Saoto soep is Amsterdam's Surinamese signature: clear chicken broth crowned with bean sprouts, fried potato pieces, hard-boiled egg, fried shallots, sambal on the side. Eaten with rice or a roti wrap.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
Saoto soep arrived in Amsterdam with the Surinamese diaspora after Suriname's 1975 independence. The soup traces back to Indonesian-Javanese soto, brought to Suriname by 19th-century Javanese plantation labourers, then carried to Amsterdam by the Surinamese-Hindustani-Javanese community. Warung Mini on Ceintuurbaan and Spang Makandra on Gerard Doustraat are the city's two reference rooms.
Common allergens: Egg, Soy
Why locals love it: Small Ceintuurbaan counter most guidebooks skip for the more famous Spang Makandra; this is where locals come for the city's best saoto soep.
Tip: Closed Mondays; arrive before 13:00 for the proper lunch service.
Warung Spang Makandra has been the De Pijp Surinamese reference since 1978: roti you assemble yourself, saoto soup, almost nothing on the menu over 15 euros.
Signature: Roti kip, Saoto soep, Moksi meti
Order: Roti kip with the dahl and a side of the bean stew.
Tip: Walk-in only. Order at the counter, sit upstairs. A second Spang Makandra branch in Nieuw West takes the overflow.
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