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Netherlands
So you've walked (or stumbled) along the oh-so-touristy Leidseplein and its collection of pubs, clubs and cafes, all about as subtle as a pie in the face. Or maybe you're a return visitor to Amsterdam and you've grown a little wiser. Either way, you are looking for something better, cooler, and devoid of Eurotrash. I'd suggest you turn the corner and head to Bo Cinq.
A bar/lounge/restaurant on Prinsengracht, one of the main canals that make up the city center, Bo Cinq (I have no idea what that means - will have to check with them on my next visit) is a great spot for a drink or a bite to eat. Lined with red bricks on both sides of the long, low-ceilinged interior, this place just makes you 50% cooler and relaxed as soon as you walk in the door. The low-slung couches and chairs invite you to lean in or get close to people. If that's not your thing, the other room has a long bar made for standing and mingling.
The ambiance is great - toeing the line but staying well on the good side of pretentiousness, with good tunes and good-looking people hovering near the 30-year-old mark. The vibe is good for groups and singles, though you won't feel like you're in a meat market. Subtlety is the key to the place, in the food and the mood. Later in the evening, it fills up and the energy follows suit.
They have other things going on each week, including a canal boat tour that leaves from just outside its doors - check out the website: bo5.nl/index.php
It's not cheap, mind you, with pricey cocktails appetizers that are a little too precious for my taste - they quality is great, but one might prefer some heartier fare when having a few drinks. But overall it's well worth a visit.
(Tip: if you want to use your phone here or you're waiting for an SMS that hasn't come, head outside for a moment. Inside, you're surrounded by too much brick and only the heartiest of mobiles will have a signal).
bo5.nl/
Prinsengracht 494, 1017 KH Amsterdam
+31 20 622 0682
* Jeff is our Been there local for Amsterdam. You can read his profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/amsterdam-local-jeff-funnekotter.jsp and follow his tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/jefffunnekotter
Google map: bit.ly/pO3GJS
When strolling around Amsterdam, one is amazed at the sheer number of sandwich shops. From gourmet to barely OK, the "broodje" is as ubiquitous here as raindrops and smelly cheese. It's fine - for the first few weeks - but you soon begin to dread the bread.
Enter Tomatillo. Their slogan is "Beyond the Broodje", and they couldn't have done a better job of adding something to the Dutch lunch (and dinner) table. Their Tex-Mex menu offers everything from burritos to tacos to tostadas, washed down with a cool Dos Equis or Negro Modelo and followed up with a amazing brownie or rhubarb crumble. All entrees are under 10 Euros, which helps the digestive system too.
It's all made fresh, tastes great, and friends from the UK and the States who know about such things claim it is one of the best places they've been to in town. I'll second that - I've tried everything on the menu.
You can sit down here, order a delivery, or just as easily take it away and turn the corner and park yourself on the grass in Vondelpark, not more than 200m away.
Overtoom 261, 1054 HW Amsterdam
+31(0)206833086
www.tomatillo.nl
Open 12:00-21:00 (closed Mondays)
Google map: bit.ly/pSwwdC
Amsterdam is known for many things, but a good steak is definitely not one of them. But there is a gem to be found just south of the city centre named Café Loetje. Skip the dime-a-dozen "Argentinian steakhouses" that dot the tourist areas - they don't come close to matching Loetje (pronounced "loot-yuh").
Cooked only one way – rare (you could ask for it differently, but you then risk betraying your outsider status) – and served in a light gravy with fries and a side salad, the steak is a favourite among locals and the location in a residential neighbourhood provides a respite from the tourist masses. While everyone else ambles back to the centre or the city, head here after a day at the nearby Van Gogh museum. Price-wise, it is quite reasonable.
The staff are busy but refreshingly friendly, the atmosphere casual, noisy and clean, and they won’t take reservations for less than six people, but standing around with a beer or wine while waiting for your table to become available is part of the fun. To add to the casual atmosphere, you may see a dog or two lying around. As for what to order … other menu items look just as tasty, but you don’t want to make a mistake and miss steak.
www.cafeloetje.nl
Johannes Vermeerstraat 52
+31 (0) 20 6628173
Google map: bit.ly/nPyyhU
According to locals this is one of the best in the city. Fabulous satay dishes, gado gado and top it off with a coffee and what can only translate as 'streaky cake'. You'll need to reserve or else standing room only at the bar which simply means you'll get into conversation with other diners. A great evening will ensue...
www.samasebo.com
P.C. Hooftstraat 27, 1071 BL Amsterdam, Netherlands
+31 20 662 8146
Google map: bit.ly/gppssA
We have just returned to France from a week's holiday in Amsterdam. I have a few suggestions for other travellers. We had previously stayed at www.hoteltoren.com. Great place. Very charming and family run (which we like). This time around we rented an apartment through www.apartments-for-rent.com/amsterdam.
We booked an apartment in the Jordaan area on the Prinsencanal. We were very lucky to meet some young guys the first day we arrived. They run a small boat rental business called www.boothurenamsterdam.com (which translates into boat rental amsterdam) The guys who run it are amazing and give us a whole list of fun things to do in the neighbourhood. We did not leave the Jordaan area except for a brunch at the www.bakkerswinkel.nl in the Westerpark.
The boat rebtal guys suggested little Amsterdam gems like www.tazzina.nl and www.cinemaparadiso.info/
www.boothurenamsterdam.com
www.apartments-for-rent.com/amsterdam
www.bakkerswinkel.nl
www.hoteltoren.nl
Set in the Museum Quarter, the restaurant is only a stone's throw from the city's most popular museums and makes an ideal dinnertime stop. It is also fairly reasonably priced in what is otherwise a rather pricey area. The service was friendly, personal and relaxed. More importantly, the food was divine. Good quality, carefully cooked - relaxed dining as it should be on holiday.
Willemsparkweg 6, Museum Quarter
Tel: 020 662 62 06
From the outside, it just looks like a bar near the red light district, but this place serves the highest quality Thai food in Amsterdam. The rice noodles are particularly fresh and delicious. Thoroughly recommended!
The clientele are sometimes very interesting ...
www.butterfly-thaicafe.nl/
Oudezijds Achterburgwal 160
+31(0)20 6232064
Google map: bit.ly/rgCUdP
Great meat feast and happy friendly service.
Reguliersdwarsstraat 57, 1017 BK Amsterdam, 020 626 50 80
Just off the route of the #2 tram lie a number of interesting restaurants, notably, Le 4 Stagioni, a former butcher's shop, with antique tiles portraying the four seasons - le 4 stagioni.
- Palma, Johannes Verhulststraat 104, www.restaurant-palma.nl/do.php?lg=eng
- Oud-Zuid, Johannes Verhulststraat 64, www.restaurantoudzuid.nl
- Le 4 Stagioni, Johannes Verhulststraat 32, www.le4stagioni.nl
- Pulpo, Willemsparkweg 87, www.restaurant-pulpo.nl/index.php?pag=diner
Yes, I know that Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania, not Ethiopia, but this little eatery specialises in Ethiopian-style dishes - and you can hold the predictable jokes too.
There's a limited but great-value repertoire here, and on an empty stomach the all-in get-your-hands-dirty dishes are to die for. If there's a group of you, order a variety of mains (all served on a stodgy bed of pancakes) and you can pull off a massive dinner for under 15 Euros per head.
Rapenburgerplein 6
+31 20 6223485
Bus no.22 from Centraal Station
When visiting Amsterdam, try the Supper Club, a great, chilled out place that includes a five-course surprise menu, which is fab. The music is great and is suitable for all ages. The meal finishes at about midnight, and then there is a nightclub to which you get free entry if you have the energy.
In Amsterdam, the former city glasshouse has been restored and turned into the light-filled, airy De Kas restaurant, with smaller glasshouses around the main room used to grow herbs and vegetables. Book for dinner in high summer and start with a glass of champagne flavoured with a basil leaf, followed by delicious, seasonal food like confit duck, grilled fish, fresh salads and tiny jellies made from fresh berries. They serve one daily, five course menu so all you need to do is book a table, turn up and relax - neatly avoiding both menu dilemmas and dinner envy.
Kamerlingh Onneslaan 3
1097 DE
www.restaurantdekas.nl/4menu_eng.php
A fantastic restaurant, if you like steak or lobster with great service and a cosy atmosphere, is Restaurant RED (Keizersgracht 594).
Academie OT301, the former Netherlands Film Academie, is a legalized squat featuring two large performance/rehearsal spaces, a cinema, cafe and gallery space with cultural activities and events. Check it out for the mega-cheap organic vegan restaurant. A meal costs €5 but must be reserved from 4pm on the day; dinner is served at 7pm.
ot301.nl/
Vereniging Eerst Hulp Bij Kunst
Overtoom 301, 1054 HW Amsterdam
Google map: bit.ly/n1HnzP
Club 11 is great. It's on the top floor of an otherwise deserted warehouse, the walls are covered in graffiti and you use what looks like a service elevator to go up. When you get there, it's a huge open space with great views of the city. Tasty food, too.
Oosterdokkade
Restaurant De Waaghals in Amsterdam is the best veggie restaurant ever - amazing desserts!
Start the day by heading to De Bakkerswinkel bakery on 69 Warmoesstraat for a delightful breakfast. Their filled rolls, fresh from the oven are divine.
Work off breakfast by exploring the canals, visiting the floating Singel flower market and buying tulip bulbs for green-fingered friends and family. Take in some culture at the Van Gogh museum; alternatively, if the sun is shining, head south for a picnic in Vondelpark.
Spend the evening relaxing over delicious food and wine at Morlang (Keizersgracht 451); on a warm evening, sit on the terrace outside, overlooking one of Amsterdam’s tranquil canals.
www.debakkerswinkel.nl/
www.amsterdamtourist.nl/en/home/about+amsterdam/Amsterdam+Surprise/article/xp/content_artikel.Surprise+EN+-Floating+flower+market/default.aspx
www.morlang.nl/
Visit De Kas restaurant. Away from the tourist centre this wonderful greenhouse restaurant serves whatever fresh food has been harvested that day. Please don't tell everyone!
Kamerlingh Onneslaan 3 1097 DE
You just have to try De Bakkerswinkel - we even put up with drunken stags to eat every day in this heaven-sent cafe in the middle of the red light district. You can see them baking the bread and cakes and bottling the jam. Great for breakfast, lunch or cakes in the afternoon, it's chilled and relaxed; we all wanted to live there!
Many families with young children are put off by the red-light-district, coffee-house, stag-party reputation of Amsterdam. However, it is a great city for young children.
NEMO is a children's science museum in the main harbour, right next to Central railway station. It has to be the best kids musem in Europe. Every exhibit is interactive, kids can dress up as scientists and blow things up in the lab (carefully helped by real scientists!). They can also appear on TV, wrap themselves up in giant bubbles and watch a fantastic great-egg-race-style show every half hour.
Despite being in Holland, every exhibit is also described in English and the presentations and announcements are also bilingual. The museum is great for kids aged from 4 to 14, and is so big that you can easily spend several hours there.
Once you have exhausted yourselves there, try the Pannenkoekenhuis, a pancake house in a 17th-century warehouse overlooking the canal on Prinsengracht. The kids' pancakes come with toys, games and fireworks to finish the day off with a bang!
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