Snack Bar Bird is on the busy Zeedijk, this is the China Town of Amsterdam. By far the best place to eat here is Snack bar Bird.

This tiny place serves the best Thai food one can imagine. Unfortunately the place is also very small and cramped, so often you have to wait outside before there is a table available. But luckily they are really quick so the wait is never too long. Sit at the window if you get the chance. You’ll see some interesting people…Once you’ve managed to squeeze yourself into a seat you wonder how you will ever get out. Don’t worry, you’ll manage.

I always have the beef in oyster sauce and I’ve never tasted it better than here! To get you started the spring rolls are delicious too. This is really the place for a quick bite that isn’t junk food. The portions are big and will keep you going for the rest of the evening.

If you’re looking for a more relaxed dinner there is also the option of Bird restaurant just across the street. It has the same owner as the snack bar but it is a real restaurant with more tables and more space. For any group bigger then 4 people the restaurant is a better option than the snack bar. Unfortunately it does lack the snack bars atmosphere. So if it’s in any way possible, go for the snack bar!

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Snack Bar Bird | Snacks, Restaurants (Thai) | Main meal € 12.50
Zeedijk 77 | Old center
14:00 – 22:00 daily

If you’re looking for a relaxed evening out you’re in the wrong place here. Eating sushi at the Tokyo café can be quite hectic, but that’s part of the fun if you ask me!

The concept here is ‘all you can eat’ for a set price. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday they serve all you can eat sushi for only €20,80 (the drinks are a bit expensive by the way). Thursday till Sunday the concept is the same only then the price is €23,80. Lunch is also possible daily, this costs €16,80.

Back to the ‘all you can eat’. This is how it works: Every round each person can pick five choices from the menu and when it’s all eaten it’s time for the next round!

When you start, you feel like you can go on forever but don’t fool yourself. I’m sure that after four or five rounds you will be near exploding. So prepare yourself.

Another tip is to take it easy with the ordering. Usually you do have plenty of time and the restaurant doesn’t like to waste any food. If you do manage to leave food you will have to pay for it!

It is important to know that its wise to make a reservation and the restaurant works with an early (17:30 – 20:00) and a late (20:15 – 22:30) shift. I would recommend the late shift cause there wont be people waiting around for their food while you are still finishing your meal.

Good idea for when the weather gets warmer: They also do take away!

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Tokyo Cafe | Restaurants | All you can eat € 20,80
Spui 15 | Old center
12:00 – 22:30 daily

The last time I was on my way to Waldorf I was in a hurry. I was going for a drink with a friend but left my house later than planned. And as if that wasn’t bad enough it was very very cold and the rain was pouring down. By the time I got there I hoped my friend would be waiting for me inside, warm and dry. But she wasn’t. It turned out the cafe wasn’t open yet and she was waiting in front of the door just as soaked as me… So it turns out Waldorf doesn’t open until five! It used to be open for lunch but I guess it isn’t anymore. But you are still welcome for dinner, and it’s good!

The food Waldorf serves is mainly Italian and very tasty. The thing I like about the place is that you can eat Italian food without being in either a too tacky or too posh Italian restaurant. Simple pasta dishes are served, but you can also order meat or fish.

The restaurant has a very retro feel. All of the furniture looks as if it comes right from the fifties but at the same time it all looks nice and fresh. The carpets on the tables are typical old fashioned dutch style. You will still see those in other real old fashioned Amsterdam bars. I love the picture on the wall of a winter landscape, although looking at it makes me feel cold!

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Waldorf | Bars, Restaurants (Italian ) | Pasta (main) € 12.00
Elandsgracht 2 | Canals | +310207787564
17:00 – 01:00 daily

I really love the Javanese Surinamese cuisine. This is why I love the Pijp so much. This area is filled with these kinds of restaurants. Most of them don’t look very nice on the inside. It’s all about the food and not about atmosphere. Usually it is not the ideal place for a romantic evening out. But in the case of Spang Makandra it is slightly different.

In a little street just a couple of minutes away from the famous Albert Cuijp Market you will find a little restaurant called Spang Makandra. This place is different than your usual Surinamese restaurant and this is mostly thanks to the interior of the restaurant and the presentation of the food. Now it would be too much to say that the restaurant is perfect for a romantic evening out. This is due to the giant television screen that fills one entire wall of the restaurant. This isn’t exactly romantic but it is nice for people that are waiting for their take out or for the people that are eating alone. But still despite the television the place has quite a nice atmosphere. The lights are dimmed and the interior looks really nice and is very comfortable.

The guy that owns the place is really friendly and all in all the atmosphere is very relaxed. And I haven’t even mentioned the food! This is in one word DELICIOUS! The menu is big and you can choose from lots of different main meals with rice or noodles, snacks, and sandwiches. The food is served nicely on big plates which makes the presentation much nicer than in most of the other Surinamese restaurants.

Last but not least: the portions are big so don’t order too much. Even if it is very tempting…

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Spang Makandra | Snacks, Restaurants (Javanese/Surinamese) | Main meal € 8.00
Gerard Doustraat 39 | De Pijp | +310206705081
Tue – Sat 11:00 – 22:00, Sun 13:00 – 22:00

The menu here isn’t big. And it doesn’t need to be. The only thing you need to order is cheese fondue, entrecote, salad, and finally chocolatemousse as a dessert. I’m a great lover of cheese so this place is really one of my favorites.

The cheese fondue is great and you get plenty of bread to go with it. Any of the different salads will do great for a bit of a fresh taste cause the fondue is quite heavy and obviously cheesy!

The entrecôte comes on a plate which is on a flame where you can further fry the meat in a very tasty sauce. Maybe this is not the place for a romantic first date though. All of the cheese and garlic doesn’t leave your mouth smelling very fresh…

It is busy here every night and this is probably why they have squeezed a lot of tables into the space. You will probably sit close to the other guests but I usually only concentrate on the cheese so it doesn’t bother me!

It is important to know that a reservation is required if you don’t want to eat too late. As soon as your there you will find it easy to spend the rest of the evening there with your cheese fondue and a nice bottle of wine. I can’t wait till the next time! and the next! and the next!

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Bern | Bars, Restaurants | Main meal € 15.00
Nieuwmarkt 9 | Old center | +31206220034
15:00 – 01:00 daily

Brasserie Harkema is situated in the Nes – a very narrow street, more of a alleyway, with lots of restaurants, café’s and theatres. The kitchen is open till 23:00 so it is a great place to get something to eat even after you’ve been to the theatre, or the cinema.

If you walk past the outside of the restaurant you wouldn’t imagine the space on the inside to be so big! Harkema is situated in a building that used to be a factory but now is done up very nicely into a brasserie style restaurant.  The place is enormous and very impressive. On one side the wall is made out of wine bottles stuck into the wall. This is also where you can see people working in the open kitchen.  The other side of the restaurant has a wall full of coloured stripes and a broad narrow window.

I really like it here because of the atmosphere. Because the area is big you feel anonymous but at the same time the service is good and almost always quick. The restaurant is formal and informal at the same time. It is informal because it attracts a crowd of different people who all seem to feel at home and you don’t need to dress up. The people who work here are mostly young people and students, and you could just walk in without a reservation that is usually no problem. But it is also formal because the quality of the food and the wine is good and you get served quickly. Also the interior is very nice.

I know I should try different things, but when I come here I almost always order the same thing: Caesar salad to start and the grilled tuna as a main course. You can also order oysters which I have never done but still intend to do because it looks so interesting! They also serve delicious bread with great olive oil and the homemade fries and mustard mayonnaise is absolutely delicious!

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Brasserie Harkema | Restaurants (European) | Main meal € 18.00
Nes 67 | Old center | +314282222
17:30 – 23:00 daily

Pompstation a new place in town, New York industrial style, great food and wines. Fridays and Saturdays after dinner dance. Live music of young up coming jazzy performers and bands. I had a excellent food and wine experience on a casual Tuesday evening.

I choose the salad of green aspargus, confit of tomatoes and smoked sliced eggplant with a great vinaigrette. My main course was a ‘aged’ ribeye from the Creekstone Prime Black Angus USA Corn Fed. Very tasty and tender, this can becoming their best seller.

The winelist has a width range of beautiful offerings, from easy and nice prices up to the the famous and starred, and from France to the New World. For everybody there’s something to choose.

The interior is industrial, with the use of pure and original materials, impressive. Service is very nice, helpful and professional but still has to get used to their own restaurant setting, it has only to be fine-tuned!

The only thing is the location, which is a bit out of centre, but with tram 14 (stop at  ’Borneostraat 1 – terras’) you will overcome that problem. I say have fun and enjoy!

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Pompstation Bar & Grill | Bars, Music, Restaurants (BBQ & grill) | Main course € 28.50
Zeeburgerdijk 52 | Plantage/Oost | +31020692288
Restaurant Tue – Thu 18:00 – 22:30, Fri – Sat 18:00 – 22:30
Bar Tue – Thu 16:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 16:00 – 03:00

The east of Amsterdam is an area which has become very popular in the last while. More and more students (including myself) and young professionals are moving into this area. And it is noticeable!

There used to be nothing much around here but now more and more nice bars and restaurants are opening their doors. Maxwell is one of them. It is close to the Oosterpark (see the Oosterpark article) and the OLVG hospital and a great place for lunch and a drink during the day, or dinner during the evening. I love to go there for lunch and coffee on a lazy Saturday or Sunday  afternoon.

In the corner of the smallish place are a comfortable sofa and two very comfortable seats. This is definitely the best place to sit down and not get up soon!

Maxwell serves hot and cold drinks and also different lovely sandwiches. For dinnertime they offer a great hamburger ‘To the Max’ amongst other things. In the evening time they also serve snacks to accompany your drinks.

They make great coffee which they also serve to go, although this isn’t something for the early birds because the opening time is 12 o’clock.

The place is small on the inside but there are lots of places to sit and when the weather is good there is quite a big terrace to enjoy. Because the terrace sits on a corner there is sun all day long.

For the smokers they have the terrace heated and they also offer blankets to make sure a smoker doesn’t catch a cold.

Every once in a while they also do live music and different other performances. (Check programming on their website)

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Cafe Maxwell | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Varies) | Main meal € 12.50
Beukenplein 27 | Plantage/Oost | +31207726748
Sun – Thu 12:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 12:00 – 02:00/03:00

An excellent place if you just went to the KIT/Tropenmuseum (see the KIT article), Artis or the Hortus Botanicus. It is very bright inside and they only have tables at the window and of course one main table to read a newspaper or a glossy magazine.

The restaurant has a very calm but warm interior with nice items, such as a handwritten blackboard with the menu on it, shaky chairs at the main table and wines in small bowls.

The food is not expensive and they have nice combinations. Most of the time, the special of the day is typically Dutch, like “stamppot” (different Dutch stew). I enjoy the food here every time.

You have a quick bite, but it is also a place to enjoy with your friends. The staff does not give you the feeling to hurry up, they are very friendly and will do anything for you. Please do not forget to make a reservation during the weekend, because Boom does not have a lot of tables and is a popular place to dine.

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Boom | Restaurants | Bite of the day € 10.00
Linnaeusstraat 63 | Plantage/Oost | +31206655224
Mon 17:00 – 01:00, Tue -Sun 12:00 – 01:00

A Kantjil is a small deer, and the Tiger, yeah that’s the tiger, but the fairytale tells about this small but extremely smart deer, which remains alive after all.

This Indonesian restaurant is located on a busy spot in heart of the city. They serve traditional good Indonesian food. Recommendable is the “Rijsttafel” Kantjil, with several small dishes. Rijsttafel is actually a Dutch phenomenon: we introduced this way of having & sharing dinner during the time Indonesia was a Dutch colony.

They serve great Lumpia Semarang. The Kredok, which is salad but than Indonesian style & the Peteh Oedang are among my favourite dishes in this busy and popular restaurant. Just around the corner, they opened an easy take away for one plate mixed rice or mie dishes. Good food & value for money.

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Kantjil & de Tijger | Restaurants (Indonesian) | Rijsttafel + drinks p.p. € 35.00
Spuistraat 291-293 | Old center | +31206200994
Mon – Fri 16:30 – 23:00, Sat – Sun 12:00 – 23:00