The foodlover's guide to Amsterdam

[Chufi]

Have you try Door 74? They also have a really nice cocktail menu. A bit pricy but it is never crowded!

I've been to Door 74 a couple of times. Its a speakeasy, where you have to make a reservation (or ring the doorbell and hope they'll have a spot for you). I like it, and the hush hush secrecy aspect is interesting, but I prefer the more open and welcoming atmosphere of Vesper.

[Chufi]

simonli625, your Chez Georges link links back to Dauphine.

Also, there is a Chez George in Amsterdam but it's on Herenstraat. I think you mean Café George on Leidsegracht.

[lovefoodwilltravel]

Hi all,

What a cool post. Even some new places mentioned here i want to give a try.

My all time favourite place to eat if money is no issue. Sazanka at Okura Hotel. Japanese Teppanyaki steakhouse. Also serves Wagyu(aka kobe style) steaks.

All in one my favourite japanese restaurant and steakhouse. I believe the chefs here are imported from japan's okura Sazanka.

(Btw Okura has excellent other restaurants)

In a popular tourist destination like amsterdam it's truly hard finding great value places. Sometimes the food is terrible or the price quality is simply not good. On the otherhand in a place like amsterdam you will be able to find all sorts of restaurants. And thats great news because local cuisine is not that great.

My current fave: Brazilian Churrascaria Samba Kitchen. A smallish brazilian rodizio. It's pretty new in the netherlands. Carnivore's delight. All you can eat place. Great grilled meats, but its buffet and salad bar is surprisingly good too. reservations is a must. Highly recommended.

For the best meals in price quality there are two areas of the city i can truly recommend.

RLD/China town area is the first. The chinese restaurants here are pretty good and great value. Since they are allowed to bring in cooks from china the chinese restaurants has been booming in the netherlands.

NamKee used to be an old fave of our family. But there are 3 other places that i could recommend.

First is Hoitin. In the same street as Nam Kee. It's claim to fame is it's ribs in hoi sin sauce. They are really really good. They also have pretty extensive choice of chinese pastries. The Egg custard tarts and the cha sieu buns are tasty and great snacks.

Closer to the Dam are two chinese restaurants. Right on top of each other actually. The lower one is called Golden Chopsticks and is pretty nice chinese eaterie. When ordering just look at the pictures on the wall.

Above it is a regular restaurant.I only know it as 747. Never known it's real name tbh. This place has really good Dim Sum. great value for lunches or brunches in the weekend.

Second area I like for great value meals is the Albert Cuyp Area aka de pijp. There are lot of ethnic eateries here. Places like Orontes, but also for example Samba Kitchen and Okura hotels is situated here. Lots of eateries...specially strolling the market you will find alot of choices. Like the suriname eateries or kebab/falafel places.

But guys Netherlands is a relative small country and its extremely easy to visit the other cities like Den Haag and Rotterdam.

In Den haag there are 2 places I would highly recommend:

First in the China Town Area there is a restaurant called Fat Kee. This is a restaurant unlike any other chinese restaurant in the netherlands. It's taste and style are more like the nyonya, indonesian style chinese food. Not like the run of the mill cantonese restaurants.

However they do it...they do it right.The tasty generous food makes this place EXTREMELY popular. A must try IMO.

Second place that i would recommend in Den haag is Dungelmann.Located in teh High end shopping district of Den Haag. Similar to van Dobben...tbh I think you could call this place the original. They have different Kroketten. veal, beef but also Shrimp.prawn versions. Very very delicous. CLose by to this place is a place famous for its fries. Similar fresh homemade fries comparable with the place in amsterdam. (Kleinste Winkeltje)

Rotterdam. The harbour city.

One of my fave dining experiences in the netherlands is called Shabu Shabu. Don't let the name confuse you.Matter of fact they dont even serve this dish.

What this place does serve...is all you can eat japanese food. Serving Sushi and teppanyaki(grill) dishes. Yes this dining experience has become THE MOST POPULAR dining experience in the netherlands. Basically each city has siimilar places. But this phenomenon has started in Rotterdam and there they still do it best. Excellent value and at shabu shabu what they serve is comparable to regular japanese restaurants.

The best chinese restaurants can be found here. Tai Wu has the best Dim Sum in the netherlands and is great value for a lunch spot. Located right in the center of rotterdam, close to the central station.

Anyway let me know what you think of my suggestions.

[simonli625]

simonli625, your Chez Georges link links back to Dauphine.

Also, there is a Chez George in Amsterdam but it's on Herenstraat. I think you mean Café George on Leidsegracht.

Sorry. Café George on Leidsegracht is the one that I meant!

[chic geek]

Chic geek,

the only thing I ever had here was a sandwich, so I can´t really vouch for the food, but they do have both oysters and Eggs benedict on the menu (they call them ´poached eggs on toast with hollandaise´)

Dauphine

Have you guys try Cafe George

on Leisesgracht? I heard they have pretty good breakfast and also they have egg benedits on the menu.

I just discovered Cafe George serves breakfast -- I'm going to check it out this week at some point ... will report back

[chic geek]

Chic geek,

the only thing I ever had here was a sandwich, so I can´t really vouch for the food, but they do have both oysters and Eggs benedict on the menu (they call them ´poached eggs on toast with hollandaise´)

Dauphine

Thanks for the tip Chufi -- it's going on my list!

[chic geek]

Spent a lovely evening at cocktailbar Vesper last night. They've been open since February, so I'm not sure why this was my first visit, but anyway it won't be my last.

Bartender made me a couple of lovely drinks after I told him what kind of flavors/ spirits I like.

Highly recommended.

I also JUST recently heard good things about Vesper ... definitely going to check it out soon!

[chic geek]

Chic geek,

the only thing I ever had here was a sandwich, so I can´t really vouch for the food, but they do have both oysters and Eggs benedict on the menu (they call them ´poached eggs on toast with hollandaise´)

Dauphine

Have you guys try Cafe George

on Leisesgracht? I heard they have pretty good breakfast and also they have egg benedits on the menu.

I just discovered Cafe George serves breakfast -- I'm going to check it out this week at some point ... will report back

Cafe George .... went for breakfast this weekend -- really nice Eggs Benedict and Eggs Norwegian (benedict with smoked salmon)... really yummy Hollandaise sauce... and while the food was very good, the plates were a bit sparse, so if you like a hearty breakfast you should plan to order a side of something else... maybe a side of spinach or frites. (i also noticed that the girls sitting next to us who ordered scrambled eggs probably received 1.5 scrambled eggs each and 2 slices of toast cut in half)

They do have a bloody mary on the menu, but it was vodka w/ a wedge of lemon over ice served with a small bottle of spiced tomato juice, and then loose bottles of worchestershire, tabasco, black pepper... no horseradish to be found and no vegetable garnish (not even a celery stalk).

Service left a lot to be desired- very slow - and when we received our bill it was overstated by around 35EUR ... we let them know and they tried to adjust it, still over by 15EUR.. after 3 tries they finally got the bill correct.

all that being said, i would still go back for a good benedict, but now that I know what i'm up against i'll be better prepared ... maybe bring my own horseradish and pickled vegetables?

[chic geek]

Spent a lovely evening at cocktailbar Vesper last night. They've been open since February, so I'm not sure why this was my first visit, but anyway it won't be my last.

Bartender made me a couple of lovely drinks after I told him what kind of flavors/ spirits I like.

Highly recommended.

I also JUST recently heard good things about Vesper ... definitely going to check it out soon!

WOW, Vesper is a real treasure! It's a very cozy spot, well decorated. The staff was very friendly and knew exactly what each cocktail tasted like. The bartender was happy to explain (in depth) the ingredients of each cocktail and even adjust it to your liking. At 9EUR each, the cocktails are maybe 1 or 2EUR more than you'd pay for a mojito at a normal cafe (when they make them), but I thought it was money well spent. Nice music, happy group of people present enjoying freshly made cocktails.

And you know it's a good sign when the bartender is cutting the fruit to order... it may take a few minutes more, but worth it!

Will definitely go back.

[eternal]

Heading to Amsterdam on Tuesday for 4 nights, work related. Been collecting and building my own little map (because I didn't see the pre-built one until it was too late!). Have been to Bo Cinq before. Thought it was pretty good. Might check out Beulings and Levant and Vesper looks good too. I'm not interested in the Chinese food as have plenty of that here. Is there a similar movement in Amsterdam to what's going on in Copenhagen - local food, seasonal, etc?

If you had only two dinners, where would you go?

Thanks for all the notes, Chufi. Very helpful!

[DCMark]

Can someone please point me to a nice place to have raw oysters in Amsterdam?

[eternal]

Had a good few days in Amsterdam. I used the Google map created in this thread but I have to say, there is almost too much stuff in there. I had a hard time figuring out where to go. In the end, we ended up at Stadscafe van Kerkwijk BV a couple times and enjoyed it each time. A little further down NES street were a few more Italian restaurants that including a very modern one with a giant open space and a wall of wine and good prices. Sorry. Can't remember the name. We ate at Cafe Josephine but it was pretty mediocre. All in all, I thought the food was good

[olive boy]

Hi Mark, you can get good oysters at the following.

Restaurant Envy ,Prinsengracht.

Restaurant Nevy, Behind central station going west from the city, these two restaurants are part of the same group and can be a bit pricey,

The Sofitel behind the Nes has opened a seafood bar could also be worth a look.

Vis an de Schelde by the Rai, is a seafood restaurant that does an impressive Plateau Fruit De Mer.((excuse the spelling please)

Another option could be Caulils Delicatessen on the Haarlemerstraat, they do oysters to take away but you can also have a half dozen or more upstairs in the tasting room,they also have good lobster.

Next Sunday is the last Puur Markt of the year,this is a food market held on the last sunday of each month in Park Frankendael in Watergrafsmeer(close to rest. De Kas) there is a guy shucking oysters to order and they are very good.

Finally I find Fa Tel on the Niuwe Markt one of the best Fishmongers in town and they will get you any oyster you need if you dont mind opening them yourself.

Happy Eating

Brian

[foamy]

Service left a lot to be desired- very slow - and when we received our bill it was overstated by around 35EUR ... we let them know and they tried to adjust it, still over by 15EUR.. after 3 tries they finally got the bill correct.

all that being said, i would still go back for a good benedict, but now that I know what i'm up against i'll be better prepared ... maybe bring my own horseradish and pickled vegetables?

you have got to be kidding me ... poor service and gouging should not receive a return visit. too much of this in A'dam.

this is not a good business model to support you are only encouraging them. i will stay far away when i go in November.

when going to Europe it is a round the world trip for me since i am 12 time zones removed. i expect good service for my time and money: it is a trade. if they don't seem to want my business very much i will sometimes cancel and find other accommodations, i suggest you do the same.

i have heard some explanations of the reasons for the poor attentiveness of the "service staff" in Holland: something about self-respect and dignity i think. maybe Chufi could weigh in and enlighten travelers on this Dutch custom. having said this, i have found many kind and dear helpful folks in Amsterdam.

[markemorse]

I mean this in the most positive and helpful way possible: you can expect good service for your time and money all you want in Amsterdam, but you'll have a much much much better time here if you don't. Like a lot of Europe, maybe more maybe less, there's very little real understanding of or empathy for what I would call the American concept of customer service here (I'm not assuming you are, but I'm American).

And as a visitor, the sooner that kind of ideal gets jettisoned the more likely one is to appreciate the positive things about dining out here. FWIW.

P.S. I'm agreeing that, in principle, gouging sucks and should not receive a return visit.

Edited September 27, 2010 by markemorse (log)

[foamy]

And as a visitor, the sooner that kind of ideal gets jettisoned the more likely one is to appreciate the positive things about dining out here. FWIW

yeah, one needs to show respect and understanding.

for my food experience I'm looking for items that will fuel and delight me. i want to see all the art and architecture and have enough energy to survive.

[markemorse]

Sorry to contribute to the dilution of this thread, but: does anyone have any Indonesian recs for Den Haag?

[eternal]

Maybe your understanding of what service should be based on your culture isn't really appropriate for another culture. Service in the the US is a completely different beast than it is in Europe, and Holland especially. DInners in Holland are all night affairs - even simple ones last 2+ hours commonly. I think if you go into a restaurant there and expect to be checked up on every 5 minutes then you're going to be disappointed frequently. It just isn't a common practice - it might have to do with the idea that they actually pay their servers a living wage so there just aren't as many of them. Or it might just be different. If somebody is rude to you, then surely you shouldn't return. But I would recommend trying to adapt a bit to the culture than expecting everything to be like it is back home.

[Chufi]

Re: service: To me it always seems that in the Netherlands, service isn't really a part of the business model of a restaurant (with the exception of the really high end / Michelin starred places). So what you're dealing with when you're in a bar or restaurant is basically NOT the business philosophy of the owners who want their staff to perform a certain way. What you're also not dealing with is staff that depends on your tips for their income. So what you ARE dealing with is an individual.

And as we all know, with those, anything can happen.

On the other hand: I kind of like that individuality.

If you expect American-style service here, then yes, you will be very much disappointed. But, I have been eating and drinking out in Amsterdam for more than 20 years now and I can honestly say that I can count my experiences of really bad service on the fingers of one hand. But then of course, what I consider 'okay' service might be considered terribly bad service by an American visitor...

And another thing: since you are not expected to leave the 15% tip to help the waiter survive, you can really use the tip to express your feelings about the service.

[chic geek]

you have got to be kidding me ... poor service and gouging should not receive a return visit. too much of this in A'dam.

this is not a good business model to support you are only encouraging them. i will stay far away when i go in November.

when going to Europe it is a round the world trip for me since i am 12 time zones removed. i expect good service for my time and money: it is a trade. if they don't seem to want my business very much i will sometimes cancel and find other accommodations, i suggest you do the same.

Just to clear the air, since it was my experience… I think you misinterpreted what I said.

I do not believe I was being ‘gouged’ … the overstatement on the bill was so ridiculous for a table of 2 that it was definitely an error -- nobody in their right mind would have paid it -- I really don’t believe it was intentional.

Regarding the service, it was slower & more frazzled than I’ve grown to expect in most Amsterdam cafes and restaurants. But for a full restaurant, there were only 2 servers, so I can understand it to some degree, as staffing appeared to be too light for the crowd.

When you live here and crave Eggs Benedict, unfortunately there just aren’t a lot of choices… so it’s about weighing the options: have someone make you eggs benedict and maybe wait a while for it, make it at home, or have something else... besides, the benedict was good - it deserves a second chance.

So no, I’m not kidding – I would go back.

[DCMark]

Thank you Brian.

They also have them Saturday at the Noordermarkt on Saturday. Tragically, there are no glassed of white wine or Champagne available, like in Brussels.

[reuvens]

I am planning a trip with my sweet lady to the amsterdam area in mid. august...we will drive from duesseldorf to amsterdam and hope to pick up a good snack on our way to amsterdam. stay 2 nights in a'dam and maybe another sleepover at the sea.

I tried to find a few foodie spots on the internet...http://amsterdam.unlike.net, but i need some insider info. CHUFI...hit me ! Hahahaha

DeKas in Frankendael Park is a must go for me.

I normaly have breakfast @ DeBakkerswinkel.

So i am still looking for some innovative, organic produce using chef who offers us food for a reasonable price.

[Blues_Cookin]

Will be in Groningen next week - anyone have a suggestion for dinner?

Edited February 5, 2012 by Blues_Cookin (log)

[Blues_Cookin]

Just to report back - was there a couple days and the answer my own question is (at this point) nowhere in particular. Great little town, but they must do a lot of cooking at home, which of course is wonderful