My recommendations
My recommendations
—worth sharing
Food & Snacks
—worth tasting
NEW KING —Mandarin
New King is a fantastic restaurant where the food is great as well as the snacks.
Every time I am surprised by the delicious food. The restaurant is not that big, but they really cook with passion, which you can taste. Besides the fact that the food is incredibly good, it is also not expensive.
They prepare the dishes in the traditional way and serve quickly, so you never have to wait long.
Address: Zeedijk 115-117
Daily open from 11 am to 10 pm.
Betawi —Indonesian
Betawi is a real local, little Indonesian restaurant just outside the city center.
Here you can order the famous Dutch ‘ Rise Dish’ (in Dutch Rijsttafel). They also serve vegetarian and vegan dishes. The food is good and affordable. The local people from the area come here to eat, and it is quite pleasant.
Have eaten here a few times with intense pleasure. If you like a local place without tourists, this is the place.
Address: Admiraal de Ruijterweg 337
Daily open from 4 pm to 10 pm.
Moon —HAUTE-CUISINE
Moon is one of the best restaurants in Amsterdam I’ve ever been.
The restaurant on the 19th floor has a great 360-degree view over the center and the north side. It feels strange to rotate with the building.
The dining area goes round while the middle area stays behind. You can sneak into the kitchen 3 times an hour, so funny.
The food was more than I expected —good wine too. You will lose at least 100 EUR pp, but it is worth it.
Address: Overhoeksplein 3
Open check website
The Seafood Bar —seafood
The Seafood Bar is a modern seafood restaurant.
The owner was a respected fishmonger, driven by his passion for fish, he created The Seafood Bar with a wide range of the best fish and seafood.
This place uses line caught, sustainable wild fish where possible. All products are carefully selected.
The food is incredibly good and very fresh prepared according to traditional methods. The wines are excellent too.
Address: Van Baerlestraat 5h
Open Thursday till Sunday
Pancake Bakery —Dutch pancakes
The Pancake Bakery, a special place for me. First time here was in 1982.
At the time I lived at Prinsengracht 183; I was a regular at the Pancake Bakery. My favorite pancake was with ragout.
A pancake is a typical Dutch dish. Unlike other countries, we in the Netherlands eat pancakes for dinner. Dutch pancakes are usually larger and much thinner than the American or Scottish pancakes.
The Pancake Bakery is an old warehouse from the 17th century, and they serve over 20 different pancakes.
Address: Prinsengracht 191
Open daily from 9 am to 8:30 pm.
Moeders —Dutch dishes
Restaurant Moeders meaning at mom’s place.
Traditional Dutch Cuisine Amsterdam and next to the Jordaan area. While you enter the Restaurant, immediately you feel the good atmosphere and will discover the pictures of mothers on the wall.
All the food is tasty, and you will find dishes such as fish from the market, lamb skewers, hotchpotch, Dutch rice dish, and more. The menu features a range of typical Dutch specialties.
Address: Rozengracht 251
Daily open 12 noon to 22:30 pm
Winkel 43 —apple pie
Café Winkel 43 is known for its delicious home-made apple pie.
Referred to by many as the best apple pie in Amsterdam. But I dare to take it one step further… the best in the Netherlands.
This cafe is in the heart of the Jordaan area, and you can explore the Jordaan from here. Try this apple pie with a perfect cappuccino.
Address: Noordermarkt 43
Daily open from 10 am to 1 am
Bar Bitterbal —bitterballen
Bar Bitterbal has the best Bitterballen in the Netherlands.
A bitterbal is a small, deep-fried meat ragout ball. It is, in fact, a small, round version of the meat croquette.
This bar makes its own bitterballen, and you can taste it. Delicious! They have 14 types. Also, vegetarian. My favorite is Thai Cocos but be careful it’s a bit spicy.
The snack is immensely popular in the Netherlands and Belgium but unknown in other countries.
Address: Utrechtsestraat 18
Daily open from 4 pm to 12 pm
The Pancake Club —dutch poffertjes
Restaurant The Pancake Club serves poffertjes, a real Dutch tradition.
Unlike pancakes, poffertjes are turned before the batter is completely set. They are nicely round and a bit soft on the inside.
This place is one of the few places where they still prepare poffertjes the traditional way. I see poffertjes more of a snack, than dinner, but its super tasty and cheap.
The first mention of poffertjes as food was on an Amsterdam fair in 1734.
Address: Leidsebosje 5
Daily open from 9 am to 6 pm
Salon de thé —smallest house
Salon de Thé is the smallest tearoom in the World!
This cottage, also referred to as the ‘Smallest house in Europe‘ is 2.02m (6 ft) wide and 5m (15 ft) deep.
Here you can buy all kinds of tea, coffee and delicacies or book a lunch or high tea in the tearoom upstairs, the smallest tearoom in Amsterdam, even the world.
The house was first mentioned in 1738. The current two floors and attic were added between 1768 and 1787.
Address: Oude Hoogstraat 22
Daily open check website
Museums
—Worth visiting
Museum Van Loon —Home+garden
Museum Van Loon house with private gardens you normally don’t see.
You can enter a fabulous 17th century house with a huge private garden in the back of the house and at the end of this garden you will discover a coach house for the horses.
The interior of the house dates from the late 19th century, as left by the past residents of the Van Loon family.
As a tourist, you can only see the streets and canals but now this is your chance to discover the giant private gardens in the back of these houses.
Address: Keizersgracht 672
Daily open check website
Maritime Museum —Scheepvaart
Maritime Museum with the 17th century VOC trading ship.
A beautiful museum full of the history of the Netherlands and its fleet.
This building was in the 17th century the world’s largest warehouse filled with flagpoles and weapons.
I personally think boarding the VOC ship is the most spectacular. 4,000 of these ships were built in the 17th century for worldwide trading.
Amsterdam counted in 1652 about 800 ships full of trade in the port of Amsterdam.
Maritime museum in Dutch = Het Scheepvaartmuseum
Address: Kattenburgerplein 1
Daily open 10 am to 5 pm (Monday closed)
Our Lord in the Attic —Museum
Our Lord in the Attic a 17th century hidden Catholic church.
The 3 top floors became a beautiful church for 200 guests, but how did they keep that a secret?
You go underground at the museum, climb an extremely narrow staircase, and then suddenly you enter a gigantic room with a church.
Amsterdam was Protestant from the 17th to the late 19th century. Unlike other countries, Catholics were not persecuted or executed because they made money and paid taxes. They were just not allowed to pray in public. The secret Catholic church was in use until 1888 when it became a museum.
Address: Oudezijds Voorburgwal 38
Daily open check website
Shops & Markets
—Worth going
Kalverstraat —shopping street
Kalverstraat is a popular shopping street with international brands.
The Kalverstraat, in English Calves Street, is without a doubt, Amsterdam’s most popular shopping street with over 150 shops and a total length of 750 m (2250 ft).
The name Kalverstraat is derived from a calf market that was held here until the early 17th century
Kalverstraat runs from the Mint Tower to the Dam Square and continues after the Dam Square into Nieuwendijk. In total, 1600 meters, which is 4800 feet and 270 stores, most A-brands.
Address: Kalverstraat and Nieuwendijk
Daily open depends on the shop
The 9-streets —Shops & eateries
9 streets with cute boutiques, stylish cafés, and wonderful eateries.
The nine little streets is an intimate shopping area and famous for their beautiful boutiques, cozy cafés, galleries, and wonderful eateries.
These picturesque streets are situated between the 17th century canal belt Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, and Herengracht.
The streets are exactly in between the Prinsengracht to Singel and, Raadhuistraat to Leidsegracht
Address: several streets Huidenstraat, Wolvenstraat, Hartenstraat, check website
Daily open depends on the shop
Albert Cuyp —Day Market
The Albert Cuyp is the largest day market in Europe.
This market is a real attraction with more than 260 stalls and a total length of 600 meters, that’s 1800 feet. The biggest in Europe.
You can find everything here from food to clothing and from glasses to gadgets.
The Albert Cuyp Market is originated in 1905 and is in a super cozy neighborhood, called de Pijp.
Address: Albert Cuypstraat
Daily open 9 am to 5 pm