Will be in A’dam for a week in mid September for a trade show. Looking for good mid-range places, great pubs, and one or two high ends for client dinners. Usually leave it to the last minute and can’t get anything decent or just have to follow my colleagues to a succession of mediocre.
I hear the Nepalese Temple Balls are awesome.
We were in Amsterdam for a couple of nights last month. Our first night, we were walking along the canals and stumbled across Tales and Spirits, http://www.talesandspirits.com/, which was excellent. Great cocktails and a small but interesting menu of “small plates”. We shared a few creatively prepared dishes and enjoyed them all. The service was somewhat casual but still professional, and our server guided us very well with our choices - both food and drink. The second night, we wanted to have rijsttafel, a rice-based meal accompanied by numerous small dishes of meats, vegetables,sauces and pastes to eat with the rice. Our hotel recommended Indrapura, Indrapura | Unique Indonesian Dining Experience | Amsterdam, and while we were concerned it might be too touristy, it didn’t matter as the food was excellent. We ordered one of the set menus and had a tasty assortment of 20 or 25 dishes with a couple of rice preparations.
Neither of these were what I’d consider high-end, but both were solid mid-range places and hit the spot after a day of playing tourist in Amsterdam. I don’t recall even looking at a wine list in either place as we stuck with cocktails the first night and beer was a great accompaniment to the rijsttafel.
Thanks, I’ve had rijstafel before–it’s a cool experience. Thanks to you and Neal for the recos.
Ken – my daughter lived in A-dam for 6 years for grad school. We visited often.
You must go to Boom Chicago - an improv club for the English speaking crowd.
Started (and I think still owned) by Seth Meyers and his brother.
My daughter and her partner worked there during their “stay.”
A fantastic evening.
I’ve heard of it. Will have to try and work that in.
Thanks,
Ken
I can’t seem to find my notes from previous trips, just these:
I recall the early ones are fairly fancy. I’d recommend ethiopean for BYO and good food a little different from the norm. Plenty around Overtoom. The beer place below was good, but not too easy to find and very much in a residential area. Kaaskamer (the cheese shop on Runstraat) is very good indeed - even having (soft) smoked mozzarella, something rarely seen in Italy. Also keep an eye out for the mustard/dill sauce popular in Holland, it’s very good indeed.
Beer Konig (shop) always has a good selection of bottled beers
Restaurants
Restaurant Spring - Willemsparkweg 177
Le Restaurant - 2e Jan Steenstraat 3
Ron Blaauw – 55 sophialaan
Pygmalion – 5a Nieuwe Spiegelstraat (South African)
Gent aan de Schinkel – 1 Theophile de Bockstraat (Belgian fusion on corner of canals – with good range of Belgian beers) nr. Vondelpark
Restaurant Portugalia - Kerkstraat 35 (Portuguese)
Addis Adaba – Overtoom 337 (one of many good Ethiopian restaurants)
Food/Other
Cheese shop & bakery - Runstraat 23
Chocs/cakes - #72 & #17 Beethovenstraat
There’s a good bakery on Cornelius Schuystraat (just up from the organic supermarket)
Alternative medicines – 40 Lairessestraat
Boerenmarket -Noordermarket nr. Noorderkerk – Organic Farmers market Sat 9-5pm
Brasserie Joffers – 163 Willimsparkweg (Café/Brasserie)
Stamp & Coin market – N.Z Voorburgwal (south of Dam Square) Wed & Sat 11-4pm
Toothbrush shop – 5 Runstraat
Thanks, Ian. Great list. I’ll be staying down near the RAI, so we don’t always get to the center of town, but I want to try this year.
When I was there last, I went to Aan De Poel in Amstelveen – just outside of Amsterdam and enjoyed it vey much. It was on a lake and a great place for lunch, especially if it is nice out. I didn’t try dinner, but it has 2 michelin stars and might be worth consideration.
k.
That’s a great recommendation, as my hotel is quite close to Amstelveen (I’m at the Novotel near the RAI exhibition hall). I rode my bike quite a bit around there last trip, but didn’t notice the restaurant. It just moved to the top of my list, however.
Thanks!
Ken
Actually we tend to stay in that part of town out of choice, albeit a little closer in but still south of the museum quarter (not far off Beethovenstraat last time). Some fine shopping around PC Hooftraaat, and Vondelpark not too far away for a pleasing daytime stroll. Very much more peaceful than the centre, which TBH can give a sleaziness overdose after a while. Not that the red light district should be avoided - to my mind it is a great challenger to our social norms and only by walking around do you get a feel for whether you think it is sensible or not. However the general sleaziness of the red light district does tend to branch out to a little too much of the city centre, and it would be too easy to describe the city as dirty/sleazy. Yet head out into the leafier suburbs and you find a very different city.
regards
Ian
Here`s a short list of very good restaurants: Bordewijk Restaurant, Blauw aan de Waal, Le Zinc, Chez Georges, Het Melkmeisje.
IMHO, the very best of all stam cafes [neighborhood hangouts], is the de Engelbewaarder [Guardian Angel]: Kloveniersburgwal 59, 1011 JZ Amsterdam
They serve good and reasonably priced food, but the main attraction is the beers on tap, especially the Palm Old Masters unfiltered. The service and people who serve are the best. Its peaceful, sneaky good and unpretentious. Jazz is on Sunday afternoons. The clientele is mostly students and professors along with locals who live nearby. Im there just about everyday and/ or night during the 3 weeks we spend in Amsterdam in the fall= upcoming: 9/25-10/16.