Amsterdam short trip

[Scam]

Never found the food to be a particular high point in Amsterdam

I'm sure you're joking but if not - you're mental. Amsterdam is probably one of the best European foodie cities right now.

[12/08, 18:04] doodah: The Breakfast Club - great for breakfast/brunch.

Chain. Don't bother. Check out Little Collins instead.

[12/08, 18:07] doodah: De Hallen Amsterdam - awesome food/shopping market.

Yes, this. Great street food market. Will be nice at lunch. We stayed next door and it got quite busy in the evenings, but lunch will be good.Check out the bitterballen stand.

CAU Steakhouse Nice quality, decent food

Chain. Don't bother.

Probably not suitable for lunch but we had an amazing taster menu at Floreyn. Seriously good. That was our most high-end meal last trip.

OP; Amsterdam is really well known for it's Indonesian food. You should check this out, specifically the Rijsttafel which means 'rice table'. You basically get tiny dishes of everything. Great way to try it all. Have a look at Restaurant Blauw, Tuju Maret or Tempo Doeloe.

If you like BBQ check out Pendergast Smokehouse. I've been a few times now. Our American friends said it was the best they had outside the US. Also for burgers etc, Canninbale Royale is good (there's a couple of branches).

My favourite 'typical' Amsterdam restaurant has to be Cafe-restaurant de Plantage. If it's warm ebough you can sit outside (next to the zoo!) and it's just a lovely vibe. Really good food too. Highly recommended.

Not sure if they open for lunch, but Greetje is definitely worth a meal. Very dutch cooking (verging on touristy perhaps) but done tremendously well, in a high-end style. It's in a lovely little canal house so you'll get a great 'dam experience. Have a beer over the road first. Probably a perfect way to kill 5hrs if I'm honest.

What about a visit to the Anne Frank House. Bit of history if that's your thang. https://www.annefrank.org/en/

You need to book like a year in advance though. We were in Amsterdam for a week last trip and never managed to get tickets. It's crazy busy. So are all the museums which really threw us. OP; You must book Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum in advance of your trip else you won't get in! You can't just rock up.

 

[NVP]

Chain. Don't bother.

Because successful restaurants opening other branches is a bad thing?

 

[Liquidfox]

Oh, I know it's not going to be anything like a longer cruise but we've got the Commodore Deluxe room, looks ok, and eating in the bistro, not the buffet so should be tolerable

We used to slum it across in the standard 4-birth sea view rooms, small and cramped. I noticed when booking one time that I could book the Commordore room for the same price as a standard one plus breakfast, with the Commodore including breakfast it made complete sense.

The commodore 4-birth was a decent size, double bed which was comfy, sofa/bed, pull down bed, TV and a chair. A mini-fridge with some god awful "champagne" some free beer and came with WiFi for the entire trip which was good. Breakfast is great in the Commodore section, well compared to the standard affair anyways!

 

[Scam]

Because successful restaurants opening other branches is a bad thing?

Of course not. But why would you go all the way to Amsterdam only to eat in a restaurant that you could in the UK?

 

[Spook187]

Two places I would recommend and know you will not have a bad meal:

CAU Steakhouse Nice quality, decent food

Sazanka Teppanyaki Restaurant - Michelin Star so costs a bit more (spent £200+ just on a steak) but worth it all day!

What planet are you on, he's going for 5 hours and your wanting to spend on a daft steak more than it cost to even get there just lol

 

[Deleted member 66701]

[12/08, 18:07] doodah: De Hallen Amsterdam - awesome food/shopping market.

That sounds right up our street (if you excuse the pun). If it's nice weather I think this will be our choice.

Thanks all.

 

[NVP]

What planet are you on, he's going for 5 hours and your wanting to spend on a daft steak more than it cost to even get there just lol

He asked for places to take his wife. He's not paid for the holiday so I'm sure a treat at a nice restaurant isn't out of the question. iirc he's not short of change either.

 

[whitecrook]

Hope I'm not hijacking the thread, but I'm going to Amsterdam for a weekend next month, have booked a canal tour and Anne Frank. As well as some coffee shops is there anything else that I need to see while I'm here. Where is the best place to stay ? any recommendations ?

 

[rodenal]

Some of the best food / general dining experience we had for the money in Amsterdam last time was a place called Zaza's. Sits middle of the road in terms of price and doesn't pretend to be fine dining but we really enjoyed it.

To be fair there are plenty of decent places to eat if you wander south from the red light.

 

[PooKer]

Personally my favorite meal while in Amsterdam was from Umaimon (umaimonramennoodle.nl) I didnt have a bad meal anywhere over the few days we stayed. Only the breakfast in the hotel was disappointing.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I wouldn't go to Ann Frank's house if you only have 5 hours.

For food, I would just try some cake and then some waffles or something. Just walk around the city and take it all in.

 

[Flaevius]

With only five hours, I would avoid the museums: I don't see the point in spending what little time you have indoors and missing out on the ambience and architecture. That and you'll either need a couple of hours to do it justice or waste your time in queues.

Personally, I would buy a canal boat ticket to take in Amsterdam generally and hop off wherever you like quickly, then spend time walking a few of the canals just out of the immediate centre and find a picturesque spot for lunch and a drink. Or head up to the Rijksmuseum area and then make your way over to De Hallen. Fwiw, I stayed near Oosterdok - if you want a museum, you have a choice there of either NEMO (science) or Scheepvaartmuseum (maritime). There is a fantastic little restaurant a stones throw away which likely won't show up on many tourist radars, Café Kadijk (5 Kadijksplein). Indonesian, well-priced. The rendang padang was something else.