Where to eat in Amsterdam: a guide to the city's dining

A drinking city that learned to eat

Amsterdam is the largest dining city in our Netherlands coverage, with 999 restaurants, and its profile is unmistakable: this is a bar and cafe city first. Bars (294 listings) and cafes (240) top the categories, with a strong pub scene (86) behind them. The famous "brown cafe", the cosy, wood-panelled neighbourhood pub, is the building block of the city's social life, and a lot of the best casual eating happens around a drink rather than at a formal table.

Reading the city, not the centre

Unlike the Turkish cities, our Amsterdam listings are not broken into administrative districts, so the way to navigate is by the city's well-known quarters. The canal belt and the centre are dense, touristy and convenient but rarely where locals eat best. The Jordaan offers the classic brown-cafe-and-bistro experience. De Pijp, south of the centre, is the city's most reliable eating neighbourhood, packed with international kitchens around the Albert Cuyp market. Amsterdam-West and the Oud-West have become the contemporary food destination, anchored by the food hall scene.

The quarters, and what each is for

Because our Amsterdam data is not split into districts, it helps to map the city by its quarters. The Jordaan is the picture-book canal neighbourhood, best for the classic brown-cafe-and-bistro evening. De Pijp, around the Albert Cuyp market, is the city's most dependable eating quarter, dense with international kitchens and a young crowd. Amsterdam-West and the Oud-West are the contemporary food destination, anchored by the Foodhallen. The canal belt and centre are convenient and dense but tourist-priced, and rarely where locals eat best. Across the IJ to the north, the former NDSM shipyard has become a creative waterfront with destination cafe-bars.

The numbers underline the city's character: bars (294 listings) and cafes (240) dwarf any food category, with pubs (86) behind them. On price and timing, Amsterdam is expensive and eats early by southern-European standards: kitchens often stop serving by 9:30 to 10pm even when the bar runs late, so book dinner earlier than you might in Istanbul. Reservations are wise for the well-known sit-down restaurants; the brown cafes and food halls are walk-in by nature. The best value, as ever, is one tram stop out from the centre, in De Pijp, the Jordaan or Amsterdam-West.

Food halls and the international table

The single most-reviewed venue in our Amsterdam data is the Foodhallen, the indoor food hall in a converted tram depot in Amsterdam-West, which captures how the city now likes to eat: many small kitchens, one room, drinks in hand. Beyond that, Amsterdam's strength is breadth. A relatively small but real Asian presence (36 listings), Italian, and a deep cafe-brunch culture mean you can eat across the world without leaving the ring. For a sit-down classic, canal-side institutions like Greenwoods Singel do the all-day brunch the city is fond of.

Most-reviewed places in Amsterdam