32 editor picks in Amsterdam.
32 upscale places in Amsterdam, editor-picked. occasion restaurants in Amsterdam: destination kitchens for celebrations and visits. All Amsterdam food.
Restaurant Blauw in Amsterdam's Oud-Zuid runs the most consistent rijsttafel in the city, twenty-plus dishes laid across a long table, near Vondelpark.
OrderThe full Blauw rijsttafel, twenty-plus small plates with rice and sambals.
TipBook a fortnight ahead for weekends. Two seatings a night, the early one is quieter.
Door 74 on Reguliersdwarsstraat is the Amsterdam speakeasy that opened the city's cocktail wave, by reservation only, behind an unmarked door.
Hiding in Plain Sight on Rapenburg is the Amsterdam American-style cocktail bar, big-windowed despite the speakeasy framing, sharp menu, unfussy room.
Toscanini has been Amsterdam's reference Italian since 1985, a Jordaan room running its own bread, its own pasta, and a list weighted toward small producers.
OrderWhatever the pasta of the day is; the bread basket is also their own bake.
TipReserve two weeks out for weekends. The room is loud, in the best Italian-trattoria sense.
Café Hoppe on Spui has poured Amsterdam jenever and beer since 1670, the brown cafe with the dark-wood interior and the stand-at-the-bar after-work crowd.
Café 't Smalle on Egelantiersgracht in the Jordaan is the Amsterdam canal-side brown cafe with the postcard terrace, the building going back.
GlouGlou in Amsterdam's De Pijp kickstarted the city's natural-wine wave in 2015, a small room pouring growers without pesticides, sulphur low, lo-fi service.
Wilde Zwijnen in Amsterdam's Indische Buurt is the city's game-forward room, a tight seasonal menu built around what hunters bring in that week.
OrderWhatever the game of the season is; venison and pigeon both pass through.
TipThe 3-course set at the start of the week is the value play. Cash or card both fine.
Choux on De Ruijterkade behind Centraal Station runs a tight vegetable-forward tasting menu, an Amsterdam fine-casual room that has held the same chefs.
OrderThe chef's set, with the wine pairing if you can stretch.
TipThe lunch set is half the price of dinner; the kitchen has the same intent.
Roef on Middenweg in Watergraafsmeer is the modern European room east of the centre, a daily-changing five-course menu built around what the kitchen sourced.
OrderThe five-course set; the vegetable course is usually the standout.
TipBook at least a week ahead. The tram 9 stop is two minutes away.
Café Papeneiland on the corner of Prinsengracht and Brouwersgracht is the Amsterdam brown cafe from 1642, the apple pie inside almost as canonical as Winkel.
Twenty Third Bar at Hotel Okura sits next to Ciel Bleu on the top floor, the Amsterdam cocktail bar with the city's most generous view across the city.
Vermeers Wijnkamer on Zeedijk runs as the Amsterdam Nieuwmarkt wine bar, a tight European list, small plates from the kitchen next door. At Zeedijk 11.
Paskamer on Lutmastraat in De Pijp won Wijnbar of the Year in 2023, a quiet residential-street room with 350-plus wines on the list and 50 by the glass.
Indrapura on Rembrandtplein is the long-running Centrum rijsttafel house, three decades of spiced Sumatran and Javanese plates set out for the table.
OrderThe full Indrapura rijsttafel, with the Udang Gala lobster as a supplement.
TipOpen from 17:00 daily; book Rembrandtplein-facing window seats one week ahead.
Mama Makan inside the Hyatt Regency on Spinozastraat takes Indonesian classics through a contemporary lens: brighter rooms, cleaner plating.
OrderMama's full Rijsttafel, the contemporary read on the classic spread.
TipSunday lunch is the easiest booking. They take large groups, useful at the weekend.
esra opened in 2024 on the Oostelijke Eilanden, the Amsterdam room running modern Turkish: house manti, slow-braised lamb shoulder, a mezze table to start.
OrderThe full mezze for the table, then the lamb shoulder to share.
TipBook at least a week ahead. The terrace is the move in summer.
Bistrot Neuf has run on Haarlemmerstraat since 2009 as Amsterdam's reference French bistro, a tight room turning out classics: steak frites from the bavette.
OrderSteak frites with the natural-wine-leaning house red.
TipWalk-in often works on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Friday is a full sitting.
Salmuera on Rozengracht in the Jordaan is the Amsterdam Argentinian-Mexican grill, a long charcoal asado at the back and an over-70-bottle mezcal list.
OrderBife de chorizo from the asador, provoleta and empanadas to start.
TipBook the bar to watch the grill. Mezcal flights are a notable detour from the wine pairing.
Wynand Fockink on Pijlsteeg has poured Amsterdam jenever since 1679, the proeflokaal where you bend over the tulip glass without lifting it from the bar.
Charcuteria Barlotta on Czaar Peterstraat in Oost runs as a wine bar with serious charcuterie, an Amsterdam Italian-tilted list and big boards to share.
Bottleshop on Wibautstraat is the Amsterdam Oost natural-wine bar, a black-and-white striped room with a tightly-edited list and a kitchen pushing bar bites.
Leo Bistro on Beukenplein in Oost runs a short daily-changing European bistro menu, an Amsterdam room you can walk into on a Friday and still find a corner.
OrderWhatever the chef's three-course is that day; ask the waiter what to skip.
TipThe bar runs walk-ins, the back room takes reservations. Closed Sundays.
Rosalia's Menagerie on Kloveniersburgwal is the Amsterdam cocktail bar set in a 17th-century canal house, an intimate room with animal-themed drinks.
De Drie Fleschjes behind Nieuwe Kerk has poured jenever since 1650, the Amsterdam tasting room with 50 wooden vats and the only working drankorgel still.
In 't Aepjen on Zeedijk occupies an Amsterdam building dating to 1475, one of two surviving wooden facades, the brown cafe with the longest backstory.
Café de Reiger on Nieuwe Leliestraat in the Jordaan is the Amsterdam eetcafe with the back-room kitchen, brown-cafe service out front, no-frills dinners.
Rayleigh and Ramsay in De Pijp runs as the Amsterdam self-serve wine bar, prepaid card, 100-plus wines on tap, the format that makes flights painless.
Wijnbar Paulus on Ceintuurbaan at the southwest corner of Sarphatipark in De Pijp is the Amsterdam pre-dinner pour, a balanced list and a counter of tapas.
Café Chris on Bloemstraat in the Jordaan has poured Amsterdam beer since 1624, claimant to the city's oldest brown cafe title, the room small enough to know.
Café Karpershoek by Centraal Station has poured since 1606, sawdust on the floor and the city's oldest licensed brown cafe, an Amsterdam tasting room.
Café 't Loosje on Nieuwmarkt is the brown cafe with the tile murals, an Amsterdam eetcafé that ran as a horse-tram waiting station before the floor went.
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