Café-Restaurant Van Puffelen (Prinsengracht 377, Amsterdam) — A young professional crowd gets to choose between brown-cafe-style eating and drinking, and a slightly more sophisticated experience in a separate dining room. Some menu dishes don’t add up to much more than regular steak with accompaniments. Others, like the baked seawolf wrapped in Serrano ham and served […]
Café-Restaurant De Duvel (Eerste van der Helststraat 59-61, Amsterdam) — Invariably packed with hip locals, “The Devil” is a friendly neighborhood eetcafé (bar with eats) that serves more-than-decent food in a cozy red dining room in the trendy De Pijp district, close to Sarphatipark. Indonesian chicken saté, salad with shrimps tempura, and beef filet in […]
Breitner (Amstel 212, Amsterdam) — A fast, last-minute dash from here should get you to the Muziektheater or Koninklijk Theater Carré just in time for the evening curtain rise, but that would involve dining in unseemly haste, and undervalues the performance of the excellent kitchen and knowledgeable waitstaff. The plush red carpet, chandelier, and wine […]
Brasserie Keyzer (Van Baerlestraat 96, Amsterdam) — Whether or not you attend a concert at the Concertgebouw, visit its next-door neighbor, Brasserie Keyzer. An Amsterdam landmark since 1903, Keyzer has enjoyed a colorful joint heritage with the world-famous concert hall. Among the many stories still told here is the one about the night a customer […]
Bordewijk (Noordermarkt 7, Amsterdam) — This pleasantly located restaurant is often regarded as one of the best in the city. The decor is tasteful, with green potted plants offsetting the severity of the white walls and metallic black tables. Service is relaxed yet attentive, and on mild summer evenings you can’t beat dining alfresco on […]
Blauw (Amstelveenseweg 158-160, Amsterdam) — Situated at the end of Vondelpark, Blauw restaurant is the new face of Indonesian food in the capital. Forget batiks and gamelan music, the interior here is sleekly designed in white, black and red (in direct contrast to the name, which means blue), the music is loungy and the lighting […]
Bojo (Lange Leidsedwarsstraat 49-51, Amsterdam) — For quick, cheap, and tasty dishes served until the wee hours, head for long-established Bojo, a cheap and cheery eatery near Leidseplein. If hunger strikes after a late night on the town, drop in for a flavorful longtong rames (special boiled rice served with chewy rice cakes). If it […]
Aphrodite (Lange Leidsedwarsstraat 91, Amsterdam) — In an area awash with Greek restaurants that do a pretty routine island-taverna impersonation, Aphrodite stands out for putting more emphasis on taste and less on dazzling Aegean colors, fishing nets, and Olympian deities. Its single room is modern, restrained in its decor, and softly lit. The specialties — […]
Akbar (Korte Leidsedwarsstraat 15, Amsterdam) — The best Indian restaurant in the Leidseplein area has been here (though not always at this address) since 1981, as one of the city’s first Indian restaurants. It’s a consistently good performer across the range of Punjabi cuisine — tandoori, curry, balti, vegetarian, and seafood — without being exactly […]
The Olive Tree/Paraskevas (3 Wollestraat, Brugge) – this is the restaurant many diners flock to when they want Greek cuisine. This restaurant brings together the warm tradition of Greek hospitality with delicious Greek-Mediterranean Cuisine, updated with a contemporary twist. Diners find the marrying of flavor and aroma, the crisp tang of traditional seasonings, and the […]