91 Best Restaurants in Amsterdam, Netherlands

It's become a bit of a tourist favorite, but many Amsterdammers still believe that this is the best Indonesian rijsttafel in town—so if you're looking for the ultimate Amsterdam dining experience, this is the place to go. Menu choices include fish, meat, and vegetarian rijsttafels; all are fresh, well spiced, and full of authentic flavors. You can order à la carte, but the rijsttafel is the way to go. The design is ultramodern, with lacquered red walls that set off giant vintage family photos from the era of the Dutch East Indies.

For innovative "New Amsterdam" cuisine, head to this Michelin-starred restaurant near the Station Zuid Metro stop, in sleek Zuidas. The design is Scandinavian-inspired lacquered wood and angular chairs, but the set six-course menu is hyperlocal, and everything is beautifully presented; many of their vegetables and herbs come from the on-site kitchen garden, one of the largest in Amsterdam. Expect creative vegetable-led dishes like "risotto" of cauliflower and ricotta, topped with herring roe, or 30-day dry-aged beef with parsnip and apple.

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.

Situated in a 1926-built former municipal greenhouse is a lovely, modern, and light-filled restaurant (you're surrounded by glass) serving Mediterranean-influenced food. Wim de Beer and Jos Timmer took over the menu in 2018, changing the focus to include more freshly grown vegetables, often from the restaurant's own greenhouses and garden, though the restaurant is not strictly vegetarian because both meat and fish are served. The daily changing prix-fixe dinner menu, with dishes chosen by the chef (vegetarians can be accommodated), always consists of five or six dishes (lunch is three or four).The wine selection is delightful, and they do a wonderful job with pairings.

This snug breakfast, lunch, and high-tea favorite is strewn with flea-market finds (such as a gorgeous Portuguese chandelier and charmingly mismatched tableware), but there are only 10 tables, so be sure to make a reservation (even for breakfast). It's worth planning in advance for comforting French toast or pancakes, lovely lunchtime soups, salads, and toast spreads with veggies picked fresh from the owners' kitchen garden, or for homemade cakes, tarts, and quiches.

Fans of fabulous nose-to-tail dining have faithfully been placing themselves in the experienced hands of chef Giel Kaagman and sommelier and host Bram Kortekaas since 2015. Their namesake eatery, which has been a leading light in the local bistronomy movement, sits along a medieval alley in the heart of tourist hell, where multiple levels arranged around a slightly sunken kitchen allow some diners to feel like they’re part of the action. Regularly changing four-, five- or six-course chef’s menus keep things fresh, but there’s usually homemade charcuterie, plenty of traditional techniques and a few offal surprises - picky eaters, you’ve been warned!

The folks at this restaurant, tucked away on a side street, have perfected the art of wood-fired pizza. Made from fresh ingredients imported from Italy, their thin-crust Neapolitan-style pies draw lively crowds of locals and tourists who don't complain about standing in line for the classic Margherita, quattro formaggi (four cheeses), or spicy puttanesca. Note that there are no slices, just whole pies. A roomier La Perla outpost is just across the street at No. 53, where the menu also includes sandwiches, pasta, and salads.

This casual neighborhood bistro draws a relaxed local crowd with its seasonal preparations of seafood and meat served with farm-fresh vegetables. The menu changes daily—ingredients are chosen from the morning market by the chef, who trained at Berkeley's Chez Panisse—and are offered on a four-course prix-fixe menu (three courses are available for lighter appetites, weeknights only).

A Chez Panisse–trained chef whips up frequently changing menus with local ingredients and a Mediterranean flair at this lively restaurant in a former chapel; all dishes are cooked on an open fire in an outdoor wood oven. The three-course dinner menus are a great value and make it worth venturing to Amsterdam's far southern reaches (Tram No. 5 stops a block away)—there is always a choice of meat or fish, and you can add an "in-between" course for a little bit more. (You can also order à la carte at lunch.) Most of the seating is at long communal tables, which makes for a convivial atmosphere. In the summer, dine out on the gorgeous terrace, which has views of the outdoor open kitchen and leafy Beatrixpark surroundings.

Culinary surprises are the name of the game at this stately restaurant; instead of a menu, diners are presented with a list of seasonal ingredients (pear, cauliflower, and squid, for example) from which chef Chris Naylor whips up creative and masterful four-, five-, or six-course menus. Some of the vegetables and herbs come from the roof garden of the adjoining Barbizon Palace hotel. The gray-tone walls enlivened with paintings of flowers lend a contemporary yet formal air, and an army of waitstaff are on hand to ensure that the service is always impeccable. Each summer the restaurant closes for one month while the staff go on vacation (dates change year to year).

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 Grand Café is a storied place to wait for your train. Architect Pierre Cuypers' original 1889 Fin-de-Siècle interior, no longer restricted to first-class passengers, is the perfect backdrop against which to linger over coffee, a snack, or a full-blown meal accompanied by fine wine. There's a pub with the same name and the same atmosphere next door.

While you're in Amsterdam, do try Surinamese food, a unique fusion of Amerindian, Caribbean, Chinese, Jewish, Dutch, and Indonesian cuisines that arose from this South American country's history as a Dutch colony. Albina is a local fave that serves up one of the best rotis (the Surinamese take on Indian flatbread) in the city. It comes with a choice of fillings and is real-deal comfort food. Nieuw Albina, at No. 49, has the same owner and the same kitchen, if you find the original too crowded.