We have four nights to hit some great restaurants in Amsterdam. One of the nights will be our anniversary and we are thinking of going to: Entresol
The other nights I would like to try at least one Indonesian restaurant and want to hit some local spots.
Average Price range desired: $12 - $16

Thanks!!

If you find a great restaurant in Amsterdam for €10 to €12, boy would I like to hear about it.

I've done the Indonesian rifstafel (sp?) several times in Amsterdam, and the one I loved the best was at Cilubang. It was 34 euro per person with wine. It was the largest one they serve and they do a smaller one for less.
I love Luden near Spui, as well as d'Vijff Vlieghen (5 flies), but both are certainly well over that budget you mention.

I second the Luden.

For that price in Amsterdam, they have these fast food chinese restaurants all over called Dim Sum Court..All you can eat in 1 hour for around 8 Euro..Not the best food, but if your starving!!...Also try the Shoarma or Falfals spots around Amsterdam, they are great...There is also a restaurant at the Melkweg,I can't remember what it is called, but everyday they have specials (higher end food for cheap)...There are tons of Indonesian restaurants all over Amsterdam as well as any other type of restaurant you can imagine..Best to just walk around, look at the menus and decide what suits your budget and taste buds at the time..We are going to try the Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant this time when we go later on this week to Amsterdam..It got good reviews..Have a great time..

TracyB,

sl logic asked for "some great restaurants."

I'm sorry, but "great restaurants" and $12 -$16 don't go together. I think people are trying to figure out which of the two sl_logic really wants. It can't be both.

Since the actual amount is a matter of fact, but "great" is all a matter of opinion, I suspect sl_logic's idea of great may not be the same as others. I know people who think Taco Bell is "great".

Ok, Guess we need to up the price range. Lets try 15-20. Taco Bell is definitly not great, in fact I have never eaten in one and never will. Please up the price range and keep the suggestions coming. Thanks

Well if you don't like Taco Bell you are not going to like the unmentionable ugly greasy stuff in the Chinese and Indonesian joints around town.

My recommendation for lunch is go into any bar and order an <i>uitsmijter</i> and a beer or coffee. The <i>uitsmijter</i> is open face 2 or 3 eggs and ham and/or cheese on white bread with garnish. It's about the cheapest high protein you'll find in town.

To make your budget for dinner, visit an Albert Heijn and load up with cheese, pat&eacute;, bread, vino or bier, tomato, fruit, etc.

Do that for a couple of days and then go to the Luden.

There are lots of inexpensive resaturants around Leidseplein. I was pleasantly surprised by a Greek place called Zorba (with a name like that you don't expect anything original, and this place was pedestrian but perfectly satisfactory).

Each to their own..Part of the fun of going to Amsterdam is trying out all of the street foods...And of course going to a few high end ones as well, but I'd rather cheap out on food and save my money for other fun stuff in Amsterdam..And I love going to Albert Heijn..Also love the fries and mayo and the herring, yum..I can't wait..

We're going to Amsterdam too and then on to Italy and Spain, so I certainly want to save our &quot;special meals&quot; (one being my birthday) for Italy and Spain where I love the food (I love other things in Amasterdam...one of which is obvious from my screenname, another not so obvious, but also an Amsterdam special...)

Some of the restaurants I've come up with so far have been the Madras Indian Restaurant at Korte Ledisedwarsstraat 61 and and Indonesian one I found at www.purimas.nl (figured we could split the meal since we're both saving our calories for Italy...)

I also plan to check out chowhound.com--they sometimes have very good suggestions as well.

Rick Steves recommends a few...American Hotel dining room--all-you-can eat salad bar for about $8, Bojo on Lange Leidsedwarsstraat (Indonesian), and Cafe Vertigo that has sushi, soups &amp; pastas near Vondelpark. However, I haven't always been thrilled with his recommendations, such as last Sat. when we went to see his presentation on Italy (which was excellent), one of his restaurant recommendations we went to in Edmunds was just so-so, but I haven't found a good restaurant there yet, so...

When are you going?

And yes, the herring on the street is delicious.

Just back from Amsterdam a couple of days ago. For Indonesian, I would suggest de Kantijl &amp; Tiger, on Spui - rijstafel at &euro;23 per person. Locally, this is regarded as one of the more authentic Indonesian resaturants in Amsterdam.
There are a lot of &quot;Argentinian&quot; restaurants, all offering good deals on ribs &amp; steaks - try Chicano's on Lange Leidsedwarstraat, near the Leidseplein (Tramline 2).
There's a great Irish bar called the Tara, which has excellent food at very reasonable prices. It's on Rokin, which is a straight 10 minute walk from Centaal Station
De Vijf Vlieghen is very good, but is also not remotely cheap - if I'm spending that kind of money, I prefer de Silveren Spiegel.
If you need any other info, just ask. (I go over quite a bit)

Purimas mentioned above is a nice place with good food. The least expensive rijsttafel is 18&euro; per person. Good service, get a reservation or be there by 7-7:30 (the restaurant is up one flight of stairs)

www.purimas.nl
Lange Leidsedwarsstraat 37-41 (first floor)
1017 NG Amsterdam
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: + 31 20 627 76 27
Fax: + 31 20 408 06 64

p.s. if you get stuck and don't want to spend a lot one night, you can fall back on the Hard Rock Cafe...dependable and reasonable, overlooking a canal.

Max Euweplein 57-61
1017 MA Amsterdam
http://www.hardrock.com/locations/ca...s.aspx?Lc=AMST

Last year we ate a another rice table restaurant that had been recommended on this board - Kantjil and the Tiger-- it was excellent food, though the service was a little lacking (though I have heard that is common in Amsterdam). If you want more info, I can look up the address, we stayed by the train station and it was an easy walk from our hotel.
HTH!

Even at the high end of your newly raised budget that's only 15 euro, which is still pretty darn cheap for dinner in Amsterdam IMO. I hope that price isn't including drinks?

As one poster mentioned above, I had some nice Greek food in the Leidseplein district. Good enough I returned to the same place twice.

Also found fantastic Italian in a shop that was set up basically for to-go but had a few tables. Everything was sold by the portion or by weight. It was stunningly delicious food.

HARD ROCK CAFE? you must be kidding me.

Maybe it's just me but I found those &quot;cheap&quot; places in the Leidseplein area to be the worst value for food. Sure they advertised low prices, and the food sure wasn't great (as expected) but they really charge a lot of extras including outrageous prices for the cheapest wines imagineable. And I remember asking for sauce or salsa for something, and finding an extra couple of euros per person tacked on to the bill, when we thought it was supposed to come with what we ordered. If you order a mediocre dessert, it is likely to cost more than a good one at a regular restaurant somewhere else. Those restaurants seem to be all about being able to put up a sign for a low balled price to get you at a table. I was surprised how little difference there was in the final bottom line when I went to a much nicer place somewhere else.

My suggestion would be Madame Jeanette, 1e Van der Helststraat 42, tel: 673 33 32 (lounge-bar with a restaurant adjacent). But I think it would be over your budget...maybe just pop in for drinks and a snack, then have your main meal someplace cheaper. This is a fashionable spot, definitely not touristy.