Restaurants in Amsterdam

Moeders (Mothers) is one of the most beloved traditional Dutch restaurants in the city. The walls are covered in framed photos of customers’ mothers, the menu is built around hearty classics like stamppot, hutspot and erwtensoep, and the atmosphere is warm and genuinely Dutch. Book well ahead – it fills up every night.

Set inside two step-gabled canal houses dating from 1614, De Silveren Spiegel offers refined Dutch cuisine with seasonal tasting menus, candlelit dining rooms and historic interiors. One of the few restaurants in Amsterdam where the setting and the food are equally impressive.

A long-established Dutch restaurant in the centre serving generous portions of classic Dutch food in a warm brown-cafe setting. Erwtensoep, hutspot, biefstuk – the menu is a reliable survey of Dutch home cooking. One of the most consistent Dutch kitchens in the city centre and popular with both locals and visitors who want to eat properly Dutch.

A classic Jordaan brown cafe and restaurant that locals have been coming to for decades. The menu is short, seasonal and unpretentious – good Dutch bistro cooking with a rotating daily specials board. One of the most genuine neighbourhood restaurants in the Jordaan, with a warm regular crowd and no tourist pretension.

One of Amsterdam’s most celebrated restaurants, housed inside a renovated 1920s railway bridge on the Westerdok with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the water. Chef Michael Wolf’s creative, ingredient-led cooking earns consistent praise. The setting alone is worth the visit. Book at least a week ahead.

Farm-to-table at its purest. De Kas sources most ingredients from its own greenhouse and farm, inside a converted 1926 municipal greenhouse in Frankendael Park. The set menu changes daily depending on what is harvested that morning. One of the most beautiful restaurant settings in the city and a genuinely exceptional experience.

A canal-side fine dining restaurant with a confident modern European kitchen and one of the finest wine lists in Amsterdam. The cooking is inventive without being showy and the service is excellent. A Michelin-starred restaurant that manages to feel both serious and relaxed – a difficult combination that Breda pulls off consistently.

A well-regarded French brasserie in Amsterdam East that has built a loyal following among locals and in-the-know visitors. The chicken is legendary – roasted whole, carved at the table and served with perfect frites. A relaxed, professional kitchen with the kind of consistent quality that keeps people coming back monthly.

A single-product restaurant that changes its focus entirely every few months – one season it’s all lamb, the next it’s chicken or pork – cooked in every imaginable form across a set menu. One of the most genuinely creative concepts in Amsterdam and consistently one of the best tables in the city. The tasting menu runs to seven or eight courses and rarely disappoints.

The Parisian bouillon concept inside the beautifully restored Hotel Die Port van Cleve. French comfort food done well at prices that genuinely surprise – dishes from as little as three euros. Already packed with locals who have claimed it as their own. One of the most talked-about value-for-money openings in Amsterdam in recent years.

A stunning spot in the Jordaan with a picturesque canal-side setting and a beautiful art nouveau interior. Modern European cooking that consistently exceeds expectations. One of those Amsterdam restaurants that locals keep to themselves. The most romantic dining room in the Jordaan – book well ahead.

A classic Amsterdam grand brasserie in a converted tobacco factory on the Nes theatre street. Steak tartare, moules frites, good wines by the glass and a reliably buzzing atmosphere. One of the most dependable mid-range options in the centre – consistently good without being groundbreaking.

A sophisticated brasserie near the Museum Quarter that draws a professional and arts crowd from the neighbourhood. Good wine, excellent steak and a classic brasserie menu executed with real care. Popular with Amsterdam’s cultural and business community for lunch and post-concert dinners.

Bird on Zeedijk is the go-to for Thai food in Amsterdam and has been for decades. Simple, no-frills and consistently excellent. The pad thai and green curry are benchmarks. Cash only, small, loud and always busy. No reservations – arrive early or expect to wait outside.

Refined Japanese comfort food on the Elandsgracht. Known for rich ramen and precisely grilled izakaya dishes. A warm, understated spot where locals and in-the-know visitors come for authenticity over presentation. One of the better Japanese kitchens in the city.

A popular Korean-inspired small plates restaurant in Amsterdam West with a creative kitchen and a packed house most evenings. The fried chicken, kimchi pancakes and fermented small plates have built a devoted following. Relaxed and fun with a good natural wine list.

The most reliable pho in Amsterdam – a simple Vietnamese restaurant in the Jewish Quarter that has been serving honest, properly made pho and bun bo hue to a loyal crowd for years. Cheap, fast and genuinely good. The kind of place you go back to every week when you live nearby.

A large, stylish Japanese izakaya restaurant at the top of the Albert Cuyp market in De Pijp. An extensive menu of sushi, sashimi, robata-grilled dishes and Japanese cocktails in a beautifully designed space. One of the most consistently good Japanese restaurants in the city for a full evening out.

Casual fine dining in a beautiful 17th-century canal house run by three sisters who bring genuine warmth to every table. A set menu of three, four or five courses from 37.50 euros, changing with the seasons. An intimate restaurant that feels like eating in someone’s exceptional home. One of the most personal dining experiences in Amsterdam.

A Spanish gastrobar on Marie Heinekenplein in De Pijp that quickly established itself as one of the best recent openings in the city. Exceptional tapas and pintxos from a genuinely talented Spanish chef. The warm interior feels pleasantly un-Dutch and the long evenings here are among the best in De Pijp.

A long-established Italian restaurant in the Jordaan that remains one of the best in Amsterdam. Excellent pasta made in-house, a serious wine list focused on Italian regions, and an atmosphere that manages to be lively without being noisy. A reliable benchmark for Italian cooking in the city – book ahead.

A relaxed tapas bar in the centre of Amsterdam with well-made Spanish small plates and a good selection of Spanish wines. Less tourist-oriented than its central location might suggest. A reliable option for an easy, convivial evening without the formality of a set menu restaurant.

One of the best Indonesian restaurants in Amsterdam with an outstanding rijsttafel. The full table spread – rendang, gado gado, satay and more – is a genuine event. The modern interior lets the food do the talking. Book well ahead for weekends.

A long-established Indonesian restaurant on the Utrechtsestraat known for the most authentically spiced rijsttafel in the city – not softened for Dutch palates. If you want Indonesian food that respects the original heat and complexity, this is it. Fair warning: when they say hot, they mean it.

A De Pijp institution serving Surinamese-Javanese cuisine that reflects Amsterdam’s unique colonial food history. The roti and moksi meti are essential orders. Tiny, cash only, no reservations and often a queue outside – but one of the most honest and delicious cheap meals in the city.

The Amsterdam East sister to the De Pijp original, serving the same well-made Surinamese and Javanese dishes at honest prices. Slightly easier to get a table than the Gerard Doustraat location. Roti, bara, saoto and nasi rames are all excellent. One of the most affordable good lunches in Amsterdam East.

Loetje is an Amsterdam institution. The steaks are some of the best in the city at prices that remain surprisingly reasonable. No-nonsense, unpretentious and enormously popular – the original Museum Quarter location is the one to go to, though multiple branches now exist across the city.

One of the most popular brunch spots in Amsterdam, consistently excellent and consistently queued for on weekend mornings. The eggs dishes, sourdough toast and fresh juices are all standouts. Arrive before 10am on weekends or prepare to wait. The canal-side setting in Amsterdam West is a bonus.

An all-day dining spot on the Amstelveld with a large sunny terrace and a menu that works from breakfast through to dinner. A neighbourhood restaurant with genuine local appeal – a reliable and convivial choice for the Canal Ring crowd.

A German-inspired neighbourhood cafe and restaurant with an excellent breakfast and brunch, good sourdough sandwiches and a book-lined interior that makes it one of the more atmospheric cafes in the Canal Ring area. Popular with writers, remote workers and local regulars. Relaxed, unpretentious and consistently good.

A social enterprise restaurant in the Jordaan serving excellent brunch and lunch with a conscience – profits fund training and employment for people with distance to the labour market. Good food, a beautiful setting in the Hoftuin garden and a warmly welcoming atmosphere. One of the best brunches in the Jordaan.