Amsterdam restaurants?

I have not noticed much info about Amsterdam on the Board. We will be there for a few days in late September. Any ideas?

Thanks!
Marshall champagne.gif

I’ll need to check my files, but I’ve never had a bad meal in Amsterdam, whether at a white tablecloth restaurant or a sandwich shop.

Order the mixed greens. [berserker.gif]

For accommodation, we tend to stay out beyond the Museum quarter when we visit, as we like the area much more than the centre. There is some excellent shopping and Vondelpark makes for a pleasant daytime stroll. We might pop into the city for a little daytime shopping but these days find it quite grubby in more than one sense of the word. I do make an exception for the 9 streets and Kaaskamer on Runstraat is a truly excellent cheese shop, who even had (wet) smoked mozzarella which I’ve only ever seen once in Italy - it’s stunning.

If on a first visit I would say stay in the centre and make your own mind up about the place - it is a city that challenges you and forces you to consider your attitudes to drugs, prostitution (and other more subtle aspects). To go to Amsterdam and not experience the centre / notional red light district would seem odd.

When walking around the red light district, do keep your wallet/valuables safely stashed away as there has always been too much petty crime. Less so elsewhere. Until ~ midnight there seems to be a very bright vibrant and fun atmosphere in the red light district, but not long after (maybe 1pm) it started to feel much less pleasant.

Do keep an eye out for cyclists when walking around the city. Most of us don’t have large numbers of cyclists in our home cities and it’s too easy to step out in front of them.

Finally, one of those more subtle differences might be the directness of Dutch people. It might initially be seen as rude, but really they just tend to be that much more direct - perhaps brutally honest could be another way of describing it. For us brits it can be a shock to our social etiquette :slight_smile:

Do try the dill & mustard sauce that is sold in cheese shops. I forget the name but it can be wonderful.

Herring from the street vendors!

Thanks Ian. We have been there before but not for a while. We are actually staying, as you described, near the Museum Quarter. As far as drugs, prostitution and “direct” people; I grew up in the Bronx so no problem! [rofl.gif] [rofl.gif]

Cheers!
Marshall [berserker.gif]

We had two nice meals back in 2012. One at Ciel Bleu, excellent meal, great view of the city. The other was at La Rive, also good food and excellent service and nice to look at the Amstel river level above you

I could give a bit of direction perhaps if you tell me a bit about what kind of restaurant or venue you’re looking for…

Wilfred; Thanks for your offer. As I only have three days in Amsterdam, I would like to know a little about local “haunts” where I could experience Dutch cuisine and I would like one night at a real " fine dining" environment. I would like to experience one of the " best " restaurants in the city.

Thanks again.

Cheers!
Marshall [cheers.gif]

Bumpo!!!


Cheers!
Marshall

Marshall -

We loved Cafe Daalder. Delicious, inspired, unpretentious but beautiful food which impressed both me and my husband, who is a former chef. The atmosphere is casual, though, so if you are looking for elegance of surroundings, this is not the best choice. It is also permissible to BYO for corkage fee.

A place which was closed while we were in town, but which I have heard is amazing, is Die Librije. It has had various levels of Michelin stars over the years, including 3 at one point, and is located in the library of an old abbey. I don’t recall the exact dates it was to be closed, but you might want to check it out.

If you want an unusual experience of local culture and specialties of the beverage variety, there is bar specializing in Jenever called In de Ooldsport (I may have spelled that wrong). I really enjoyed tasting and learning about Jenever at this totally casual, local hangout.

Marshall,
I’ve been a few times recently and have had the best success with food and lodging following Wilfred’s recommendations. My suggestion is to get in touch with him. And I always follow Sarah’s advice.

Very kind of you, Mark.

Marshall -

In addition to the ones I recommended above, we also loved Wilde Zwijnen, but that is a ways out from the center of things in an area which is perfectly nice, but has nothing else to see. That said, we enjoyed the food and atmosphere very much, and appreciated that it was open for lunch, which most of the important restaurants are not. We brought wine there, and they were lovely about corkage.


I also asked Wilfred, who asked a friend of his in Amsterdam, and we got the following:

"For a bit formal, although Amsterdam is never that formal, I would recommend
Bridges, http://www.bridgesrestaurant.nl or
Librije 's Zusje at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel

More informal:
Le Restaurant, http://www.le-restaurant.nl, a little bit out of the centre and small, but excellent food. Not cheap, but worth it in my opinion.
Rijsel, http://www.rijsel.com, informal, again outside centre, chicken French bistro style. Very popular.
Lastage, just outside red light district, http://www.restaurantlastage.nl
Utrechtsedwarstafel, http://www.utrechtsedwarstafel.nl, no menu, just arrange with staff how many courses you would like at what price. Always works.
Breitner, a little old fashioned but great location, friendly and reasonably priced, http://www.restaurant-breitner.nl . PS Breitner was a very atmopheric Amsterdam painter who worked around 1900. There is a good exhibition on at the moment at the Stadsarchief."

The one he recommends at the Waldorf Astoria, Librije’s Zusje, is a “daughter” restaurant to the high-end place I mentioned in my last post.

We went to one of the old school Indonesian places as well, Tempo Doeloe. We liked the meal, and were glad we did it, because Indonesian food is a specialty of Amsterdam, but would not need to go back.

Thank you Sarah…Highly appreciated. Now, I need to bug Wilfred. I was hoping to connect with him while in NY but “missed it by that much.”

Cheers!
Marshall

You have to catch Wilfred between restaurants and flights between LGA and ORD.

Marshall, we were in Amsterdam for a couple of days last summer and posted some brief notes on two restaurants in this thread, Amsterdam Recommendations? - Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum - WineBerserkers

Sarah; We will definitely book this…looks wonderful. We are staying in the Museum Quarter so it is a good walk but a real easy ride with a taxi or Metro.

Thanks,
Marshall

I still regret not getting Rijsttafel while in Amsterdam. I was told that Euro food was mediocre in Amsterdam. Go get Indonesian food! But did I listen? Noooooo. I ended up having mediocre and not memorable Euro (French, Dutch and other)



Cafe Daalder is booked…looks like a place we will really enjoy!


Cheers!
Marshall champagne.gif

Had Rijsttafel on two visits to Amsterdam over the years. Can’t tell you where, but if you have another free night, Marshall, research a good one. Diana would love it, too.