The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (2024)

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.

Note: Many Amsterdam restaurants require a deposit when you make a reservation. This is debited to your credit card, and subtracted from your bill at the end of the evening.

Find restaurants by area

  • Canal Belt – West
  • Canal Belt – East
  • Oosterdok and Amsterdam East
  • Museum District and De Pijp
  • Central Amsterdam
  • The Jordaan and Amsterdam West
  • Amsterdam North
  • Outer limits

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 Jurgen van der Zalm combines pure ingredients with poise and flair: Dover sole with fennel, white grapes and roast onion, perhaps, or Anjou pigeon with a flutter of flavours: duck liver, sour cherry, and the purest Chuncho chocolate from the slopes of Machu Pichu. 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 Dutch-Mediterranean cuisine dazzles in response. Mix, match and share from a menu that conjures up Dutch imperial oysters, fresh herring, finger-nail sized shrimps and other local seafood specialities, as well as blister-grilled padron peppers (which vary unpredictably, like a chilli Russian roulette, from mild to killer-hot on a single plate). A knowledgeable waiter makes adventurous wine pairings.

Contact: bluespoon-restaurant.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended

Check availability on OpenTable

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (1)

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. An earthy ravioli comes with flavours of forest mushrooms and Jerusalem artichoke, grilled lobster is accompanied by earthy Dutch ‘Opperdoezer’ heritage potatoes. 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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (2)

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. Hanneke likes evenings to herself, and the restaurant is not open at night.

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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (3)

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 hummus with smoked beetroot and roast chickpeas.Try for a table in the courtyard garden, beside the building’s supremely elegant rear façade.

Contact: lionnoir.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (4)

Tujuh Maret

A favourite spot for an Indonesianrijsttafel– 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,rijsttafeldishes 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: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

Van Oost

In a 1908 former medical school dissecting theatre, surrounded by two-storey-high windows overlooking the Oosterpark, Van Oost is one of the most exciting restaurants to hit Amsterdam in years. Chef Floris van Straalen takes you on a dance that pirouettes from comfort food to the exotic, with leaps into the unexpected: velvety Dutch potato marinated in brown butter and pine-smoked salt, with a dust of shitake powder; quail’s leg glazed in vadouvan spices; perfectly cooked halibut with smoky oxtail ravioli on the side. Adventurous wine pairings both harmonize and cheekily contrast. You could linger for hours in chic comfort, with a zip of hip.

Contact: vanoostrestaurant.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (5)

De Plantage

Spreading with elegant nonchalance between two 19th-century pavilions and their high-girdered, glass-lined linking gallery, De Plantage once murmured genteelly with the conversations of privileged members and officials of the Royal Artis Zoo. Today it’s a busy, friendly restaurant and café, more popular with local Amsterdammers than tourists, with a view onto a public terrace that offers glimpses of the animals. Pop in whenever you like from breakfast (poached eggs, ham and brioche; smoothies), through lunch (delicious bacalao tartine; beet and goat-cheese ravioli), to dinner (roast duck with celeriac; parsnip gnocchi with trompette de la mort). Or just come for the coffee and prize-winning apple tart.

Contact: caferestaurantdeplantage.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended at weekends

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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (6)

Museum District and De Pijp

Batoni 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

Miri Mary

The love-child of a New Delhi and her financial whizz-kid partner, Miri Mary aims to bring the taste of a new India, and something of its artistic flair, to Amsterdam. It is wildly popular, situated on what’s easily my favourite city square (almost car-free, tall plane trees, uplighting from between the paving stones), on the quieter edge of the hip De Pijp foodie quarter. You’re a world away from flock wallpaper and formulaic menus here, surrounded by bright (sometimes surreal) artwork, quirky contemporary crafts, and handmade fittings, and tucking into a spread that might involve fermented-grain crêpes with lentils and tamarind, or beetroot cutlet and spicy blackeye beans with coconut stew.

Contact: mirimary.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Essential

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (7)

Ciel Bleu

Arjan Speelman, long part of the duo that has won Ciel Bleu two Michelin stars, now steers the ship with Jelle Conijn as chef de cuisine, andcomes 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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (8)

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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (9)

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. Menus change every few weeks, and may include adventures such as mussels with coconut and Franco-Indian vadouvan spices, or more down-to-earth 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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (10)

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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (11)

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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (12)

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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (13)

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; roast cuttlefish, with chorizo, olives, and a paprika kick; a fine meringue tart made with yuzu, rather than lemon to finish. Dishes are exquisitely presented, and the price tag is not quite as big as you might expect.

Contact: restaurantsinne.nl
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (14)

Parkzuid

Occupying part of a grand 1870s pleasure pavilion on the edge of Amsterdam’s most popular park, Parkzuid 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 afternoon coffee. The fare ranges from trad (club sandwich; Caesar salad) to the super-healthy, with a wide range of raw and vegan options (kale salad with pumpkin, chickpeas, pomegranate and apple), all really well-prepared, with top-quality ingredients. You can also drop by simply for a coffee, or sundowner with snacks.

Contact: park-zuid.nl
Prices: £
Reservations:Not necessary

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (15)

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

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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (16)

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. Skilled sommelier Ronald Opten employs his extensive knowledge and subtle imagination to alight on wine matchings with finesse.

Contact: restaurantbougainville.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential

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.com
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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (17)

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, Middle Eastern meze, dim sum, 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 a hot-and-happening quarter just west of the city centre.

Contact: foodhallen.nl
Prices: £
Reservations: Not possible

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (18)

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:restaurantkoevoet.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (19)

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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (20)

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.

Contact: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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (21)

Amsterdam North

Café-Restaurant Pllek

Housed in a gigantic box of converted shipping containers, Pllek was one of the trailblazers in the transformation of the Amsterdam Noord docklands into a hip new city quarter. Just a few steps from the NDSM shipping shed, which now houses around 200 artists’ studios, it is the place artists go for grub, long conversations, or to party alongside cool Amsterdammers coming across the water from Central Station. The food (mostly organic, largely vegetarian) is good, DJs rock the place some nights, and the large waterside terrace becomes an outdoor cinema in the summer.

Contact:pllek.nl
Prices: ₤₤
Reservations: Advisable

Barracuda

Unlike Scheveningen (in The Hague), or coastal towns in Zeeland, Amsterdam is thin on top-quality, yet no frills, fish restaurants. Barracuda swims in sleekly to fill the gap. No foams, reductions, or surprising spices here: this is fish without flash, just freshness, good ingredients, traditional flavours (garlic, lemon, oregano, thyme) and careful cooking. Try the succulent Zeeland oysters, smoked shrimps and homemade lemon mayo, mouthwatering mix of mussels, clams and other shells in wine, perfect fish a la plancha, the kiddie favourite kibbeling (juicy cod nuggets in a light, crispy batter), and more. Order at the bar, and tuck in at big tables afloat on a bright-blue floor.

Contact: barracuda.amsterdam
Prices: £-££
Reservations: Essential

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

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (22)
The best hotels in AmsterdamView All
  • Hotel Okura Amsterdam

    HOTELAmsterdam, Netherlands

    9Telegraph expert rating

    A large, quietly luxurious hotel in a 23-storey building that towers over low-rise Amsterdam. The...Read expert review

    From£296

    per night

    Rates provided by

    Booking.com

  • Breitner House

    HOTELAmsterdam, Netherlands

    9Telegraph expert rating

    This building was once the home of a celebrated 19th-century Dutch artist. Today it is a welcomin...Read expert review

    From£606

    per night

    Rates provided by

    Booking.com

  • The Craftsmen

    HOTELAmsterdam, Netherlands

    9Telegraph expert rating

    This beautiful 17th-century canal house-turned-boutique hotel has been done up with the historic ...Read expert review

    From£305

    per night

    Rates provided by

    Booking.com

The 39 best restaurants in Amsterdam (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Virgilio Hermann JD

Last Updated:

Views: 5838

Rating: 4 / 5 (41 voted)

Reviews: 88% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Virgilio Hermann JD

Birthday: 1997-12-21

Address: 6946 Schoen Cove, Sipesshire, MO 55944

Phone: +3763365785260

Job: Accounting Engineer

Hobby: Web surfing, Rafting, Dowsing, Stand-up comedy, Ghost hunting, Swimming, Amateur radio

Introduction: My name is Virgilio Hermann JD, I am a fine, gifted, beautiful, encouraging, kind, talented, zealous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.