Top 10 food and drink things to do in Amsterdam

Pancakes in cosy bakeries, seafood stalls and “brown” cafés – you’re spoilt for choice with food and drink things to do in Amsterdam. Book an Amsterdam hotel and explore the city’s gastronomic offerings.

Pancake houses

Enjoy pancakes and poffertjes (pancake puffs) in Amsterdam’s pancake houses like the Pancake Bakery. Located on the Prinsengracht canal, it is one of the top food and drink things to do in Amsterdam. Try poffertjes with cherries, cream and kirsch or pancakes with venison, coriander and cabbage.

Pancake Bakery, Prinsengracht 191, 1015 DS, Amsterdam

Eclectic dining in De Pijp

Take your tastebuds to the De Pijp neighborhood, where cuisine hails from Asia to Africa. Inside Bazar, a Middle Eastern restaurant housed in a former church on Albert Cuypstraat, sample fruity couscous, falafel-filled mushrooms and harissa chicken in lamp-lit surroundings and tiled murals. Leave room for fresh mint tea and baklava pastries.

Bazar, Albert Cuypstraat 182, De Pijp, Amsterdam

Dinner cruises

See Amsterdam’s 17th-century waterways by night on an Amsterdam dinner cruise, from gourmet four-course affairs to romantic candlelit suppers. For something different, tuck into cheese and wine to the sounds of live jazz aboard the Live@the Canals cruise powered by eco-friendly natural gas.

Alfresco suppers

Come spring, Amsterdammers go alfresco to wine, dine and people-watch from canalside cafés or from the terrace of Vondelpark’s movie-themed Vertigo restaurant. Watch an open-air film over dinner or head indoors for an intimate candelit ambience. 

Vertigo, Vondelpark 3, Museum District, Amsterdam 
 

Beers in “brown” cafés

An evening in a traditional “brown” cafe, so-called for their smoke-stained, dark wood walls, is a must. Sip Dutch beers and order hapjes (snacks) like bitterballen (fried meat and potato balls) or sample the local gin, jenever. Proef, a modern “brown” café near Vondelpark, is also a wine bar and has a separate dining room. 

Proef, Overtoom 160, 1054 HP, Amsterdam 
 

Organic food market

Pack for Vondelpark picnics with a visit to Saturday’s Noordermarkt Farmers’ Market by the canals in Jordaan. Buy delicious breads and fill with smoked mozzarella and Dutch meats, and don’t miss the organic mushroom stall. 

Noordermarkt, 1012, Amsterdam 

Bistro-style eetcafés

Tuck into Dutch cuisine in Amsterdam’s eetcafés. Casual and cosy eetcafés offer heartier meals with larger wine selections in bistro-style surroundings. The Langendijk Eetcafé by Amsterdam’s eastern docks hosts weekend barbecues and live music on Sundays. 

Langendijk Eetcafé, Zeeburgerstraat 1, 1019 AG Amsterdam 

Asian dining in Chinatown

Feast on Chinese duck, Indonesian banquets and Thai curries along Zeedijk street in the Red Light District. Locals love Thai bites at the Bird Snack Bar, from spicy papaya salad to pad Thai noodles and fishcakes. Squeeze in a trip to the enormous Oriental Supermarket, stocking every ingredient from Javanese palm sugar to Chinese rice paper. 

Bird Snack Bar, Zeedijk 77, 1012 AS, Amsterdam 

Dutch fusion cuisine

For a contemporary twist to traditional Dutch dishes like erwtensoep, thick pea soup with sausage and bacon, book a table at the boutique College Hotel restaurant. Set in the restored gym of a 19th-century school building, its inspiring dishes are laced with spices like anise, nutmeg and mace. 

College Hotel, Roelof Hartstraat 1 1071 VE, Amsterdam