Restaurants

If cities get the cuisine they deserve, Amsterdam's ought to be liberal, multiethnic, and adventurous. Guess what? It is. A port and trading city with a true melting-pot character, this city has absorbed culinary influences from far, wide, and yonder, and rustled them all up to its own satisfaction. Just about every international cuisine type can be found on the city's restaurant roster. In Amsterdam, they say, you can eat in any language. More than 50 national cuisines are represented in restaurants here -- and many of these eateries satisfy the sturdy Dutch insistence on getting maximum value out of every euro.

From elegant 17th-century dining rooms to cozy canalside bistros, to boisterous taverns with exuberant Greek waitstaff to exotic Indonesian rooms attended by turbaned waiters, to the bruine kroegjes (brown cafes) with smoke-stained walls and friendly table conversations, Amsterdam's eateries confront the tourist with the exquisite agony of being able to choose only one or two from their vast numbers (in all price ranges) each day. Dutch cooking, of course, is part of all this, but you won't be stuck with biefstuk (beefsteak) and kip (chicken) every night.

A relatively recent and popular trend is the grand cafe scene. These are cafes in the, well, grand tradition of Paris, Vienna, and Rome, with lots of style, ambience, and balconies or terraces -- see-and-be-seen places. Grand cafes are distinguished by their emphasis on food and drink, architecture, production values, and style. The definition is an elusive one: The grand cafes listed below truly are grand, but be aware that others use the name even though they may not be particularly impressive.

Restaurant Orientation

Dining Hours -- Most restaurants are open from noon to 2:30pm for lunch, and from 6 or 7 to 10 or 11pm. Many kitchens are closed by 10pm. It's wise not to make reservations for 8pm or after, if you want to enjoy a relaxed, unhurried meal. Even if a restaurant is open until 11pm or midnight, you won't get served unless you arrive well before then -- how much before varies with the restaurant, and maybe with the mood of the staff, but it should be at least 30 minutes in moderate and budget places, and at least an hour in more upscale venues. Recently, restaurants have been staying open later.

Reservations -- On weekends, unless you eat especially early or late, reservations are recommended at top restaurants and at those on the high end of the moderate price range. Call ahead to check; restaurants are often small and may be crowded with neighborhood devotees. Note that restaurants with outside terraces are always in big demand on pleasant summer evenings and fill up fast; make a reservation, if the restaurant will let you -- if not, get there early or forget it.

Information -- Good eating-out info is available online at www.specialbite.com, www.iens.nl, www.diningcity.nl, and www.dinnersite.nl.

Tipping -- A 15% service charge and taxes (BTW) are included in all prices.

Budget Dining -- Eating cheaply in Amsterdam is not an impossible dream. And, happily, in some cases you can even eat cheaply in style, with candles on the table, flowers in the window, and music in the air. And though there's no such thing as a free lunch, there might be a dagschotel (plate of the day) and a dagmenu (menu of the day), for usually decent food at a bargain rate. The practical Dutch don't like to spend unnecessary euros, so almost every neighborhood has a modestly priced restaurant or two, and new budget places are popping up all over town. Another way to combat high dinner tabs is to take advantage of the tourist menu that many restaurants offer.

Lunch & Snack Costs -- Lunch doesn't have to be an elaborate affair (save that for evening). Typical Dutch lunches are light, quick, and cheap. A quick midday meal can cost 6€ to 12€ ($9.60-$19). An afternoon pit stop for a pastry and coffee will set you back 4€ to 6€ ($6.40-$9.60).

Wine -- Estate-bottled imported wines are expensive in Holland, and even a bottle of modest French wine can add 12€ to 20€ ($19-$32) to a dinner tab. House wine, on the other hand -- which may be a carefully selected French estate-bottled wine -- will be a more economical choice in restaurants of any price level. Wine by the glass costs anywhere from 3€ to 10€ ($4.80-$16).

Smoking -- Since July 2008, smoking is no longer permitted in restaurants and cafes, except in a separate room or partitioned enclosure where staff will not serve customers.

Good-Eats Cafes

For decent, low-cost food, look for examples of that Dutch dining institution, the eetcafé (pronounced ayt-caff-ay). Many of these -- some of which are reviewed below -- are essentially brown cafes (bars) with a hardworking kitchen attached. The food is unpretentious, mainstream Dutch (though some are more adventurous). The dagschotel (plate of the day), which might come with meat, vegetable, and salad on one plate, is usually 10€ to 15€ ($16-$24).

What's in a Name

There's Chinese food and there's Indonesian food. In Holland, there's Chinees-Indisch (Chinese-Indonesian) food, too. Watch out for this not-here-and-not-there genre. Chinees-Indisch restaurants are rarely, if ever, any good (there are plenty of these restaurants in Amsterdam, and I can't think of a single one worth recommending). Places that attempt this crossover style can't get either one right.

Secrets of the Rijsttafel

The Indonesian rijsttafel is Holland's favorite feast; it has been ever since the United East India Company sea captains introduced it to the wealthy Amsterdam burghers in the 17th century. The rijsttafel (literally, "rice table") originated with Dutch plantation overseers in Indonesia, who liked to sample selectively from Indonesian cuisine. It became a tradition upheld by Indonesian migrants to Holland who opened restaurants and, knowing the Dutch fondness for rijsttafel, made it a standard menu item. Rijsttafels are only a small part of an Indonesian restaurant's menu, and there's a trend among the Dutch to look down on them as "just for tourists"; the Dutch generally have a good understanding of Indonesian cuisine and prefer to order an individual dish rather than the mixed hash of a rijsttafel. However, rijsttafels remain popular, and many Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai restaurants have copied the idea.

The basic concept of a rijsttafel is to eat a bit of this and a bit of that, blending flavors and textures. A simple, unadorned bed of rice is the base and mediator between spicy meats and bland vegetables or fruits, between sweet-and-sour tastes and soft-and-crunchy textures. Although a rijsttafel for one is possible, it's better shared by two or more people. In the case of a solitary diner or a couple, a 17-dish rijsttafel will be enough; with four or more, order a 24- or 30-dish rijsttafel and experience the total taste treat.

Before you begin to imagine 30 dinner-size plates of food, it's important to note that the dishes are small and the portions served are gauged by the number of people expected to share them. Remember, the idea is to taste many things rather than hunker down with any single item. Also, an Indonesian rijsttafel has no separate courses. Once your table has been set with a row of low, Sterno-powered plate warmers, all 17, 24, or 30 dishes arrive all at once, like a culinary avalanche. The sweets come alongside the sours and the spicy, so you're left to plot your own course through the extravaganza.

Among the customary dishes and ingredients of a rijsttafel are loempia (Chinese-style egg rolls); satay, or sateh (small pork kabobs, grilled and served with spicy peanut sauce); perkedel (meatballs); gado-gado (vegetables in peanut sauce); daging smoor (beef in soy sauce); babi ketjap (pork in soy sauce); kroepoek (crunchy, puffy shrimp toast); serundeng (fried coconut); roedjak manis (fruit in sweet sauce); and pisang goreng (fried banana).

Caution: When something on the menu is described as pedis, meaning spicy, that's exactly what it is. Beware in particular of one very appealing-looking dish of sauce with small chunks of what looks to be bright-red onion -- that's sambal badjak, or just sambal, and it's hotter than hot. A fire extinguisher would be a useful table accessory; for an equally effective (and better-tasting) alternative, order a witbier (white beer).

All in Good Taste

As the waitperson removes your plate, he or she may ask: Heeft het gesmaakt? (Did it taste good?). If it did, the appropriate answer is: Ja, lekker (Yes, tasty), or heel lekker (very tasty). And if you had an unparalleled experience of gustatory pleasure, you can roll your eyes, pat your stomach contentedly, and purr: Mmmm, ja, heerlijk (wonderful). If you didn't enjoy your experience, however, you won't likely be able to, or need to, explain it in Dutch. Still, if you're adamant about expressing your displeasure, you could say: Nee, het heeft niet gesmaakt (No, it didn't taste good).

Late-Night Eateries

Since the majority of restaurant kitchens in Amsterdam are closed by 10:30pm, it's good to keep these late-night addresses handy in case the munchies strike: Fifteen and Pier 10; Sluizer; Bojo; and De Knijp.

Picnic Picks

You can pick up almost anything you might want for a picnic, from Dutch cheeses like Edam and Gouda to cold cuts to freshly packed sandwiches at AH (Albert Heijn) supermarkets around town. From the AH supermarket at the corner of Leidsestraat and Koningsplein (tram: 1, 2, 5), you can head over to Vondelpark, only a 10-minute walk. At AH's Museumplein supermarket, across the street from the Concertgebouw (Tram: 2, 3, 5, 12, or 16), you can haul your brown bag right up onto the sloping, grass-covered roof, a prime spot for sunbathing, hanging out, and picnicking. Don't forget a bottle of wine.

A Dinner Cruise

A delightful way to combine sightseeing and leisurely dining is on a dinner cruise. During these 2 1/2-hour canal cruises, you enjoy a five-course dinner that includes a cocktail and wine with dinner, coffee with bonbons, and a glass of cognac or liqueur to finish. Reservations are required. These cruises cost around 60€-70€ ($96-$112) for adults, and 35€-45€ ($56-$72) for children ages 4 to 12.