Fine dining in Amsterdam
 

If you're looking for some find food in Amsterdam, I have some recommendations. Most of these are not cheap, but since this trip I was traveling with my husband, a gourmand, I ate better and spent more :-) I don't consider the price of these exorbitant, though -- the most expensive was around $55 a person, the lowest around $35. In most cases we each had a glass of wine and frequently an appetizer as well as bottled water. Didn't have dessert that often. Here are some places:
BLUE PEPPER - by far the finest place we ate, it's traditional Indonesian food in a lovely but very small setting so do reserve a table. There's a choice of 3 set menus, but they are flexible if you have a problem with some of the dishes. Truly inspired food. Located at Nassaukade 366; phone 489-70-39
ZUID ZEELAND - I'd describe it as continental food that is Dutch inspired. Very lovely food. Also somewhat small. Location is on the Herengracht at 413. Phone 624-31-54
d'VIJFF VLIEGHEN - This restaurant, AKA The Five Flies, is well known for a lovely traditional setting and expensive food. Both are correct. I'd call this "nouvelle Dutch" cuisine. The meal was fine but a little over the top for me. Nothing on the menu was traditional or plain. I ended up having rare pigeon breast, and it was really red. I think the restaurant was fine, but I probably wouldn't go back there.
It's close to Spui.
LUDEN - This place was simple and more inexpensive. Very crowded and noisy. But the food was quite a bargain. My husband had a beef dish and I had fish and both were fine. Wasn't quite as gourmet as my husband likes, so we didn't return, but I would have. It's at Spuistraat 247. You'd probably need reservations there, too.
VASSO - If you're in the mood for Italian, this place is great. Very authentic to my palate (and I travel to Italy a lot). The friendly hands-on manager is obviously Italian. Mid-priced. We ate there several times and tried the meat, fish, pasta. Everything was good. This is one of the few places where we shared a dessert -- lovely strawberries and perfect tart lemon ice. Our hotel recommended it over Casa di David, which I had wanted to try. Rozenboomsteeg 10-14 (near Spui tram stop). It fills up so best to reserve. 626-01-58.
LE GARAGE - The way the natives pronounced this, it sounded to my ear like "licorice". It's a very trendy place; apparently the chef has a cooking show on TV (a Dutch Emeril perhaps?). The food was excellent, but it felt a little too popular. Service spotty, very crowded, seats close together. But I can't complain about what we ate. I had magnificent fish in a light butter/citrus "foam" and I wanted to lick the plate clean. The address is 54 Ruysdaelstraat. You'd better reserve, but I don't have the phone no. It's not far from the Concertgebouw.
HAESJE CLAES - I'm including this because it's so popular, but we didn't like it very much and I wouldn't recommend it. I will say the soups were fabulous -- tasty and hearty. But the meals (my husband had pork and I had poultry) were just ok. Very limited wines by the glass -- only 2, I think, and they were blah. Also limited beer. Bread with the meal was blah too. I'm not sure why everyone likes this place, though the setting is traditional and lovely and the price is moderate. But I'd say the price wasn't worth it.
Those are our opinions. I hope these help. You can always doublecheck with on-line guides, too; it seems that things change fast as several of the restaurants I had noted from guide books had slipped in quality, according to the natives we talked to.

I'm happy to see that the Luden is just as good as ever. I really like that place. The 5 Flies is more of an institution than a restaurant. It has been years since I ate there, and it will probably be more years before I do so again. I don't know your other places.

Thanks for your post. It looks like you might be a "Spui Supporter." Did you try the Cafe Luxembourg for lunch? Or the Hoppe for a borrel?

For a very good Indonesian rijsttafel also try Indrapura on Rembrantdsplein and Sama Sebo near PC Hooftstraat and Rijksmuseum.
For both dinnerreservations adviced. Sama Sebo is closed on sundaynights.

Thank you, Pam. I have found some wonderful sounding suggestions for dining in Amsterdam on this forum, and will add your suggestions to my list. I so much prefer suggestions stemming from recent, personal experience rather than guide books!

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Hopscotch mentioned Hoppe, which we loved for drinks, but didn't eat anything there. Our hotel was near Spui so many of the places we ate at were near there, including Hoppe. It's a "brown cafe", meaning one of those very old-time places (1700s, I believe) that women weren't previously allowed in (really, a bar) and it even has sawdust on the floor. It looks like it's there to function, not as a tourist attraction! A lot of locals were hanging out there, but we still felt welcome though glanced at a bit. The Irish coffee was the best we have had anywhere, even Ireland. If you're in the area, it's very worthwhile to check it out.