The foodlover's guide to Amsterdam

[Chufi]

if you find yourself anywhere near one of the stores of Australian Homemade Icecream (and yes I know there´s nothing Australian about them, and that the icecream comes from a factory and not from a home, etc etc....) PLEASE get yourself a scoop of their speculaas icecream.. it´s seasonal, they only have it in November-December, and I would say that for a tourist, it´s one of the best things to eat in Amsterdam right now.

oh and for locals too

[Brian B]

had a very good meal at Beulings last week,was quite impressed and will definetly go back,3 course dinner for €35 that includes appetizers,Bread and pettitfours at the end of the meal,you can extend this to 4 or 5 courses if the hunger is upon you.One of those meals that was suprisingly good and left me in a happy mood.

Beulings,9 Beulingsstraat, 0203206100

For a sweet fix it would be worth checking out kuyt on the Utrechtstraat,they are master pastry chef and one of the best in North Holland,they also have a cafe next door. De kaashuis tromp across the road should have most cheeses you are looking for including Epoisses and some good munster.

there is an excellent new bakers on the Nieuwendijk 35, funny spot for a gourmet bakers but it is a lovely premises that do good pastries and excellent french style bread which you can see being baked while you munch on your croissant.

Gebr. Niemeijer, Franse Bakkerij, 0207076752

Your list seems quite comprehensive so I hope you have a great time here in Amsterdam

[Chufi]

What about good, stinky French cheese? Anything we're missing? Thanks!

←

my favorite place for cheese is still

Kef

They´re not big, they don´t have everything, but what they have is all extremely good. Very nice and knowledgeable owners who love their business. Go in the afternoon, sit down and have a glass of wine and some cheese while chatting with the other customers. A gem.

[Fat Steve]

Hi everyone, Fat Steve from America here!

Going to be visiting Amsterdam in December for 10 days in advance of spending a year (or more) in the Netherlands for work. This won't be our first visit, in fact due to the job, this will be my 16th trip to Amsterdam in 5 years. I think it will be my wife's tenth. Anyway, I would like some opinions as to what the best restaurants that have opened up in the last 18 months are (thats the last time my wife visited, when I go by myself, I only eat kroketten and other fast foods )

Also, as an aside...would it be insane to live in Amsterdam and work in Hilversum?

[Chufi]

Hi everyone, Fat Steve from America here!

Going to be visiting Amsterdam in December for 10 days in advance of spending a year (or more) in the Netherlands for work. This won't be our first visit, in fact due to the job, this will be my 16th trip to Amsterdam in 5 years. I think it will be my wife's tenth. Anyway, I would like some opinions as to what the best restaurants that have opened up in the last 18 months are (thats the last time my wife visited, when I go by myself, I only eat kroketten and other fast foods )

Also, as an aside...would it be insane to live in Amsterdam and work in Hilversum?

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Hi Steve,

more on the restaurants later, but if you´re into kroketten and fast food, I recommend a visit to the newly opened snackbar Natuurlijk Smullen... an organic fastfood snackbar. I haven´t been myself, but hope to get there next week.

As for living in Amsterdam and working in Hilversum: I know people who do it the other way around, and distance-wise it´s certainly doable! Depending a bit, ofcourse, on how far your trip to the trainstation will be.

Edited November 8, 2008 by Chufi (log)

[Chufi]

also, check restaurant website Iens for what recently opened in Amsterdam

[DCMark]

I hate to be so pedestrian, but has anyone eaten take-out from Taco Mundo?

I very much recommend The Taco Shop (Tollstraat 200, 1074 VN, De Pijp) for authentic Tex-Mex.

[marcelm]

I have made a google map of locations mentioned in this thread:

Google map: The Foodlovers Guide to Amsterdam

The next step would be to extract the locations in the geo-rssfeed of this map and import these in my iphone as contacts or bookmarks.

If I can succeed in that, I will post a link or howto also in this thread.

Edited December 5, 2008 by marcelm (log)

[markemorse]

I have made a google map of locations mentioned in this thread:

Google map: The Foodlovers Guide to Amsterdam

The next step would be to extract the locations in the geo-rssfeed of this map and import these in my iphone as contacts or bookmarks.

If I can succeed in that, I will post a link or howto also in this thread.

←

Wow, marcelm...great work. Thanks!

[DCMark]

Like to give a quick shout-out to Lalibela for Ethiopian food. My wife and I lived for 8 years in Washington, DC, with the largest Ethiopian community outside of Africa. Lalibela would easily how its on in DC's 9th Street corridor.

I had stewed mutton, my wife a vegetarian mix. Both excellent. 9 euros each (cheap!). Right off the Overtoom.

1e Helmersstraat 249

Amsterdam, NH 1054 DX

Phone: +31 20 683 8332

[DCMark]

Found a great bowl of chili in the Jordaan! Not as spicy as I would like, but was the perfect antidote to the sleet today. A small two story bar with decent sized menu including sate, Dutch sausage stew, mushroom steak, tuna salad sub (toasted) as well as the chili.

Leffe on tap

De Blauwe Pan

Westerstraat 200, 1015MS Amsterdam

+31-20-320-7211

*No smoking rooms/no smoking despite the ban*

Edited February 8, 2009 by DCMark (log)

[DCMark]

Can anyone recommend a good wine shop, preferably near my home (Overtoom)?

Thanks

[Betamax]

Can anyone recommend a good wine shop, preferably near my home (Overtoom)? 

Thanks

←

De Eekhoorn on Kinkerstraat is a fantastic little shop with great service and a wide selection in wine, port, cognac, whisky, etc. Highly recommended.

[KipCraven]

I ended up on this thread after reading Chufi’s Tallinn report which was great.

My wife and I will be going on a tour in May of Tallinn, Helsinki, and St. Petersburg and will be passing through Amsterdam both before and after.

We have been to Amsterdam one other time in 2004. We sampled a lot of food and it was great.

We went to:

de Lewte

Blauw aan de Wal

Bordewijk

Blue Pepper

Chez Georges

De Kas

Tranquilo, Tapasbar Bistro

Vermeer

We want to return to Bordewijk and try Restaurant Christophe' on the high end.

Other than that, we are open.

We will be staying in the Jordaan area.

Suggestions?

Kip

[markemorse]

I ended up on this thread after reading Chufi’s Tallinn report which was great.

My wife and I will be going on a tour in May of Tallinn, Helsinki, and St. Petersburg and will be passing through Amsterdam both before and after.

We have been to Amsterdam one other time in 2004. We sampled a lot of food and it was great.

We went to:

de Lewte

Blauw aan de Wal

Bordewijk

Blue Pepper

Chez Georges

De Kas

Tranquilo, Tapasbar Bistro

Vermeer

We want to return to Bordewijk and try Restaurant Christophe' on the high end.

Other than that, we are open.

We will be staying in the Jordaan area.

Suggestions?

Kip

←

hey kip, looks like you did pretty well last time...

due to budgetary constraints i don't have any new suggestions other than what's already discussed above...

if you're on the northwest side of the Jordaan you might want to try Klary's regular spot Orontes West for Turkish...Yam Yam (discussed upthread) is also right over there.

[KipCraven]

Thanks,

They both look inviting. I will put them on the schedule.

Has the Pizza Yam Yam gotten back to normal?

Kip

[Chufi]

Hi Kip, sorry for not replying sooner.

re pizzeria Yam Yam: the last time I was there was January, and I still love the place, even if the pizza isn't as transcendental as it used to be. But I'm not really sure if it's worth the trip if yu're not stayin near that area.

I was at Bordewijk last week and had a fabulous dinner, so a return visit there is highly recommended.

Another place that might be interesting is Turkish restaurant Levant, Weteringschans 93. It's slightly more fancy than Orontes (ie, white tablecloths) and the main courses are a bit more creative and original. I had 2 dinners there recently that were both excellent, and if you're looking for a restaurant to spend an evening I highly recommend it.

For upscale Indonesian, I've heard good things about Blauw (Amstelveenseweg 158) but haven't been myself.

For excellent Japanese:

Zen Japans Delicatessenhuis, Frans Halsstraat 38 (don't confuse it with the other Japanese restaurant also on this street, Otaru).

Zen is teeny tiny, nothing fancy, and only open till 8, but it's a gem.

For shopping: visit Marqt

Have fun!

[KipCraven]

Thanks for getting back to me.

I will definitely plan on trying Levant.

Does anyone know a good place for a casual lunch in either central den Haag or Delft?

Kip

[chic geek]

I was at Bordewijk last week and had a fabulous dinner, so a return visit there is highly recommended.

I've always been curious about Bordewijk - i've seen mixed reviews on Iens, so I wasn't sure... good to hear some positive info about it.

For upscale Indonesian, I've heard good things about Blauw (Amstelveenseweg 158) but haven't been myself.

I've been to Blauw twice ... both times I've had the rijsttafel (once vegetarian)... I thought it was delicious -- all the dishes seemed very fresh, nicely seasoned, and I have to say that even though I'm not a huge fan of vegetarian meals generally- the vegetarian rijsttafel was exceptionally delicious... I didn't even miss the meat! (not actively, at least).

If you order coffee at the end of your meal they give you a little slice of spekkoek with it, and also a tiny glass of a cinnamon tasting liqueur (which I forgot to ask about).

My only complaint about Blauw is that the menus have this silly little clip-on LED light attached to them... and really, it's not dark inside... perhaps the staff notices when you turn off the lights and assume you're ready to order?

For shopping: visit Marqt

The first time I went to Marqt i was really struck by how beautiful the place was... it's a really nice shopping experience ... the shelves are stocked ... there are people there to assist you... and of course their statement about selling local produce and products is also a good thing. However on returning home I noticed the garlic I purchased was from China I wrote them an e-mail about it, to which they never responded... ah well, what can you do? Still, it's a nice spot with things you cannot buy at the local AH ... also, I read they will be opening another location in Rembrantplein, this summer maybe?

[Chufi]

hi chic geek welcome to eGullet and to this thread..

would love to hear some Amsterdam recommendations from you, this thread could use a little more action !

[simonli625]

Sarah: I´ll try to think of some recommendations for your questions later, but when I read you´re staying near the Olympic Stadium I just had to alert you to what many people think is the very best bakery in Amsterdam:

le Fournil de Sebastien, Olympiaplein 119.

He is a French baker married to a Dutch girl, they put a lot of passion into this business. Their bread is fabulous and their pastries are very very hard to resist even if you only walked in for a baguette.

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I heard about the backery but hasn't try it yet. The picture looks really yummy! I will definitely try to drop by there in the next couple weeks.

Simon

[Brian B]

Just had a very nice meal at Blauw an de Waal in Amsterdam on saturday, funny location in the heart of the red light district, but quite removed from the madness outside. A very nice knowledgeable host and a good balanced menu with carefully chosen wines by the galss. Would definetly recommend it.

Was wondering about good coffee in the city which can be at times awful, my current favourites are the Coffee Saloon on Utrechtstraat and Tramazzini on Haarlemerstraat, if anyone knows of more please let me know as am happy to cycle far for a good cup.

Would also recommend De Puur Markt, which is in Frankendeel on the last sunday of each month, weather permitting it is a lovely day with some good produce (food and non food) and some things to keep the kids happy.(i do have an interest in this as we sell olives on the market).

Also good news for Ice Cream lovers as the Ijscuype from the Albert Cuyp markt has opened on the Prinsengracht on the corner of the Eilands gracht. Very good quality and not bad value too.

[Chufi]

Just had a very nice meal at Blauw an de Waal in Amsterdam on saturday, funny location in the heart of the red light district, but quite removed from the madness outside. A very nice knowledgeable host and a good balanced menu with carefully chosen wines by the galss. Would definetly recommend it.

  Was wondering about good coffee in the city which can be at times awful, my current favourites are the Coffee Saloon on Utrechtstraat and Tramazzini on Haarlemerstraat, if anyone knows of more please let me know as am happy to cycle far for a good cup.

  Would also recommend De Puur Markt, which is in Frankendeel on the last sunday of each month, weather permitting it is a lovely day with some good produce (food and non food) and some things to keep the kids happy.(i do have an interest in this as we sell olives on the market).

  Also good news for Ice Cream lovers as the Ijscuype from the Albert Cuyp markt has opened on the Prinsengracht on the corner of the Eilands gracht. Very good quality and not bad value too.

←

Thanks Brian for the updates. I had my first dinner at Blauw aan de Wal a couple of weeks ago (after having my eye on it for years), I thought it was pretty good - the food was simple, not too fussy, high quality ingredients - we also had some good wines by the glass. I also thought that the service was truly excellent, of a standard you don't often find in NL!

I like the Koffie Salon too.

Koffie salon

Edited June 17, 2009 by Chufi (log)

[Chufi]

I found two new pizzerias that I really like:

Pizzabakkers

Haarlemmerdijk 128

and

Forno Communale

Both have a woodburning oven, excellent crusts with great flavor, they go easy on the toppings (too much topping is my main complaint about Da Portare Via)

[DCMark]

It is funny how much I crave a hamburger here. I mean really crave them.

I found the best burger in town.

Cafe Bos

Amstelveenseweg 226

Right off tram 12.

Very good, meat and a good understanding of what a good burger is (and perhaps as important) what it is NOT.

Also, they serve fries.

I have decided I will no longer patronize Burgermeister. Any place that tells me I should not have fries with my burger is not going to get my business (-: