Where to Find the Best Burgers in Amsterdam

The Butcher opened its first burger bar amid the hustle-and-bustle of Amsterdam’s largest daily market, Albert Cuypmarkt, in 2012 and has since launched three additional brick-and-mortar locations in the city, an award-winning food truck and two other restaurants elsewhere in Europe. Though The Butcher has tweaked its recipes over the years, its menu has always centred around simple, tasty burgers and other fast-food staples, made from high-quality ingredients. These dishes are topped with special, homemade sauces such as baba ganoush and truffle mayonnaise and stuffed inside brioche buns, pita and tortillas. All four restaurants in Amsterdam also serve English-style fish and chips – something that’s surprisingly difficult to find in the Netherlands.

At Nude Burger Club, guests choose every ingredient that goes into their sandwiches, then watch as the restaurant’s chefs prepare, cook and plate up their orders. There are five patties on the restaurant’s menu, available alongside classic toppings such as bacon, avocado and fried onions, and more adventurous garnishes such as spicy satay sauce and gorgonzola. After chowing down on the restaurant’s tasty burgers, guests can sample another delicious, albeit highly calorific treat, Nude Burger Club’s signature dessert – deep-fried ice cream.

Burgermeester serves high-quality gourmet burgers and regularly adds new patties to its menu that are made from fresh, seasonal produce. The restaurant only buys ingredients from reputable sources and mainly uses meat produced inside the Netherlands – for instance, lamb and beef from farms located on the island of Texel. There’s plenty of space on Burgermeester’s menu for vegan and vegetarian burgers too, and there are always at least three meat-free patties available inside the restaurant. Burgermeester also encourages guests to submit burger ideas via the restaurant’s website, then one recipe from these entries is added to its menu each month.

Although there are two or three salads available at Cannibale Royal, the restaurant’s menu doesn’t leave much room for vegetables, or really anything else other than prime cuts of meat. In fact, there is an entire section labelled as ‘Meat’ on Cannibale Royale’s menu that features many mouthwatering beef steaks, including a 1,000g behemoth called L’Absurde that must be ordered 24 hours in advance. Cannibale Royale also serves four different hamburgers (and one veggie patty) that are topped with ingredients such as bacon, sauerkraut and pulled pork. The restaurant takes orders past 10pm every day of the week and keeps its kitchen open even later over the weekend.

Amsterdam has more than its fair share of excellent vegan and vegetarian restaurants, including several spots that take plant-based food to whole new levels. Vegan Junk Food Bar, for instance, serves tasty dishes inspired by international street food, that contain zero meat, dairy or eggs. There are some real gems on the restaurant’s menu, that aren’t usually made from vegan-friendly ingredients, such as hamburgers, shawarma and ‘chicken’ tortillas. The restaurant also serves smaller vegan bites based largely around classic Dutch bar snacks, that match perfectly with a cold glass of beer.

This gourmet burger bar has received awards for its incredible patties and even competed in the World Food Championships in 2015, taking home 12th prize for its efforts. Its menu features award-winning dishes including several mouthwatering burgers made from high-quality beef that has been aged to perfection. Ter Marsch also serves many other US-style, barbecue dishes with modern, international twists, such as grilled pork belly sandwiches with kimchi, and crispy french fries topped with cannabis sauce.