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B

Bar Ça
Marie Heinekenplein 30-31
Mediterranean
Designer tapas and cava bar displaying fine Catalan designer touches, with a big sunny terrace to the square behind the Heineken Brewery. A relaxed Mediterranean attitude is evident in the slow service which doesn’t put off the crowds of trendy ‘De Pijp’ district locals. Tapas from €2.
Tel.:(020) 4704144.

Bazar
Albert Cuypstraat 182
Middle Eastern, Mediterranean
Big and lively Oriental restaurant mixing culinary and decor influences from the Mediterranean. The Middle Eastern menu is tasty and filling with mains from €8-13 and smaller dishes €3-5. There are some good veggie choices but carnivores should check out the amazing ribs. They have daily specials featuring fresh food from the market outside.
Tel.:(020) 6750544.

Bojo
Lange Leidsedwarsstraat 51
Indonesian
Great Indonesian restaurant with fantastic value-for-money, filling meals. It’s pretty small and very popular with young locals because of its late opening hours so either come early or be prepared to wait a while for a table. Friday and Saturday evenings get very lively. It has no drinks licence so it’s only soft drinks with your Nasi Goreng but it lies in the middle of one of the busiest night life districts in the whole city so a beer is never far away. Open until 2 am (3 am Fri and Sat).
Tel.: (020) 6227434.

C

Café de Groene Vlinder
Albert Cuypstraat 130
Dutch
The ‘Green Butterfly Café’ is a friendly, studenty place, right next to the Albert Cuypstraat market. The interior is all exposed brick and old iron fittings. A great place to grab a beer and a bite after a hard days browsing and sightseeing. Sandwiches €2.50-4.50, mains €8-16, they serve fresh fish from the market and late night snacks. Offers discounts to students.
Tel.:(020) 4702500

Café de Jaren
Nieuwe Doelenstraat 20-22
Dutch
This bright and spacious café has the great advantage of a sunny terrace directly by a pretty section of the river. Head to the terrace to relax or go inside for the lively buzz of a popular café that was declared Dutch Café of the Year 1998. It has an international atmosphere and is very ‘see and be seen’. Serves sandwiches from €3 and pasta and salads from €7-12.
Tel.: (020)6255771.

Café Kobalt
Singel 2
Dutch
Probably the nicest café you’ll find close to the central station. Not just great place to enjoy a drink when arriving or leaving town, the converted old canalside warehouse is a beautiful place to visit at any time. The original wooden beams and flooring add to the cosiness and the soundtrack is Blue Note style jazz. At the weekends they have DJs playing. They serve sandwiches (€3.80-6.70), toasted sandwiches (€2.90), main dishes (e.g. hamburger €5.80) and big salads (around €8). Open ‘til 1 am (Fri and Sat 3 am).
Tel.: (020) 3201559.

Café van Zuylen
Torensteeg 4-8
Dutch
A typical city centre café offering sandwiches (€3.50-5), salads and pastas (around €7.50). What makes this one stand out is the very large terrace on the adjacent bridge - perfect for catching some sun between exploring the old centre and the Canal Girdle. Don’t expect a quick drink though, this café (and its service) is firmly in the Dutch tradition of ‘hey, take your time, relax and enjoy the view’.
Tel.: (020) 6391055.

Café ‘t Smalle
Elegantiersgracht 12
Dutch
A typical pretty little canalside café in Jordaan. This cosy, friendly place was declared Amsterdam’s wine bar of the year 2001. They also serve a variety of beers and simple café food from salads (around €7) to soups and sandwiches (€3-5). If the rain stops for 5 minutes try to find a seat on their little terrace by the canal or else squeeze inside. The 1970s photos of the bar on the walls show that in the best Amsterdam cafés nothing every really changes (except maybe the hairstyles). The café is actually one of the oldest in town, opening in 1786 as a tasting room of a gin distillery.
Tel.: (020) 3444560.

Chocolate Bar
1e van der Helstraat 62a
Dutch
The De Pijp district is an exciting mix of world culture, traditional locals’ places and new hip bars like this. The interior design and soundtrack are relaxed and fresh and have taken clues from the Caribbean menu on offer. By day they serve big tasty sandwiches (€3-9) and by night the place becomes a restaurant and bar filled to the brim with trendy local student types.
Tel.: (020) 6757672.

Coco's Outback
Thorbeckplein 8-12
Pub Food
Amsterdam's only Australian bar, with two Happy Hours each day of the week. With 15 TV's and two big screens, you're sure to get your sporting fix, be it football, rugby or soccer. Food includes burgers, homemade pies, vegetarian meals and even some all you-can-eat deals. Happy Hour 5pm-6pm, Cocktail Hour 10pm-11pm. Sun to Thu 11am-1am, Thu-Sat 11am-3am.

D

De Bakkerswinkel
Warmoesstraat 69
Dutch
Hidden away on a busy street around the corner from the Red Light District it’s easy to miss this great little place amongst the neon of coffee- and sex shops. Step inside are you are taken into a different world of gezellig cosiness. Behind the bakery and cake shop is a small but bright café offering breakfasts (8 am - 12 pm, €5-10), lunches (12-4 pm, €5-10) and afternoon cream teas (2-4 pm, €7 to a huge €37 including three wines). The stuffed, fresh baked rolls straight from the oven are recommended (€7.75). Wait to be seated, take your time, relax and enjoy the fresh food and teas, then take the receipts up to the till to pay.
Tel.:(020)4898000.

De Beiaard
Kloveniersburgwal 6-8
Dutch
A chain of Dutch restaurants with their own brewery. The atmosphere is typically Dutch and cosy and the menu surprisingly modern with traditional fish and stew staples alongside international and veggie choices. There’s a monthly 3 course set meal for €22.50 and a good selection of the better Dutch and Belgian beers. Their own brew is pretty good and cheaper than the others. You can also arrange private tours of the brewery in the ‘De Bekeerde Suster’ branch near the Nieuwmarkt (over 10 people only, call (020) 4230112 for reservations). Starters and salads €3-8, mains around €10-15. Two small restaurant bars and one really big one just behind the Heineken Brewery at the entrance to the De Pijp district.
Kloveniersburgwal 6-8, (020) 4230112.
Marie Heinekenplein 5, (020) 3790888.
Spui 30, (020) 6225110.

De Vliegende Schotel
Nieuwe Leliestraat 162-168
Dutch
‘The Flying Saucer’ is an excellent value for money vegetarian restaurant, hidden away on a narrow, quiet street in Jordaan. The food is multi-national, imaginative and served in huge, filling portions. Starters and salads from €3-9, big choice of main dishes €8-13, there are also a couple of fish dishes. They serve organic beers and wines. English menus available. Don’t let the resident cat steal your ice cream after the meal. Open 4:00-11:30 pm.
Tel.: (020) 6252041.

L

La Place
Kalverstraat 203
Dutch
Crowded food hall canteen attached to the V&D department store next door. There are all types of food from fresh salads to stir fry, steak or pizza. The kitchens are spread around the hall and you can see everything being prepared so you know that it's fresh. It's a very big place with an outside terrace and all sorts of rooms spread around, each given individual names so you don't get lost. There is also a large no smoking section. Open from 10 am - 6:30 pm (9 pm on Thurs and 6 pm Sun).
Tel.: 0900-2358363.

Los Pilones
Kerkstraat 63
One of the most authentic Mexican restaurants you will find anywhere outside of the Americas, this place was created, staffed and, interestingly, decorated by Mexicans. The menu is simple but offers great tasting dishes and also caters for veggies. There is a selection of Mexican and Dutch beers and lots of tequilas to choose from. If you want to try and reproduce the taste at home they also sell imported Mexican foodstuffs like chillies and sauces. Free W-LAN. Starters from €3, mains €10-12.
Tel.: (020)3204651.

N

Nam Kee
Zeedijk 111-113
Chinese
This is by far the most famous Chinese restaurant in Amsterdam, at the heart of the Chinatown, directly opposite the Chinese Temple. For 25 years it has established a reputation of great food at great prices. The 18 page menu means that choosing your food might take longer than for them to cook it. If you can’t get a table then it has plenty of neighbours offering Chinese, Thai, Malaysian and one or two pizza joints looking a little out of place. If you really fall in love with the food they also sell their own recipe book to take home. Starters €2-4, mains €7-16.
Tel.: (020) 6243470.

P

Proust
Noodermarkt 4
Dutch
Jordaan is more residential than other districts and the buildings are smaller so this popular bar gets outrageously busy. Situated on the pretty Noodermarkt square next to the canal, it's a pleasant café restaurant by day - serving modern and mixed international food from €7-15, but by night it really lets its hair down and turns the volume up. The crowd are 20 something students and locals from all over the city.
Tel.: (020) 6239145.

R

Rimini
Lange Leidesedwarsstraat 75
Cheap and colourful Italian restaurant with surprisingly good, thin crust pizza. Decorated with all the usual tacky touches including plastic flowers and full of the buzz of locals and visitors. They serve some the best cheap pizza in town (€3.45-6.50, 33cm/13” wide) as well as pasta (€3.45-9.15) and steaks or seafood (€10-15). One thing to note buying at least one drink is obligatory but a small glass of beer is fairly priced (€1.80) by Amsterdam standards. At the heart of the Leidseplein drinking-district it’s a good place to line the stomach before hitting the bars.
Tel.: (020) 6227014

T

The Pancake Bakery
Prinsengracht 191
Dutch
The most famous pancake place in Amsterdam. Serves pizza sized giant pancakes with sweet or savoury fillings - or weird combos for those with confused taste buds. Mind your head on the way down to the cosy lower level or head upstairs for a view of nearby houseboats. Plain pancakes from €5, up to €12 for all the trimmings. They also have a wide range of omelettes. A good place to fuel an afternoon exploring the Jordaan district.
Tel.: (020) 6251333

Tokyo Café
Spui 15
Japanese
Japanese restaurant and sushi bar in a big and beautiful Art Nouveau building on Spui square. The main courses go for €10-25 or there are set menus from around €29. Individual sushi from €1.55 to €10.30. They also do ‘teppanyaki’ meals prepared right at the table in ten courses (!) from €28. If that all sounds a little expensive try the lunch menus (€5-15, 12-4 pm) or the fantastic, all you can eat sushi (Mon, Tues and Weds €18 and a ‘de luxe’ version on Thurs €23) in two sessions 6-8 pm and 8:15-10:15 pm.
Tel.: (020) 4897918.

‘

‘t Pakhuis
Voetboogstraat 10-12
Dutch
Studenty restaurant and bar on a quiet side street from the main shopping district, this popular place buzzes with post-shopping, pre-party chatter. The food is filling and hearty with steaks around €13, veggie dishes and salads €5-9. English menus available. The style is Dutch-cosy with wooden panelling and warm colours.
Tel. (020) 6250856.