Amsterdam - eating out

The Dutch love to eat out and enjoy visiting bars and cafes. Dutch cooking shows no sign of dying out, over the years they have acquired a taste for Indonesian dishes and implemented these flavours into mainstream cooking.

Holland’s food features much of the local produce such as bread, potatoes, root vegetables, greens, pork and beef products plus a variety of dairy produce including the famous Dutch cheeses.

A traditional Dutch main meal would include mashed potatoes sometimes mixed with green vegetables ("stamppot"), pork in the form of smoked sausage or bacon cubes and a rich gravy. Meat balls are popular served with gravy and potatoes and horse meat is a speciality. Some of the more unusual vegetables often eaten are sauerkraut, chicory and kale.

Thick soups are another popular meal, the most famous being "erwtensoep", pea and ham soup containing smoked sausage and brown bean soup ("bruinebonensoep") with brown beans replacing the peas.

Holland borders the North Sea so a lot of fish is eaten both smoked and fresh. The most notable fish dish is the "zoute haring" which consists of an uncooked herring, filleted while you wait and eaten with chopped onions as a snack.

A favourite snack is the ’vlaams frites’, hot chips, usually served in paper cones with plastic forks and topped with mayonnaise, ketchup or peanut sauce. Another is "kroket" is a kind of meat ragout, coated in bread crumbs and deep fried.

You’ll need a beverage with your meal and no matter what consensus says Heineken is not Hollands beer of choice. The Dutch are very proud of their brewing procedures and the fact that most are made with 100% natural ingredients. Characteristically the beers are made from malts, hops, oats, yeast, grains and wheats with amusing blends of spices and herbs to create wonderful aromas and interesting flavors. Some well noted Dutch beers are Weesper Wit an authentic wheat beer, Dievels’ Nat a traditional ale and Peter’s Brand Pilsner said to be the finest pilsner in Holland.

The largest concentration and variety of restaurants in Amsterdam is around the Leidseplein district. Here you have the job of trying to decide in which country you would prefer to dine whether it be Italy, Greece, Spain, Thailand, India or maybe even Turkey. In the summer months almost all the restaurants have outdoor seating which is quite enjoyable since you get to people watch and be serenaded by the passing musicians. You can find a meal to suit any budget.

Tucked away down Leidsekruisstraat 28 is De Blonde Hollander serving traditional Dutch dishes at it’s best, prices range from around 20 Euro per person or grab an international meal at Levant, great Turkish cuisine situated on Weteringschans 93 a fun, friendly atmosphere with prices around Euro 20 per person.