I've been to Antwerp, a lot. For a weekend away with friends as a twenty something I'd rather choose Amsterdam, and trust me I am not a fan of Amsterdam even though it is nearly on my doorstep. There are other places I as a fifty something would rather go.
I was merely explaining why Dutch food is not brilliant - nor is much Belgian food to be honest - they share an awful lot of dishes. Most Northern European cuisine is aimed at filling up and warming up not at tickling the tastebuds.
I think tbh you'd be hard put to find true Dutch food in any restaurant anywhere in the Netherlands - people go out to eat to eat something other than bloemkool, boerenkool or hutspot.

Sorry, hetismij. That question wasn't directed at you. I know you've been to Anwterpen.

I disagree with you about Belgian food not being superior even in the shared dishes. Indeed there are Belgian dishes I would rather not eat again, but in general I think the Belgians handle the shared ingredients much better and manage to delight the taste buds in multiple ways even as they fill you up and keep you warm. A Belgian waffle is heavy and filling to be sure -- but I wish the Dutch had a comparable way of dealing with the exact same ingredients.

As for the last point -- about true Dutch food -- one hears the same thing in defense of British food. But do a google search for "Dutch restaurants Amsterdam" and you will find many advertising traditional Dutch cuisine. Here in Italy, Italians hope above all to find restaurants that serve the same foods as they get at home. So that tells you something right there.

I appreciate all of your thorough recommendations! It's somewhat of a large group, so we might divide in between both cities. I will mention Antwerp and Bruges to everybody, just in case... I might be leaning towards Amsterdam because of it's obvious reputation, plus your recommendations. zeppole, I do appreciate fine dining, and your suggestions have been very helpful, but I will be traveling to Paris a week before London, and then we'll be in Madrid and Venice, so I figure we'll get to have some good food over there, too. If anyone else has more restaurant/hotel suggestions, they're still welcome!

mmmmmmmmmmmm. Madrid. Great food. Really great food.


You have to work hard to eat well in Venice, but I'm told it can be done.

I admire your diplomacy, Natalia. Good reply. Have a fantastic weekend--youth deserves to be young!

I just got back from a few days in Amsterdam, where we met up with my daughter and her boyfriend who are in the 26-28 age range and are living in Brussels for a few years. Although they love living in Brussels (including the fabulous food), I am sure they would tell Natalia to choose Amsterdam over Brussels (and definitely over Bruges). Their comment was that on balance they are probably happy they are living in Brussels rather than Amsterdam, but that Amsterdam offers a lot more to visitors.

We also found that we could eat very well in Amsterdam in all price ranges (with a focus on ethnic food such as Surinamese and Greek for our more affordable meals).

Len

Put me in the Amsterdam camp. I actually did have some pretty good Dutch food. I also had some pretty bad Belgian food that was way expensive to boot.

There is plenty of good to both places. Like Pal above, Amsterdam is one of my favorite European cities. Brussels, no.