Recently I wrote about the best Amsterdam blogs that I am aware of, and one that I mentioned there deserves a special look from anyone who considers themselves a “foodie” or even those who want to try some interesting restaurants without gambling quite so much.
Amsterdam Foodie is written and maintained by a Brit called Vicky Hampton, and it’s so impressive that I’m going to use it myself for future recommendations. You can find plenty of sites that compile user reviews, but if you’ve used many of those sites you quickly become aware of some of the problems that come with trying to rely on crowd sourcing for something so subjective. You always have different people rating the different restaurants, so finding a baseline is impossible.
On this site, Vicky personally writes about and rates all the restaurants, so if one place is clearly better than another, she’ll tell you. She’s also a good storyteller and an entertaining writer, so the reviews are fun to read in addition to being informative.
The interactive map is extremely helpful
I think my favorite feature about the way Vicky has put this site together is the interactive map. The restaurants in this city are quite spread out, and there are dozens located in each of the major tourist areas, so it’s really great to have a quick way to look just in the area where you are staying or perhaps in the area you’ll be going out in.
Check out the Amsterdam restaurants interactive map.
You can choose a part of the city and then filter by cuisine type, quality, and even price level. If you are staying near Leidseplein or Rembrandtplein you’ll be able to find those areas on the map, but if you are staying in the Red Light District it helps to know that she breaks those down to places clustered around Nieuwmarkt and places near Dam Square. Both of those areas are at opposite corners of the famous Red Light District, and there are almost no decent restaurants in the RLD itself anyway.
Out of the 100 or so restaurants in the Leidseplein area, she has only reviewed about a dozen, but that’s probably because not many locals go to that tourist-packed area to eat, and the emphasis on most of those restaurants seems to be convenience and affordability anyway. There is no shortage of other places to try if you are willing to go a few blocks in any direction, though I also must admit that I love hanging out in Leidseplein myself.
Her site is extremely impressive, especially for something that looks like a one-person blog, so I recommend you bookmark it and give it a try when you are feeling a bit peckish while in Amsterdam. If you want to know more about FEBO or the famous Amsterdam French fries or the Rijsttafel (try it!) you can read about those here, but for serious food you now know where to go.
