There are many excellent restaurants in Amsterdam-Noord, ranging from down-to-earth cafes with modest menus to more high-end establishments that serve their meals inside stunning locales. Continue reading to discover the best spots to sample good food, relax and share drinks with friends in the neighbourhood.
IJ-Kantine, like many other businesses based in Amsterdam-Noord, was established inside an old utilitarian building that was originally used by the neighbourhood’s shipbuilding industry. This rugged, metallic building has since been converted into a modern venue with space for dining, socialising and events. IJ-Kantine mainly serves gourmet food inspired by European cuisine and has several classic brasserie-style dishes on its menu, including entrecôte with potato gratin and green risotto, made from fresh spinach.
This sky-scraping, rotating restaurant stands on the 19th floor of A’DAM Toren – a monumental, tower that contains several other cultural initiatives. The tables inside Moon are arranged on an enormous circular conveyor belt that spins slowly around A’DAM Toren, thus allowing guests to experience panoramic views across Amsterdam while they dine. Moon’s menu leans towards minimalist, high-end gastronomy and tends to feature dishes that fuse together ingredients from world cuisine, creating adventurous yet recognisable dishes packed with flavour.
This perfectly situated seafood restaurant stands on the northern banks of the river IJ and features an expansive terrace that is surrounded by water. Café-Restaurant Stork tailors its menu around the season and buys its stock from reputable sources, mainly based in North Holland, which maintain environmentally conscious fishing practices. There’s always an impressive variety of gourmet seafood available at the restaurant, ranging from whole lobsters served with fresh fries to oven-baked wolffish, plated alongside mussels and mashed potatoes. Though the restaurant mainly caters to seafood lovers, it also offers several vegetarian dishes.
Although there are several other spots in Amsterdam that could claim the title, it is possible that Pllek has the best terrace in the entire city. Its sun-soaked outdoor seating area runs alongside the river IJ and looks as though it was lifted straight from a beach resort. What’s more, Pllek regularly organises special events on its terrace, including film nights and live concerts. Thankfully for anyone who prefers eating indoors, Pllek also has an indoor dining area that is enclosed within several old shipping containers. Pllek serves meals from the morning until late at night and offers many different dishes, ranging from simple breakfast options like scrambled eggs with toast to more high-end dinner items such as pan-fried fish or roast lamb.
As the venue contains four moderns cinemas, space for exhibitions and a restaurant with a bar, EYE Filmmuseum easily ranks among the best places in Amsterdam-Noord to spend a quiet afternoon or evening. EYE’s restaurant has several indoor seating options, which are either spread over its ground floor or behind its bar, on a series of platforms that resemble an enormous flight of stairs. Guests can also enjoy their meals outside on EYE’s waterside terrace, which looks onto the river IJ. The restaurant serves lunch and dinner items that are mainly inspired by classic Dutch and European cuisine, alongside smaller bites meant for sharing.
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Although it is mainly known for its eponymous skateboarding bowl, which takes up roughly one-third of its floor space, Skatecafé also houses a kitchen and a lounge area with spots for dining. Unlike other entries on this list, it isn’t possible to check what’s on offer at Skatecafé before arriving at the venue, as its kitchen changes its selection on a regular basis, partly to allow cooks to experiment with recipes and perfect their signature dishes.
Noorderlicht (which translates into English as ‘the Northern Lights’) serves meals, drinks and snacks inside an enormous greenhouse-like structure in Amsterdam-Noord. The cafe mainly offers simple and affordable dishes and it has plenty of space on its menu for vegan and vegetarian options. Though it is certainly worth checking out Noorderlicht’s awesome indoor dining area, the cafe also has a large waterside terrace, which features tables, chairs and a small stage that hosts concerts and other live events throughout the month.
While its name might suggest the presence of a football club, in reality, FC Hyena contains an arthouse cinema, a wine bar and a cosy restaurant. Each of these facilities complements the next and it is possible for guests at FC Hyena to enjoy tapas-style meals cooked inside a wood-burning oven alongside an organic glass of wine before catching an indie flick inside the venue’s cinema. There are plenty of spots for dinner guests located inside the venue and even more seats available outside on FC Hyena’s waterside terrace.
This eco-conscious cafe is part of a larger, forward-thinking organisation called de Ceuvel that was founded in order to revamp an abandoned plot of land in Amsterdam-Noord to create green working spaces for the neighbourhood’s creative businesses. Much like its parent organisation, Café de Ceuvel is committed to ecologically-responsible living and grows many of the ingredients that appear on its menu inside an on-site greenhouse. Though Café de Ceuvel mainly serves vegan or vegetarian dishes, its menu contains a few items that centre around sustainably-sourced meat or fish, including a smoked goose sandwich, which is made from birds that were culled in Schiphol Airport and would have otherwise been destroyed.
This trendy restaurant and bar stands on the corner of a small, artificial peninsula in Amsterdam-Noord, which offers fantastic views across the River IJ and Amsterdam’s southern harbour. As its name suggests, the restaurant is located inside a renovated, oval hangar that is covered in colourful plate metal. Hangar serves an impressive selection of classic European dishes inside its stunning location, ranging from meat-heavy-dishes like flank steak glazed with chimichurri sauce to lighter options such as oysters on the half shell or pumpkin ravioli. Aside from its industrial-chic main dining area, Hangar also features an expansive terrace with outdoor seating, where guests can enjoy their meals al fresco.
