Best restaurants in Amsterdam: a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood guide

Eating well in Amsterdam: what the tourist guides miss

Amsterdam has around 3,000 restaurants, which sounds like a lot until you realise that approximately 20% of them exist primarily to catch tourists walking along the Damrak or the Leidsestraat. These restaurants — with laminated menus, photos of every dish, and aggressive touts at the door — are a reliable way to spend €25–35 for food that represents neither Dutch cuisine nor value for money.

The honest position is this: Amsterdam is not Paris or Copenhagen in terms of culinary ambition, but it has a genuinely good mid-range restaurant scene once you leave the tourist belt. The Jordaan, De Pijp, the area around Utrechtsestraat, and Amsterdam Oost all have restaurants that locals go back to repeatedly and that represent real value. This guide covers those restaurants by neighbourhood and budget.

Avoiding the tourist-trap belt

A reliable rule: any restaurant on Damrak, Leidseplein, or the first 200 metres of Leidsestraat is likely overpriced. The exceptions to this rule are the grand cafés (Café Américain, Café de Jaren) where the point is the interior and the terrace rather than the food quality.

The Amsterdam tourist traps guide covers this in detail, but the short version: walk one block off the main tourist routes and the price-to-quality ratio improves significantly. The streets around the Spui, the Utrechtsestraat, the Jordaan, and De Pijp have restaurants where the clientele is predominantly Dutch — the most reliable indicator of genuine quality.

The Jordaan: best restaurant neighbourhood

Toscanini (Lindengracht 75): This Italian restaurant has been the most-loved non-Dutch restaurant in Amsterdam since 1986. The cooking is Emilia-Romagna style — handmade pasta, slow-braised meats, good Barolo — and the space is warm and noisy in the best way. No bookings for small parties until the day of visit; arrive at 6pm and put your name on the list. Pasta €18–22, secondi €24–30.

Café de Reiger (Nieuwe Leliestraat 34): A Jordaan brown café with a serious kitchen. The menu changes seasonally and features Dutch classics done well: stamppot (winter), asparagus with ham and egg (spring), grilled North Sea fish. The terrace is small and busy in summer. Mains €16–22.

Moeder’s (Rozengracht 251): Dutch home cooking with a sentimental twist — the walls are covered in framed photographs of guests’ mothers. The food is genuinely good: thick pea soup, stamppot with a proper rookworst, erwtensoep (split pea soup) that is thick enough to eat with a fork in cold weather. Mains €15–20.

Restaurant De Belhamel (Brouwersgracht 60): On the most beautiful canal in Amsterdam, with Art Nouveau interior. The menu is French-Dutch: duck confit, North Sea turbot, good cheese. A formal evening option at the top of the Jordaan’s price range. Two courses €35–42.

De Pijp: best value and multicultural options

Restaurant Baut (Stadhouderskade 85): Modern Dutch with an ingredient focus. The menu changes regularly and showcases Netherlands produce — Texel lamb, Zeeland mussels, Dutch asparagus in season. A polished mid-range option that shows what contemporary Dutch cooking can do. Mains €22–32.

Warung Spang Makandra (Gerard Doustraat 39): The most authentic Surinamese-Javanese restaurant in Amsterdam. Cash only, small space, no frills — the roti and the peanut soup are exceptional. Under €15 per person. Arrive early as it fills by noon.

Brouwerij Troost De Pijp (Cornelis Troostplein 21): Not a restaurant per se, but the kitchen here produces better food than most dedicated restaurants. The beer and the burger combination (€22) is the best pub lunch in De Pijp. In a spectacular vaulted space.

CT Coffee & Coconuts (Ceintuurbaan 282): A converted cinema turned all-day dining space. The brunch menu is one of the best in Amsterdam — eggs benedict, avocado variations, Dutch pancakes — and the prices are reasonable at €12–18 for brunch. Queues at weekends before 11am.

Canal Ring and historic centre

Restaurant Greetje (Peperstraat 23): The most seriously Dutch restaurant in Amsterdam. The menu is a celebration of Dutch regional products — Frisian lamb, North Sea sole, Utrecht Dommelsche mustard — in preparations that reference historical Dutch recipes. An opinionated and delicious evening. Three-course menu €52–65.

Scheepskameel (Kattenburgerstraat 7, near the Maritime Museum): A canal-adjacent restaurant with a short, intelligent menu of Dutch-Nordic cooking. Smoked fish, aged cheeses, seasonal vegetables. Relaxed setting, honest prices — mains €18–26.

Café de Jaren (Nieuwe Doelenstraat 20): A grand café with one of the best terraces in Amsterdam, overlooking the Amstel. The food is reliable brasserie — salads, pasta, grilled fish — at tourist-centre prices (mains €16–24), but the terrace and the two-storey interior are worth it. Good for a weekend brunch.

Bridges (Sofitel The Grand, Oudezijds Voorburgwal 197): Amsterdam’s best high-end restaurant by most accounts. The tasting menu (€110–145) focuses entirely on North Sea and Dutch produce. Book two to three weeks ahead for dinner.

Amsterdam Oost: local and creative

Wilde Zwijnen (Javaplein 23): “Wild Boars” is a farm-to-table restaurant in Oost that sources exclusively from Dutch farms. The menu changes with the seasons and reflects whatever is at its peak each week. Mains €20–28; the three-course menu at €39 is excellent value.

De Biertuin (Linnaeusstraat 29): A Belgian beer café and kitchen on the edge of Oosterpark with 200 beers and a kitchen that takes the food as seriously as the drinks. The mussels (€16–18 per kilo) are a Friday evening Amsterdam institution.

Brouwerij ‘t IJ restaurant (Funenkade 7): The windmill brewery’s small kitchen serves Dutch snacks and simple mains alongside their exceptional craft beers. The Zatte (tripel, 8%) with bitterballen is the defining Oost meal. Limited seating; arrive at noon when it opens.

Budget eating: under €15

Amsterdam’s budget eating is mostly concentrated in De Pijp (Albert Cuyp Market), Oost (Dappermarkt, Javastraat Indonesian toko’s), and the Chinatown area around Zeedijk. The standard price reference points:

• Market herring roll: €3.50–4.50
• Falafel wrap from a Nieuwmarkt stall: €5–7
• Surinamese roti at Warung Spang Makandra: €9–12
• Indonesian noodle dish at a Javastraat toko: €7–10
• Brown café uitsmijter (eggs on toast): €9–13
• Poffertjes at Vondelpark: €5–7

Booking tips

Amsterdam’s best mid-range restaurants book out, particularly on Thursday–Saturday evenings. Standard advice:

• Book Toscanini at 6pm when they open the day-of list; arrive in person or call.
• Most Jordaan restaurants take bookings 1–2 weeks ahead online; OpenTable and direct booking both work.
• De Pijp restaurants are slightly easier to get into same-week; Baut takes bookings online.
• For top-end options (Greetje, Bridges), book 2–3 weeks ahead.

For food experiences that require no booking and are authentically Dutch, the food culture and tastings tour covers the best market and street food in a structured way. The ultimate Amsterdam food tour is a more comprehensive option for serious food travellers who want to cover more ground.

For tips on the food tour format specifically, see the best food tours guide. For Dutch food traditions and where to find the best versions, see the Dutch food guide.

Frequently asked questions about Amsterdam restaurants

What is the best restaurant area in Amsterdam?

The Jordaan is the most consistent neighbourhood for quality restaurants per square metre. De Pijp offers better value, particularly for multicultural options. The Canal Ring around Utrechtsestraat has a strong mid-range concentration. Oost is the best area for original, creative cooking that is not yet tourist-facing.

Is Amsterdam expensive for eating out?

Mid-range. A meal at a good Jordaan restaurant — two courses plus a drink — costs €35–50 per person. Budget eating from markets and Indonesian toko’s can be done at €10–15 per person. The tourist belt (Damrak, Leidseplein) is expensive for what you get; the same money buys much better food one block away.

Do Amsterdam restaurants include service charge?

Most do not include a service charge (bediening) automatically. Tipping 10% is common and appreciated but not mandatory. For good service, rounding up or leaving €5–10 on a restaurant bill is the norm. At brown cafés and bars, leaving loose change or rounding up the bill is standard.

Can I walk into a good Amsterdam restaurant without a reservation?

At the best places, Saturday dinner without a reservation is difficult. Sunday through Thursday, many mid-range restaurants have walk-in availability from 6pm. For brown café kitchens (Café de Reiger, Moeder’s), the Dutch tradition is to go early (5:30–6pm) or late (8:30pm+) for the best chance of a table.

What is the best Dutch restaurant in Amsterdam?

Restaurant Greetje (Peperstraat 23) is the most seriously committed to Dutch regional cooking. Café de Reiger (Jordaan) is the most enjoyable for daily-driver Dutch food. Moeder’s (Rozengracht 251) is the most sentimental and unpretentious. For the full seasonal Dutch tasting experience, Wilde Zwijnen in Oost is the best value.