worth a special lunchtime treat. As befitting a restaurant at the national museum, Bijdendijk sources mainly local and traditional products. Try one of the Dutch white wines such as Apostelhoeve Riesling – they are surprisingly good.
Contact: rijksrestaurant.nl
Prices: ££-£££
Reservations: Recommended
Serre
Serre offers a scaled-down selection of past signature dishes from the chart-topping Ciel Bleu restaurant upstairs at The Okura Hotel. Try the seabass tartare with crispy oysters and anchovy kadaifi, and grilled lamb with polenta and garlic-and-sage jus. The three-course Bibendum Menu is especially good value, or you can simply drop by for a club sandwich in this pared down setting: muted beige upholstery is offset by a bold blue ceiling; tables are well-spaced and the tree-shaded canalside terrace (with no traffic thundering by) is one of the best in town.
Contact: okura.nl/en/culinary/serre/
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Sinne
Small tables within just-squeeze-by distance of each other; bare bricks, white walls – and a nightly crowd of food enthusiasts in the know. Sinne is in the thick of De Pijp hip dining quarter and has an unpretentious atmosphere. All energies hone in on the food: marinated oysters in a smoky citrus dressing, with lime and radish and other startling turns of flavour that shoot across your palate; pumpkin and macadamia nut ravioli, with tones of Jerusalem artichoke, in a smoked garlic sauce. Dishes are exquisitely presented, and the price tag nowhere near as big as you might expect.
Contact: restaurantsinne.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Vondelpark3
Occupying part of a grand 1870s pleasure pavilion on the edge of Amsterdam’s most popular park, Vondelpark3 has an indoors area as well as an extensive terrace under the trees. It’s a great place for a leisurely (albeit late) breakfast, healthy lunch, or languid supper on a long summer’s evening. The fare ranges from trad (club sandwich; Caesar salad) to the super-healthy, with a wide range of raw and vegan options (a wrap with quinoa, avocado, black beans and little gem), all really well-prepared, with top-quality ingredients. You can also drop by simply for a coffee, or sundowner with snacks.
Contact: vondelpark3.nl
Prices: £
Reservations: Recommended
Bakoni Khinkali
A cosy spot behind the Concertgebouw serving heart-warming Georgian cuisine (that’s Georgia as in the Caucasus, not USA). Fat, steaming khinkali (dumplings) come from the tiny kitchen, juicily stuffed with meat or mushrooms; glistening grilled kupati (spicy sausages) pop at the prick of a fork; grandma-style brown-bean stews appear, as well as delicate guinea fowl braised in milk and garlic. Some intriguing Georgian wines, a relaxed, family-run atmosphere, an open kitchen run with verve, and affordable prices all help make this a good choice for a meal à deux before a concert, or a longer, more gregarious feast.
Contact: 00 31 20 358 5491; facebook.com
Prices: £
Reservations: Recommended
Central Amsterdam
Bird
Crush up at the window counter or grab one of the handful of small tables for tangy Thai food, cooked while you wait. Dishes are basic, and turnover is quick – this is really just a snack bar – but for authenticity and flavour, the cooking is hard to beat. I especially love the squid with basil and chilli. Though Bird restaurant across the road is run by the same people, is more comfortable and has a more sedate ambience, I’ve always found the food disappointing in comparison to a lively meal at the snack bar.
Contact: thai-bird.nl
Prices: £
Reservations: Not possible
Arca
A hidden (literally: you can’t see it from the street) gem near Centraal Station – an area otherwise arid of good eateries. Arca sits between an open kitchen and a large open hearth, in the depths of the designer-savvy art’otel. Under the guiding hand of Portuguese culinary supremo Henrique Sà Pessoa, chef Ricardo Pereira comes up with combinations that both astonish and delight (scallops with pumpkin soup, the flavours bridged with lemongrass and hints of chili), and traditional ingredients taken on adventures influenced by Portugal’s ancient trade routes (succulent pork cheek, marinated with coriander, cloves and cinnamon and slow-cooked for three hours).
Contact: arcaamsterdam.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Advisable
Bougainville
Quietly detached from the hectic life on the Dam, in a cocoon of rich fabrics and sumptuously soft upholstery, at convivial round tables you can succumb to a succession of delicate, finely tuned dishes from executive chef Tim Golsteijn. Local products and unalloyed natural flavours predominate, with a nod to the Netherlands’ trading past: pork belly and langoustine, with different preparations of pumpkin and just a waft of vadouvan spices. Inspired sommelier Lendl Mijnhijmer employs his extensive knowledge and fine sense of adventure to alight on wine matchings with pinpoint accuracy.
Contact: restaurantbougainville.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential
The Duchess
Housed in the magnificent former counting house of a bank, built in 1906 and complete with enormous, distant, stained-glass roof, The Duchess became the talk-of-the-town the moment it opened, as much for the space and sumptuous décor as for the cuisine (everything from foie gras-filled donuts to good old beef Wellington). You can toy with cocktails, seated in a sofa in the comfy bar section, then repair to the dining hall beneath a wall of portraits (which turn out to be LED screen projections), for a night out with Amsterdam hipsters.
Contact: the-duchess.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Recommended
Central Amsterdam
De Laatste Kruimel
Homemade is trending in Amsterdam, and De Laatste Kruimel’s forest-fruit bread puddings, dangerous chocolate cake and comfy scones (like Granny made, with home-made jam and lashes of cream) top the lot. Some of the wilder experiments (courgette and lemon-curd tart) don’t quite do it for me, but this remains one of my favourite afternoon sugar-fix pit stops. It’s small and usually crowded, but the upended wooden fruit-box seats ensure a quick turnover. They do a variety of quiches and other savouries, too, plus good coffee and smoothies to go with it all.
Contact: delaatstekruimel.nl
Prices: £
Reservations: Not necessary
The Lobby
A long bar, lots of space, comfy leather chairs, and witty designer quirks such as an open hearth suspended mid-air from its own chimney – all these facets make The Lobby at once hip and cosy. Dishes are hearty, healthy and superbly done – try the Pollock with chanterelles and kale. The wine list includes some intriguing, lesser-known bottles, with a good range by the glass. The Flammkuchen – thin, pizza-like Alsace bread, spread with crème fraiche and savoury toppings such as confit de canard and prune – are a must. If you're very hungry, you could manage one as a starter.
Contact: thelobbynesplein.nl
Prices: £-££
Reservations: Recommended
Wing Kee
Everyone has their favourite restaurant in China Town, and I will fight Wing Kee’s corner till I drop. We’re talking neon lights, plastic chairs, and sometimes gruff service, but the roast suckling pig (crispy crackling and meltingly succulent meat), and the noodle dishes (delicate stock and subtle, distinct flavours) are unsurpassed. The suckling pig is usually only available over weekends (it is worth checking before you sit down), but then the duck is pretty good, too. Note that there’s no alcohol licence, and that the 'Bring Your Own Booze' concept does not hold in Amsterdam.
Contact: wingkee-amsterdam.nl
Prices: £
Reservations: Not necessary
The Jordaan and Amsterdam West
Foodhallen Amsterdam
A hip, upmarket version of an Asian food hall, with different vendors ranged around a pool of central tables. You can mix and match from healthy wraps and salads, Turkish meze, sushi, chunky Dutch meat grills, Vietnamese springrolls, Mumbai street food, and much more. Or perhaps have just a drink with Dutch cheeses or charcuterie. It all takes place in a former tram depot, in Amsterdam’s most hot-and-happening quarter at the moment, just west of the city centre.
Contact: foodhallen.nl
Prices: £
Reservations: Not possible
L'Invité
Pristine white interior, sparkling crystal, linen tablecloths, a black-and-white marble floor, and classic French cuisine (with modern variations). And all this on one of the prettiest canals in town. Conversations boom and burble as confident local professionals pop corks, meet friends and sit down to grilled entrecôte with slowly cooked calf cheek, or chicory tarte tatin. Chef Sico de Moel gives idiosyncratic twists to the menu, such as quail cooked with blood sausage and cloves, but is very down-to-earth when it comes to ingredients: fish from the market, locally farmed meat and fresh produce, most of it organic.
Contact: linvite.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Koevoet
With its dark wood panelling, Tiffany lampshades, wall clocks and assorted bric-a-brac, Koevoet seems every inch a traditional Jordaan café – until you get the menu. The cooking is by a wildly talented Sicilian family who supply homemade pastas, their own sausages (with a smoky fennel tang), and other fine flavours of the south. The artichoke ravioli ranks easily with the best I’ve tasted. The restaurant is hugely popular among visitors to town, dating couples, and local Italian expats, though perhaps more expensive than you might expect given the simple style.
Contact: koevoetamsterdam.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
La Perla
A prime corner spot, neighbourhood conviviality, and wholesome Italian food – La Perla is a favourite hangout in the Jordaan quarter. It’s on a bustling alley of galleries, quirky shops and eateries, and is open all day – great for lunch after the Saturday farmer’s market, or for one of those chatty afternoon coffees that becomes a drink, then dinner. There are bulging, crusty baguettes, salads, and charcuterie platters, too, and the homemade ravioli is a treat. Wood-oven pizzas come with adventurous toppings such as fennel-seed salami with artichokes.
Contact: pizzaperla.nl
Prices: £
Reservations: Recommended
De Reiger
Old-fashioned Amsterdam eetcafé ('eating café') dining at its best. With its high ceilings, mahogany bar, wooden wainscoting, Art Deco lamps and old prints, De Reiger dates from the time when De Jordaan was a working-class quarter. The clientele has moved upmarket, but the atmosphere and no-nonsense fare hark back to the Jordaan of old. Daily-changing menus are chalked up on the wall, and might include lamb’s shank with rosemary sauce, and a tarte tatin. Arrive early. You can’t reserve tables, but De Reiger is a convivial place for a pre-dinner drink, and the wait is seldom very long.
Contact: 00 31 20 624 7426; dereigeramsterdam.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Spirit
Large windows let in floods of light and a view of one of Amsterdam’s last remaining windmills. Pale wood, white walls and high ceilings add to the air of brightness and well-being. In the midst of it all, a long buffet table is spread with hot and cold delights – 100 per cent organic, all vegetarian. Flavours venture away from the norm (wild carrot salad with yacon root, hazel nuts and tahini), but there are also old favourites and delicious veg curries. They also do a great chocolate mousse and a wicked range of cakes and pastries.
Contact: spiritrestaurants.nl
Prices: £
Reservations: Recommended
Amsterdam North
Stork
A cavernous café and seafood restaurant in a former bottle-making plant, on the banks of the IJ in Amsterdam Noord – this old docklands quarter is experiencing a massive makeover, and emerging with a vibrant arts and café scene. Stork was a forerunner, and is a favourite place to eat where one can sit and watch the boat traffic go by. The atmosphere alone is worth the ferry trip, but for me it’s hard to beat sharing a bottle of bubbly over a mixed crab and shellfish platter as the sun sets.
Contact: restaurantstork.nl
Prices: £-££
Reservations: Recommended
Outer limits
De School
Out in up-and-coming, multicultural Amsterdam West, De School is housed in what was the teaching workshop of a former technical college – all tiled floors, glass, and bare concrete beams. The setting is industrial, the atmosphere unpretentious, and the food sublime. Think gazpacho made with tart tomatillos instead of tomato, given sweet and savoury turns and spirals by feta, watermelon and pomegranate. De School is a little out of town, and – squeezed in between a public swimming pool and the ring road – is not in a particularly eye-catching location, but is certainly worth the journey.
Contact: deschoolamsterdam.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
