Amsterdam's Culinary Highlights

Chic, white and bright inside, The Seafood Bar is stylish, buzzing and filled with top-notch foodie material. Every dish that arrives to your table looks as though it was lined in from the sea moments before and is presented elegantly. The Seafood Bar caters to all sorts of eaters: there are fish and chip options, something for sushi lovers and all kinds of sea creatures served raw or grilled with fresh vegetables and fried sides. As well as providing you with a satisfying, spectacular and relatively inexpensive seafood meal, this trendy night-time restaurant also has excellent desserts.

Touristy as Pancakes! Amsterdam may be, these traditional Dutch pancakes are delicious and particularly versatile; taking the form of elaborate desserts, as well as explosions of cheesy and savory surprises, they make for a satisfying meal in themselves. The place is small and the line is sometimes long, but it is worth the wait. Inside you are surrounded by authentic Holland: from the Dutch ceramic print table tops to the selection of only Dutch products, as well as the genuine plate-sized pancakes layered with toppings inside, you can safely say you have enjoyed a real Dutch pancake. Try some unusual yet complimentary ingredients like goats cheese, spinach and leeks in your pancake.

Winkel 43’s legendary slices of apple pie are delicious. Tucked away in the northwestern corner of the canal ring, the Dutch-heritage house turned cafe is a perfect pit-stop for those visiting the Noordermarkt in the hip Jordaan area, or just browsing through the various markets around Westerstraat. As a pub-meets-cafe, it is located strategically on the corner and sports spacious outdoor seating facing the canals, beckoning you to sit and enjoy a slice in the sunshine. Their apple pie has become a must-eat for visitors in Amsterdam, and rightfully so. Winkel’s famed dessert is the perfect combination of crunchy, crumbly and gooey, magnified by a generous dose of the homemade, chilled whipped cream.

After covering serious ground at various museums in Amsterdam’s iconic Museumplein, there is no better way to end a day bursting with Van Gogh, rich culture and being on your feet than with an exceptional meal at the Conservatorium Brasserie. Just a moment’s walk from the Museum quarter, this luxurious and impressive music conservatory-turned-hotel prizes an exquisite brasserie that has polished the craft of serving food so beautifully presented that you feel bad ruining it by taking a bite. Every aspect of your mealtime experience at the Conservatorium is impeccable. The hotel is particularly noteworthy for its design and upscale accommodation, but the Brasserie secretly steals the show by serving up meals that you will still be talking about days later.

Bagels & Beans serves bagels with colorful add-ons and exciting cream cheese choices on a variety of freshly baked bagels, with an enormous mug of coffee to wash it all down. The cafe is primarily concerned with using high quality ingredients, earth-friendly and organic produce, as well as making sure their products are fresh, healthy and exceptionally delicious. So if you’re in the mood for a crunchy toasted ‘Oathie’ bagel spread with pesto and sun-dried tomato cream cheese and topped with a mountain of avocado or, perhaps, you want to satiate your sweet tooth with a warm cinnamon raisin bagel drizzled with walnut and honey cream cheese and bananas, then this home of ‘bagels, beans and happiness’ is the place for you!

Walking around the Keizersgracht, known as the Emperor’s Canal ring, and shopping on the adjacent streets you might miss this modest jazz cafe perched on a street corner. However, it is well worth your time to stop your shopping and sight-seeing and walk in. The large windows, great view of the canals and the multiple local beers available on tap, coupled with sublime main dishes and other fun treats, provide the prime atmosphere for unwinding, people-watching and refueling. Don’t miss their understated yet juicy and cheesy Cafe Van Leeuwen burger, or the refreshing seared tuna salad.

If you are serious about your coffee, so is De Koffie Salon; this unique coffee chain has few but excellent locations around Amsterdam. They’re focused on providing customers with their perfect cup of java, served with something dangerously delectable on the side. This cafe doesn’t do meals; it does pure unadulterated coffee. Your well-presented caffeine will be served to you on a silver tray (literally), using only the finest Italian beans, Buscaglione. It can be accompanied by an oozing Dutch honey waffle, a traditional ginger cookie or really any of the tempting confectionery on display.

Yes, it is true that everyone loves French fries and yes, you can get them almost anywhere. However, walking around as a tourist or a busy local there is no pick me up quite like the vlaamse frites (Flemish fries) found all over Amsterdam. Frites are served in a classic paper cone and accompanied by a heavy dollop of whatever sauce you choose: the local favorite is ‘fritessaus’ (mayonnaise) or satay sauce. Double fried, chunky cut and precisely salted, Amsterdam’s frites are a definite food highlight: typically cheap and usually very filling. According to the locals, a long time favorite for getting their French fry fill is a hole-in-the-wall chip shop called Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminck. This place sells fresh and crispy fries and fries alone with an assortment of 25 different types of sauces, and thus they appropriately call themselves ‘Sauce Masters’. Freshly fried Frites with “fritessaus”! © Jessica Spengler/Flickr