A weekend in Amsterdam: where to eat and what to do

It was the first blue-sky, t-shirt temperature weekend of spring in a city emerging from winter, and it was glorious. The canals were sun-drenched and sparkling, and seemingly every human in town was seeking out that vitamin D: couches pulled out onto doorsteps, cafe tables haphazardly dragged onto the cobbles, people reading while lounging on their front steps or sunbathing on balconies, and parks and canals full of picnics. Around every corner was another view – bridges adorned with bicycles or a strip of unnervingly tilted canal-side houses, narrow buildings with large windows that in the evening emanate golden light (with residents clearly not averse to being seen by passers by). Plus bustling street markets, world class museums, warm stroop waffels oozing caramel and an emerging restaurant scene – what more could you want?

This is probably at odds with Amsterdam’s traditional seedy reputation, which might be the impression you leave with if you stick to the tourist-filled city centre (which is very easy to avoid). But even in that there is history and stories, as I learnt on a walking tour, and it epitomises the Dutch culture of tolerance (as long as there are ways of turning a profit and minimising harm, that is). The tolerance of soft drugs (PS. A cafe is for coffee. A coffeeshop is not) and the infamous red light district are prime examples, and the stories of how they came to be are worth hearing.

It’s a compact city of just 800,000 people and is easily walkable: it’s also a city made for cycling, with dedicated bike paths criss-crossing canals. Great food did seem slighter harder to find than in cities like London, but with research, recommendations and a certain amount of trial and error, we ate extremely well. Below I have compiled some of my favourite spots for how to spend a weekend in Amsterdam – obviously not entirely comprehensive but based on four days packed full of eating. Read on for lots of photographs, where to find a Melbourne-worthy flat-white, canal side drinks, neighbourhoods to explore, farmers markets, museums and the best apple pie I’ve ever had.

We stayed in an airbnb in De Pijp, which is an area I’d highly recommend – much more local than the city centre (and more affordable), lots of cafes and restaurants, and walking distance to pretty much everywhere you’d want to go.

Coffee and Brunch

• Scandinavian Embassy: a sun-lit spot in De Pijp serving up excellent coffee, with freshly baked cinnamon knots emerging on trays from the tiny kitchen every morning. The bowl of rye and barley porridge topped with berries and a splash of cream was also a treat.
• Toki: the best coffee of the trip was found at this minimalist spot on the west side of the city, alongside a counter of shiny kouign-amanns and loaf cakes with the best frosting:cake ratio I’ve seen in a while. The lunch menu looked equally enviable.
• Little Collins: a Melbourne-inspired cafe opened by XX which felt a bit like the place to see and be seen, with lunchtime bloody marys possibly more of a priority than the coffee. In saying that, the menu was much more innovative than many of the brunch spots around Amsterdam – just be prepared for a wait.
• Dignita: this glass-house in a garden cafe feels like an escape from the bustle of the rest of the city – perfect for a slow morning or a late lunch on a sunny day. Try the chickpea and zucchini fritters with golden haloumi, herby yogurt and a poached egg.
• Bocca Coffee: a central dedicated coffee roastery with a few small lunch plates and treats.
• Buffet van Odette: a light and white-tiled canal-side restaurant dishing up seasonal, vegetable focussed food. It’s open all day – stop by in the morning for their famous truffle omelette or parmesan baked eggs, lunch time for the Ottolenghi-vibed salad bar or simply for their gorgeous desserts. Book ahead if you can.

Bakeries and Patisserie

• Winkel 43: this APPLE PIE. I’m sure you’ve probably already heard it, but I’m going to reiterate it for good measure. Mind-boggling numbers of ultra-deep, cinnamon scented apple pies emerge from the downstairs kitchen of this restaurant throughout the day, and slices disappear from the counter as fast as they are cut. A buttery crisp pastry and a side of whipped cream – what more could you want? Go on a Saturday morning and wander round the Noordermarkt at the same time (just be warned that Saturday is also their busiest day for the same reason).
• Original Stroop Waffels in Albert Cuyp market: the best freshly made stroop waffel I tried – the distinctive crisp and cinnamon waffled pastry filled with a gooey caramel centre and served hot and hand-sized with a smear of dark chocolate. Eat while wandering the market, and enjoy the sugar rush. The pofterjes made at a stall nearby were also worth trying- get them topped with a chunk of butter, a drizzle of maple syrup and a serious dusting of icing sugar (no nutella here).
• Van Wonderen Stroop Waffel: a second best to the market version above, these stroop waffels are also freshly made (and therefore superior to any non-fresh version), but this time come with your choice of topping (and thus are also the most instagrammed stroop waffel in amsterdam, precariously held out of the edge of canals – note that I didn’t do this, ok?!).
• Van Stapele: a tiny mahogany wood-panelled shopfront tucked in next to the fumes of a few coffeeshops, with the much more delicious smells of freshly made double chocolate cookies wafting from the door. So fresh you can literally watch them tuck white chocolate centres into balls of dark chocolate dough and peer through the glass oven doors as cookies spread and rise.
• Patisserie Holtkamp: founded in 1886, this patisserie not only supplies the Dutch Royal family, but (perhaps the royalty of food) Yotam Ottolenghi described it as probably the best bakery in Amsterdam. They’re well known for the croquettes, but I also tried a slab of lemon meringue pie. There’s no room to eat in, but if it’s sunny have a picnic canal-side.
• Massimo Gelato: I unfortunately ran out of stomach room to try this corner shop in De Pijp, but really wanted to – and the line of locals out the door all weekend affirmed this. Possibly the best gelato in Amsterdam.

Restaurants 

• 101 Gowrie: a tiny space in De Pijp headed by Alex Haupt, an Australian chef who recently featured on the Netflix show The Final Table and has worked at Dinner by Heston in London. Described as New Dutch cuisine, the food was outstanding and (for a tasting menu) reasonably priced. A taste of a savoury pofetje, here made with potato and topped with caviar; mini boules of housemade spelt sourdough smeared thick with rich whipped cultured kefir butter; more starters and a choice of main. I would highly recommend booking a table here if your budget extends to it – a well thought-out tasting menu that didn’t feel pretentious or fussy, retaining the vibe of a local, neighbourhood restaurant with a fairly young clientele.
• Sir Hummus: casual and fast, here they dollop up portions of hummus to rival Tel Aviv- fluffy, smooth and creamy, with your choice of toppings (mine was a roast eggplant salad, chickpeas and pine nuts) and a side of warm pita, salad and pickles.
• Soup and zo: essentially salad and takeaway soup, but just the kind of food you want when you’ve been travelling for days: homely and full of vegetables and a cheap, easy meal. There’s a few locations over the city, perfect for lunch or an early quick dinner.
• Other places I didn’t make it to but might be worth a try:
  • Tujuh Maret: because of Amsterdam’s history of trading and colonisation, international cuisines are prominent, and the Indonesian rijsttafel most of all. Essentially a set menu of many small (and spicy) dishes, I was disappointed not to get the chance to try it.
  • Bar Fisk: a tucked away seafood restaurant inspired by the food of Tel Aviv – casual small share plates.
  • Choux: a casual vegetable focused tasting menu that came highly recommended.
  • La perla pizzeria or Sotto Pizza: apparently some of the best pizza in Amsterdam (that also wouldn’t be out of place in Italy).
  • Wilde Zwijnen or their Eetbar next door: a daily changing menu of modern Dutch cuisine.
  • Fou Fow Ramen: for a quick dinner in a bustling ramen joint.

Markets, museums and things to see:

• Albert Cuypstraat: a six-day a week street market (closed Sundays) in De Pijp – apparently over 100 years old and the largest street market in Europe. Perfect for acquiring bread, cheese, fresh fruit and vegetables if you’re cooking for yourself or having a picnic, or seek out the Original Stroop Waffels and neighbouring pofterjes stall.
• Noordermarkt: a lively Saturday morning farmer’s market right beside the legendary Winkel 43 (see above) filled with everything from fresh produce to flowers, clothing and antiques.
• Anne Frank House: a haunting tour through the largely untouched rooms that Anne Frank and her family hid in for 2 years during the Nazi occupation – the annex of the warehouse where her father formerly worked, and where she penned her diary. I re-read her diary in the days before I visited, and was overwhelmed by the somewhat precocious insight into relationships and humanity of a normal girl in extraordinary circumstances in a way I don’t think I appreciated when reading it age 12. Because of limitations on visitor numbers, tickets are exceedingly hard to come by –  either book 2-3 months out, or get online the morning of your visit for the 9am release (my advice would be to get in the queue at just before 9, then keep reloading the page if it crashes. Mine crashed a number of times and I thought they were sold out, but finally at 9:10am it finally worked and there were still tickets available).
• The Van Gogh Museum: disclaimer – I’m not a huge museum person. I enjoy them for a few hours, but I’m not one of those people who could stay all day and stare at a few pieces of art work. In saying that, this was probably the best museum I’ve been to (up there with L’orangerie in Paris – the water lilies are something else). Telling the life story of Van Gogh alongside a huge collection of his art, it was fascinating to hear more about the man behind some of the most recognisable paintings in the world. Again, book tickets ahead of time as they tend to sell out, particularly for the weekend, and I also really enjoyed the audioguide. Other people also highly recommend the Rijkmuseum, and we enjoyed a quick visit to the Moco museum of modern art.
• Walking tour: for learning the basics of a city’s history and fascinating insights about places that you might ordinarily have walked straight past, as well as getting local’s perspective on their city, a walking tour is hard to go past. I did a Freedam tour on my first day and would highly recommend it – it was the only time I walked through the Red Light district the whole trip, but I learnt so much more about its history and current issues than I ever would have otherwise.
• Vondelpark: essentially the central park of Amsterdam – on sunny days full of picnics, and on dreary mornings full of cycling commuters and joggers. It backs onto the museum district, so perfect for a wander pre- or post-museum visit.
• Bike and explore! Amsterdam seems to be one of those cities that is best seen not through the grand museums or the tourist-crammed central city, but by exploring on your own two feet (or two wheels – hiring a bike is an inexpensive way to feel more like a local). Spend an afternoon exploring De Pijp’s concept stores and wine bars, discover one boutique store after another alongside the most beautiful canals in the nine streets, wander through Jordaan and spent a morning at at a market. In the summer, grab treats and picnic canal-side.