32 Best Restaurants in Amsterdam, Netherlands

With a dizzying array of recently opened restaurants offering so-called New Dutch Cuisine, it's looking like Dutch food has finally been given the makeover it long deserved. This Centraal Station–adjacent establishment gives brasserie classics a Lowlands twist, using seasonal ingredients fresh from a local organic farm.

Bring the kids; there are kids' menus and regular family lunches with a fun educational twist on Sundays.

With a bright, modern dining space lined with white-clothed tables and an open kitchen, this popular French-Flemish eatery is one of the liveliest in town. The food is simply prepared but delicious, and reasonably priced; the three-course menus change frequently and always include daily specials. When it's offered (nearly always), don't miss their signature poussin, a perfectly roasted chicken with rosemary, served with a side of seasonal vegetables. Although the menu is in Dutch, the personable staff are happy to translate.

You can't miss this over-the-top floating Chinese restaurant, moored on the Oosterdok near Centraal Station—the ornate atmosphere of red paper lanterns and red- and black-lacquered ceilings that wouldn't be out of place in Hong Kong or Vancouver could easily be a tourist trap. But it's not: the extensive Canton, Macau, and Peking duck menus and other dishes are consistently fresh and authentic.

This is the oldest Indian restaurant in Amsterdam (it opened in 1977), and it's a longtime favorite of curry connoisseurs. Although the decor is unremarkable, the restaurant is impeccably clean and the servers unfailingly friendly. All of the snacks, soups, and meals are delicious: you'll break out in a happy sweat if you order the spicy chicken Madras. The sweet cardamom tea is a good accompaniment to your meal.

The large menu of Thai standards—including some very good vegetarian options—doesn't hold many surprises, but everything's fresh and tasty; diners often rate Bird as the best Thai in town, and there are lines most nights. The space is filled with chunky teak furnishings and paintings imported from Thailand, while the takeaway snack bar across the street (Zeedijk 77) is more utilitarian. The best tables for savoring such dishes as coconut-chicken soup with lemongrass followed by fruity curry with mixed seafood are at the back of the restaurant overlooking the canal.

This dark, woody, and well-loved café—as cozily cluttered as a Jan Steen painting seen through a ’70s filter—has been serving the same simple cheese fondue for decades, along with a steak entrecôte that you cook at the table. Order a salad to start (there are five types to choose from) and then dunk bite-sized bread bits into the gooey melted cheese. The atmosphere is boisterous and friendly: you'll very likely be sharing a communal table with a group of locals out for a night on the town.

Local students, sophisticates, and families all love this bustling bistrolike Dutch institution, where the prime attraction is the beef fillet or a spicier "Bali" version for an extra €1 (extra-large versions cost a little bit more). All steaks are served rare—you can't get them any other way. If you're not in the mood, you can order the hamburger, the pork schnitzel, or, for the non–beef eater, several types of fish and vegetarian dishes. The best dessert on the menu is the sticky toffee cake. There are five more locations in Amsterdam (check the website for details).

One of the city's best-known grand cafés, Luxembourg has a stately interior and a view of a bustling square, both of which are excellent for people-watching. Lunch, when the restaurant fills with locals and tourists, is the best time to come. The classic café menu includes terrific soups and salads and excellent Holtkamp kroketten (croquettes, here with a cheese, shrimp, or veal filling). Those with less interest in urban sociology can entertain themselves at the communal table, which is democratically packed with an assortment of Dutch and international newspapers and magazines.

This airy spot west of the Jordaan is an industrial monument: for a century, it housed a plant that pumped water from coastal dunes. Now, under a sky-high ceiling, it's a popular destination for international cuisine, from rib-eye béarnaise and steak tartare to crowd-pleasing seafood platters piled high with oysters, clams, mussels, and optional crab or lobster. The restaurant usually bustles with families and larger groups. If it's too noisy for you, ask for a table on the peaceful terrace. The sticky toffee cake is an after-dinner winner.

This mellow organic vegetarian restaurant, with local artists' works hung on the bright orange-and-green walls, serves tasty homemade soups and salads—the salad bar, a mix of cooked items like couscous along with seasonal salads from beans to beets, is especially popular—at lunch as well as its tempting selection of desserts. They increase sophistication (and the prices) at dinner, with noodle dishes and stir-fries. When the weather's nice, there is outdoor seating on the canal across the street.

Smack in the middle of the Red Light District, this Thai establishment juxtaposes the original wood beams and wall panels of the 17th-century warehouse with a rich color scheme, modern furniture, and traditional Thai wall decorations, which give the space a warm atmosphere. The menu balances spicy dishes like stir-fried beef with onion and chile peppers with milder options to please a variety of palates, though ordering a main is compulsory.

Since its 2019 renovation, this Dutch brasserie has become a beacon on an otherwise uninspiring road; it's one of the few non–fast food restaurants around packed Dam Square. The fare is poshed-up Dutch food, like risotto of Alkmaar pearl barley with roast beetroot, preserved lemon and sour cream, or Dutch Bouillabaisse with fresh North Sea fish. It gets busy with passing tourists, but this restaurant is worth a stop if you're shopping at the nearby de Bijenkorf department store and need a pick-me-up.

In a 1520 monument groaning with pewter tankards, stained glass, rich gold leather paneling, original Delftware and other curiosa, this restaurant's "Old Holland" vibe and matching menu attract lots of tourists. Expect simple, hearty old-fashioned Dutch fare such as pea soup and a selection of stamppotten (potatoes mashed with veggies and often meat). On cold winter nights, opt for the hutspot, a stamppot of mashed potato and carrot supplemented with steamed beef, sausage, and bacon.

This bright and stylish restaurant is on one of the city's broadest canals and has a long-standing reputation for high quality at a great price. Choose from a three- to five-course menu, or order à la carte for lunch. Options always include soups, salads, and fish and meat dishes with interesting vegetable combinations.

Although you can order à la carte at this spacious and airy Indonesian restaurant, most diners opt for one of the four rijsttafels, each with at least 12 different dishes and flavors that range from sweet and coconutty to intensely spicy (the light local witbier is an excellent accompaniment); one version is vegetarian. There is a takeout counter around the corner (Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 342), which serves inexpensive noodle and rice dishes.

This relaxed and friendly restaurant serves dishes from all over the African continent, but focuses on the food of Ethiopia, which is eaten with injera, a spongy type of sourdough bread. The interior is well worn but enlivened by charming touches like zebra-stripe tablecloths and carved animal napkin holders.

Traditional Dutch home cooking is just what to expect at a place called Mothers. Outside there's a sunny terrace, and the kitsch interior feels like a living room, full of antiques and photos of mothers (to which you can contribute your own snapshot). Guests are treated to simple dishes prepared with a refined gusto, including erwtensoep (split pea soup) and stamppot (mashed potatoes with sausage). Vegetarians be warned: pickings are slim but they do offer two main courses.

There's almost always a line out the door at this modern-looking Chinese eatery, where the only concession to tradition is the roast ducks hanging in the window. The food is fast, fresh, and inexpensive, and the menu doesn't offer many surprises, but the crowds of locals and tourists keep coming back for sweet-and-sour chicken, noodle soup with shrimp dumplings and beef balls, and spareribs in black bean sauce.

A meal at this former offshore TV tower transported from the North Sea—and perched (thankfully not precariously) out on the IJ River—is one of the most unique dining experiences you can have in Amsterdam. The food does take a bit of a backseat to the location, but bistro-style offerings like burger and fries are good; and at dinner, you can't go wrong with the sea bass.

The lofty wood-beam interior of the 15th-century Waag (weigh house), converted into a café and restaurant, is lighted by hundreds of candles that nicely help maintain the building's medieval majesty. The seasonal, international menu uses mainly Dutch (and mainly organic) products, and a spacious terrace is open when the weather permits. Appetizers will likely include North Sea shrimp and steak tartare, while you can't go wrong with entrées like rib-eye of Dutch beef. Breakfast is served starting at 9 am, and lunch items include salads and sandwiches.

This busy but relaxed neighborhood restaurant serves as a gentle introduction to Indonesian cuisine. Since 1969, Sama Sebo has gained nearly institution status by dishing out rijsttafel in an atmosphere enhanced by bamboo walls, miniature wood "spirit houses," and 19th-century-style lamps. At lunch the dishes are simpler: in addition to various chicken specialties, there's bami goreng (spicy fried noodles with vegetables or meat) and nasi goreng (the same, with rice instead of noodles). You can wait for your table in the friendly bar area.

This stylish, expansive Florentine trattoria is a perennial favorite; the open kitchen, skylight ceiling, wooden floors and tables, and attentive service all work to create an extremely welcoming, country-kitchen sort of atmosphere. The cooks pride themselves on their ability to whip up any regional dish, but you'll probably find your favorite already listed on the extensive menu—or, of course, find yourself inspired by something new. The risottos are excellent, the fish dishes sublime, the desserts delicious, and the wine list inspired. Buonissimo!