Amsterdam Food & Drink

The Dutch love eating out, and Amsterdam has an impressive number and variety of dining opportunities, many originating with the myriad cultures of the peoples living here; some less traditional eateries offering radical new taste experiences; whilst other restaurateurs combine food and entertainment to enhance your whole dining experience.

In Amsterdam you can choose to eat and catch a show; enjoy a romantic candlelit dinner while drifting along moonlit canals, or maybe appreciate some belly dancing while you wait for the next course of your banquet! Street food is plentiful throughout the day and into the early morning, and if you want to eat quickly and cheaply there are some excellent small restaurants dotted all around the town.

Whatever you fancy - there is something for you!

Dutch Eating Habits

Traditionally the Dutch have very regular eating habits - and as a result smaller restaurants in Amsterdam tend to reflect this, opening for a couple of hours around lunch time before closing to prepare for the evening trade which begins between 5 and 7pm.

While Amsterdam itself is a more flexible than many other Dutch cities by 10pm you will find that many restaurateurs are packing up ready to go home.

If you like to eat late beware - as the night progresses there are much fewer options. Night Cafes are one possibility, but tend to be few and far between, and although they may be quite basic in appearance, they do offer some filling good value food until around 3am (some even later). Unfortunately however most are not permitted to serve alcohol.

Our Food Pages

In our food pages we recommend the best of what we have seen – some things for their good value, some establishments for their fine venue, some to grab some food and go, in some relax and enjoy really slow, some for with friends - some without, some to take great grandma out.

We haven’t been everywhere – yet.. You tell us….. what do you think…. ??

‘Fast Food' covers street and convenience food available all day everywhere (recommendations included where worthwhile);

Bars / Cafes list places where you can usually drop in and enjoy good quality food from E10 – E20 for a main course, their flexible seating arrangements and relaxed bar atmospheres offer convenient meeting places.

‘International Dining’ covers reasonably priced restaurants - recommendations are wide-ranging with as the many different types of cuisine we have sampled here, categorised by their origins or particular sphere of expertise. (Someone close to us enjoyed them - we hope you do too!

'Exclusive Dining' - humbly suggests dining experiences sincerely intended to lead you in contentment along paths of sensual delight to the eternal land of happy memories. Should we even partly succeed in our mission, we are grateful only for being allowed to serve. If you plan to try one of the restaurants in this latter category we advise you book ahead to avoid disappointment!

To find out more about Dutch food (a really basic introduction to it) check our 'Dutch Kitchen' page.

We hope that there is something here for you that will make your stay the more memorable – and that if you do try one of our recommendations that you will be as impressed as we have been. But tastes differ! If you think we have something wrong, please let us know!

Eet smakelijk!