5 Things to Eat in Amsterdam, Netherlands
It’s rather apt that the bicycle capital’s most well-known foods are wheels of Gouda and 🚲 wheel-shaped stroopwafels & pancakes.
Believe you me, my 3 days in Amsterdam were spent seeking out all the wheel-shaped foods. And your girl only hopped on a bike to pedal away the calories a total of een keer (that’s Dutch for one time).
Pancakes, stroopwafels, Gouda cheese, oh my!
Honestly, this is not the place to go if you’re trying a carb-free diet. Or any particular type of sugar-free diet, really.
Read on for some of our favorite food adventures in Amsterdam.
1. The Gouda life, you gotta just move with the cheese
The Netherlands is home of Gouda cheese. It originated in Gouda, Netherlands. Go figure. You can find it in local markets, cute little shops lining De 9 Straatjes (the nine streets), and every grocery store in Amsterdam, if not the entire country.
We visited the Henri Willis Cheese Farm Store after our bike ride to Zaanse Schans (so technically not in Amsterdam hah oops) and had a blast exploring and learning more about the cheeses. Would highly recommend this bike ride.
At the Saturday morning Linden Market, you can learn more about the difference between Gouda and its famous little brother, Edam, from some of the friendly vendors (and try samples too!!). From what I gathered, there’s differences between the fat and moisture content. Both tasted good to me.
2. Stroopwafels — traditional and basic
Another food originating from Gouda, Netherlands, the stroopwafel has become a beloved fixture in The Netherlands’ dessert realm and abroad too. A traditional stroopwafel is 2 round wafer-thin crisp waffles sandwiching a warm gooey layer of stroop syrup (reminiscent of caramel) — there’s now other variations with caramel and sometimes even honey!
If you’re only going to eat one stroopwafel during your time in Amsterdam (a mistake, if you want my opinion), then it should be from Original Stroopwafel in the Albert Cuyp Market. They make the stroopwafels right there on the spot using the authentic Gouda-style, and it’s perfectly chewy, gooey, and nearly the size of your face.
If basic is what you live for, the less traditional Van Wonderen Stroopwafels might be on your list of to-eats. Just look at all the toppings, and tell me you don’t think of IG immediately. #basicrecognizebasic, okay?
If you’re looking for souvenirs for friends and family (or yourself), Albert Heijn grocery stores (every few blocks in Amsterdam) are fully stocked with these goodies. Bring ‘em home, pop ‘em in the microwave for 8 seconds, and enjoy. Alternatively you can place your stroopwafel on your cup of coffee or tea to make the inside soft and gooey — just make sure your drink is hot and steamy!
3. Pancakes, sweet and savory (along with Pofferjets which are little Dutch pancakes)
Pancakes in The Netherlands are reminiscent of a cross between a a French crepe, an Italian pizza, and a US pancake — thin like a crepe, topped with things like a pizza, and sometimes toppings are mixed into the pancake batter like in the states.
Poffertjes are little Dutch pancakes made of yeast and Buckwheat flour. They’re typically covered in powdered sugar and butter.
We tried 2 pancake establishments — The Pancake Bakery near the Anne Frank House and De Vier Pilaren — and loved them both. To balance the sweetness of the Poffertjes pancakes, we had savory pancakes each time. AND THEY WERE HUGE. Definitely a juxtaposition from the mini Poffertjes pancakes. Loved it. All in all, a big 2 thumbs up. Can’t go wrong.
4. Other establishments for the Basic B
The infamous apple pie (almost like a strudel) from infamous Winkel 43. At ~5 EUR a slice, it’s a delicious breakfast, mid-morning snack, dessert, mid-afternoon pick-me-up…you get the gist. It lives up to the hype. Come. At. This.
Bulls and Dogs (in the new Amsterdam food hall Foodhallen) serves up the most aesthetically pleasing hot dog I’ve ever laid eyes on. That being said, is it still a hot dog if it’s just shaped like a hot dog? I mean, come on, it’s a sausage sitting in a pretzel bun. With all sorts of crazy toppings. Hotdog existential crisis aside, yes, the basic in me ate it all up.
Grab a bite of traditional Dutch cuisine from Cafe Sonneveld. We tried the Stamppot (mashed vegetables) with a big hefty homemade meatball the size of my fist. Respectable.
Pluk is an IGer’s dream. Everything, including the shop itself, is straight out of the most basic feed. That being said, we realized that everything (e.g., smoothies, smoothie bowls) are pre-made and pulled from the fridge (already in their individual bowls and containers). The only thing that gets prepped is the decorations, which includes cutting and arranging fruit on the smoothies / bowls. Decide for yourself how willing you are to eat for the ‘gram.
Last but never the least, who doesn’t love trying good ol’ Mickey D’s (McDonalds lol) in foreign countries? The Amsterdam McDonalds is unique due to the sweet potato fries and their McFlurry flavors. Like come on, McFlurry with waffle crisps and caramel? HELLO, WHAT, STROOPWAFFEL MCFLURRY? Amazing. Love you Mickey D.
5. Fun grocery store finds
As always, my favorite stop in any foreign country is the grocery store. In Amsterdam, that’s Albert Heijn.
I love finding interesting snack flavors and renditions of snacks I didn’t know of. Like I had no idea Toblerone ice cream bars even existed — hit me up if you know of a place in San Francisco that stocks these.
There’s also the opportunity try to unique snacks only available abroad, like this Oops yoghurt and Knoppers, which is a German wafer sandwich filled with nougat and milk creme. Go go go.
