Amsterdam - Food & Drink

Amsterdammers love to eat out – it might be an uitsmijter (open ham sandwich with fried eggs) at the local café, a spicy Indonesian rijsttafel, or top-notch Michelin-starred cuisine.

The Negen Straatjes and the Jordaan are the best hunting grounds for small, good-quality restaurants. You’ll find posh eateries along with relaxed eetcafes. The menus are predominantly modern European.

The streets around Leidseplein, especially Lange Leidsedwarsstraat and Korte Leidsedwarsstraat, hold the greatest concentration of restaurants, from Italian trattorias to Argentinian steakhouses. The further you head away from the square, the better the food is likely to be. There is no one area for Indonesian food, but you can find a good rijsttafel around here and on Utrechtsestraat, a pleasant 15-minute walk east along Prinsengracht.

The Nieuwmarkt area, just behind Dam and nudging the Red Light District, is the best place for Asian food. This is Amsterdam’s Chinatown, where you can fill up on good-value Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai dishes.

For late-night dining, your best bet is the area around Leidseplein, but don’t expect gastronomic marvels. For fast food, try any FEBO, where the Dutch tuck in to chips with mayonnaise and kroketten (meat croquettes). Tipping in restaurants is not mandatory but most people leave about 10%.