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Amsterdam

Eating & drinking

Dutch cuisine has never been the sort to write home about, and its reputation for blandness and unoriginality may be well deserved. Recently, however, Amsterdam has revamped its culinary catalog with a flood of fusion and avant-garde eateries. Some of the old favourites are still good, though, and worth a shot. A visit to Amsterdam will not be complete, for example, without trying haring, the slimy little fish sold in street side stalls that the Dutch can’t seem to get enough of. While shoarma and kebab spots abound, and American fast food and pizza are concentrated in the centre and towards Leidseplein, if you pay attention, you will find some much more interesting options. Of course, pancake restaurants are popular and offer a wide variety of sweet and savoury choices good for any time of day. You will also see many people walking around in the centre with a paper cone filled with chips dripping with sauce. These are Vlaamse frites, and are originally Belgian, but make an excellent and very popular late-night snack.

Trendy bars and restaurants thrive in De Pijp and in the Negen Straatjes - the “nine streets” in the Jordaan filled with characterful boutiques and fashionable nightlife. Locals head to Chinatown for authentic Thai and Chinese food, the Haarlemmerstraat for inexpensive dining, and pretty much anywhere else for good Indonesian or Surinamese dishes. Watch out for low quality tourist traps near Dam Square and Leidseplein. You will spend less and have a better time in a café or restaurant filled with Dutch people. There are also quite a few organic and vegetarian restaurants to choose from and organic markets are all the rage these days in Amsterdam.

A fun way to spend a warm afternoon is picking up some bread, Dutch cheese, and perhaps a sweet stroopwafel (syrup waffles, a Dutch specialty) from the Albert Cuyp Market in De Pijp (or any of the wonderful street markets like those at Waterlooplein and the organic Noordermarkt in the Jordaan), and heading for the green grass of Vondelpark. Bakkerijs (bakeries) are everywhere, and the smell of oven-fresh appelflap is something not many Dutch people can resist. In winter, oliebollenbakkerijs open onto street corners, selling tasty little deep fried poffertjes you can smell five blocks away.

There are tons of bars, cafes and hotspots for a drink in Amsterdam, and bar-hopping around the centre, the Red Light District, Leidseplein or Rembrandtplein is sure to make for a fun and unforgettable night (unless you have too much jenever, a strong Dutch gin popular with Amsterdammers). Irish pubs are great meeting places, especially around Nieuwmarkt or on the Warmoestraat. Remember that coffeeshops selling cannabis are not permitted to sell alcohol, but many have snacks or a juice bar. In the traditional Dutch brown cafes, often they serve special types of beer, with the most notorious being the double or triple strength brews made by local monks. You order beers by asking for a beertje, which is a half-pint glass of either Amstel, Heineken or Grolsch. If you get the munchies, they usually offer a good selection of warm dishes such as the typical Dutch snacks kroketten and bitterballen, which are basically deep-fried meat or cheese with mustard dipping sauce. They are one typically Dutch snack that many foreigners would agree are very lekker!

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