Roaming Numeral

Amsterdam is popular for a variety of reasons- the sites, the culture, the canals! Most importantly: the food!

Having been to Amsterdam before, this time around I wanted to focus more on the food. To be honest I ate a lot more pastry than I intended but it was all so good I couldn’t pass it up. If you’re looking for a well balanced meal, look elsewhere- I have a well documented sweet tooth and you might as well consider this an Amsterdam dessert tasting menu.

Omelegg

There are two Omelegg locations in the city- one in the City Centre and the original Omelegg – de Pijp, which is the one I always go to.

There are no reservations, but the seats turn over quickly and there’s a big family-style table if you don’t mind sitting next to strangers.

FEBO

This automated-style chain is possibly the most iconic Dutch fast food chain. Picture a wall of glass cabinets, behind which sits the food of your choice. Simply pay for your snack and the cabinet pops open for you to retrieve your food. The fare is typically greasy and delicious, not the best food in the world, but perfect for a tipsy late night snack! I always get the krokets, myself.

With 22 different storefronts in Amsterdam alone, you never have to wander far for a snack.

Let’s Talk Dutch Pancakes

Unlike the typical fluffy American-style pankcake, the Dutch pancake or pannenkoek is very thin and flat- almost crepe-like- and often uses savory toppings rather than slathering maple syrup overtop. Apple and bacon is one of the most popular pancake toppings, so that’s what I typically order. I’m still not quite sure what to make of the sweet and savory flavor combo, but it’s growing on me.

There are endless places to get pannenkoeken, but these are some of the most popular.

Pancakes Amsterdam

Definitely a touristy chain, but Pancakes Amsterdam was my first experience with pannenkoeken, so I’m still fond of it! Plus, they offer gluten-free, lactose-free, and vegan options so it’s a great choice for visitors with restricted diets.

Be aware that these locations only accept credit cards (and if memory serves they do not allow you to split your check). I didn’t have time (or the room in my stomach!) to stop by on this visit, but I was gifted a little wooden clogs keychain with my check, which I thought was a super sweet touch.

De Carrousel Pannenkoeken Amsterdam

Since I didn’t want to backtrack to Pancakes Amsterdam on my second visit, I dropped by De Carrousel, which is charmingly built around a tiny carousel. To be clear, the restaurant is enclosed- something I was very happy to discover after walking over in the cold. Service was super friendly and my pancake came out promptly. I think I forgot how big these are! A typical Dutch pancake is over a foot in diameter- which more than makes up for its short stature.

This location is also known for its poffertjes (tiny fluffy pancakes), but I was strategically saving room to eat at other locations and gave this a miss for the time being.

Pancakehouse Upstairs

I’ve been recommended Pancakehouse Upstairs so many times it’s become my white whale. Unfortunately, this location only has four tables, and I never remember to make a reservation in time to actually give it a try!

Next time for sure! (I say this every time)

Cafe ’t Papeneiland

Known for its apple pie, this cafe has been around since 1642. I’m not a huge fan of apple pie and I was immediately intimidated by the size of the slices- just look at it!

Still, the atmosphere of this restaurant is lovely with its dark wood and historic decorations. I ordered a plate of poffertjes just to hang out for a bit. They were as good as you can expect a plate full of fried bread, sugar and butter to be, but definitely not made to order.

There are two floors to this restaurant, with wide windows facing the street and canal. Guests were welcome to sit at any empty seats- even if the rest of the table was claimed by different guests, but I ended up sitting at the bar with my snacks to take up as little space as possible in the busy restaurant.

This meant that I got a front row seat to the good-natured staff- I was so close to their staging area that I joked that it felt like I was part of their team and they started including me in little jokes as I ate.

While I can’t speak to the pie, the staff and the atmosphere alone makes Cafe ’t Papeneiland worth a visit!

Winkel 43

Another place that constantly came up when I was looking for pie recommendations was Winkel 43- and it seemed like half the world got the memo! The line here extended out the door, and there was no chance of seating- even with the chilly outdoor table set up. I gave this one a miss and went just a few hundred feet over to Cafe ’t Papeniland, but clearly there is something to the pies to give Winkel 43 such lasting popularity!

Bunbun

This tiny bakery takes up just a corner of a building, with enough room for the small staff and perhaps two or three customers at a time. They knew what they were doing with the enormous windows displaying their pastries, though! The display had me literally turning around on my way to pick up one of their speciality croissant buns!

Bunbun offers both sweet and savory buns, but the sweet buns are the clear favorites. When I visited, they had cinnamon, pistachio, apple crumble, strawberry cheesecake, and chocolate raspberry flavors. I picked up a chocolate raspberry bun and honestly I can’t stop thinking about it- BunBun is definitely worth a visit!

Proeflokaal Int Apjen

One of Amsterdam’s oldest remaining bars and one of only two surviving wooden buildings in the city, this historic pub is worth a visit! There is, of course, a full beer menu but I suggest getting the Aepjen Bier which is brewed specifically for the bar.

While you’re drinking take a look around and see how many monkeys you can spot! As the story goes, this pub was very popular with sailors returning from foreign lands with pet monkeys that they would barter away to settle their tab. Of course, the monkeys were done away with over time- for one, they don’t make very good pets, and for another, they often carried fleas with them which is never good for business.

The monkeys are gone, but their likeness remain and it’s a fun little piece of history to entertain visitors with.

This pub gets pretty crowded at night, but if you’re patient and quick, you can usually snag a seat before too long.

Brouwerij ‘t IJ

This brewery is pretty out of the way no matter how adventurous your wandering gets, but I always recommend it for one reason- it’s located inside a windmill! Although the windmill is nearly 300 years old the taproom itself is fairly modern, with tons of seating and an outdoor garden area if the weather is nice.

Be aware that the beer is quite strong here- a flight may leave your stumbling on your feet!

By the time I left Amsterdam I think I had more sugar running through my veins than blood, but it was so worth it.

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