Roef ★ 4.5
Why locals love it: Watergraafsmeer is outside most tourist itineraries; this is where locals go for a five-course menu at half the central price.
Tip: Take tram 9 from Centraal. Book at least a week ahead.
Why locals love it: Down an alley off Dam Square; you have to know the door. The Amsterdam jenever proeflokaal nobody outside the Netherlands seems to know about.
Tip: No tables. Bend over the bar to take the first sip without spilling.
Location
Address: Pijlsteeg 31, 1012 HH Amsterdam
More hidden gems in Amsterdam
Hotel De Goudfazant ★ 4.5
Why locals love it: Cavernous Amsterdam-Noord warehouse most tourists never cross the IJ to find, a 1200 sqm canteen with one of the city's best four-course menus.
Tip: Take the free Buiksloterweg ferry from Centraal. Book a fortnight ahead for weekend nights.
Café de Reiger ★ 4.3
Why locals love it: Locals' Jordaan eetcafe with a back kitchen, the room tourists walk past for the more famous brown cafes nearby.
Tip: Book ahead for dinner; the bar takes walk-ins for snacks and the daily menu.
Wilde Zwijnen ★ 4.5
Why locals love it: Far enough east in Indische Buurt that day-trippers skip it; the city's reference game-and-modern-Dutch room runs at half the price of central equivalents.
Tip: Three-course menu early in the week is the value sweet spot.
Warung Mini ★ 4.4
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.
In 't Aepjen ★ 4.3
Why locals love it: Tiny wooden-fronted brown cafe on Zeedijk, occupies one of two surviving 15th-century wood-fronted buildings in Amsterdam, easily missed.
Tip: Order a jenever and look up: the maritime memorabilia tells the story.