Brandywine183

Can anyone give me a ball park of the cost of food and drink in the Netherlands? I keep finding information on Spain and Italy, but nothing really on the Netherlands.

traveller1959

Here the prices for Dutch specialties:

Frikandel 1.10 Euros
Kroket 1.10 Euros
Kipsate 5.25 Euros

I would not eat anything else in the Netherlands.

Beer is cheap and almost as bad as US-American beer. Grolsch is drinkable. Buy in a supermarket. About 1.50 per bottle. Genever is also okay. Never buy wine in the Netherlands.

hetismij

traveller1959 you missed out patat oorlog, herring, pancakes and poffertjes.

Frikandel is inedible, the other things mentioned are standard snackbar food. Herring is eaten raw at a fish stand or fish shop.
Pancakes are a good filling meal, either sweet or savoury, and can be found at "Pannekoekenhuizen" pancake restaurants. Poffertjes are like min pancakes, covered in icing sugar. Again you buy them on the street.

As for wine - you can get a very drinkable bottle for about €6.00 in a supermarket, and some not quite so drinkable for a lot less, some a lot more drinkable for a lot more.

Though I live in the Netherlands I rarely eat out, (or maybe because I live here). Expect to pay €1.50 to €2 for coffee, and the same for a beer, or a soda. Expect lots of froth on the beer.
In a restaurant expect to pay at least €15 for a main course. Some restaurants offer a set meal for about €30.
You can buy broodjes (Sandwiches) for lunch or get the ingredients form a supermarket and make your own.

mjs

My experience agrees with Hetismj. We were in Amsterdam last month and most entrees were in the E17 to E25 category. Beer in Amsterdam is excellent but not cheap. Many varieties of small Dutch and Belgium beer available. Excellent beer store near the Damrak.

Cowboy1968

Pannekoekenhuisjes are one of my favorites, and IMO rather inexpensive. Also like most Indonesian street food (or the rijstafel, when I am really hungry). Or eating on board of one the old schooners that got turned into restaurants. Okay, that does scream *tourist*, I know ;-)

wolfmisc

Traveller 1959, maybe you never heard of the biggest brewery in the world. Its called Heineken and dont tell me their stuff is bad!

TravelingMan76

Let's hear it for Genever!!!

hetismij

Wolfmisc, maybe traveller won't tell you that but I will. True compare to some US brews it is great but compared to most other Dutch breweries products it is gnats pee. Horrible stuff. Try Dommelsch or even better Gulpener or Hertog Jan, even Grolsch is better than Heineken.

In Holland Genever is generaaly called Jenever.

josephina

Actually, I drank Palm beer (Belgian) the entire time in Amsterdam.

josephina

And Brandywine, I don't remember the cost of food/drink, but I remember thinking that nothing was exhorbitant. We're not shoppers, but prices were so "in line" in the Netherlands that my daughter actually did some school shopping.

hetismij

Palm is one of my favourites too.

travelgourmet

"Its called Heineken and dont tell me their stuff is bad!"

Heineken is nothing special. I would not say it is at all better than most of the US mass-market beers, like Bud or Miller.

Now Krokets... Those are worth seeking out. And the Indonesian food is pretty darn tasty.

mariposa85

Heineken is awful beer. If I had to buy beer in the Netherlands I'd at least get Grolsch.