1. Café Americain
Truth be told, I’m a huge fan of the Old-World charm. So, whenever possible, I love to travel back in time, be it in a hotel or a restaurant. The glamour of that era gets me every time and oddly enough, I feel at ease inside these surroundings as if I actually belong to a different epoch. The Café Americain is one of those settings where you travel a hundred years back in time surrounded by stained-glass windows and enormous antique chandeliers. This classic grand café dates back to 1902 which makes it the oldest grand café in the entire Netherlands. The Café Americain is located inside the famous Amsterdam American Hotel overlooking the beautiful Leidesplein, and both the café and the hotel are listed as national historic landmarks. As a big fan of the British afternoon tea, the Art Deco ambience of this café made for the perfect atmosphere to taste their afternoon tea menu which is nothing less but divine.
2. Piqniq
On a beautiful street, nestled in the Northern part of the Jordaan, you will find a small and cozy restaurant, where I had the undoubtedly best lunch in Amsterdam. The concept of Piqniq is brilliant since I always struggle to find the best dish; they simply serve smaller portions, hence giving you the possibility to try out more from the menu like a piqunique where you can taste a bit of everything. With a combination of serving sandwiches, salads, soups and quiches, there is something for everyone to taste a bit of everything. Whenever I travel, every day usually begins with a late breakfast, turning the time of lunch into something between late lunch and early dinner and we therefore made it just in time to taste their lunch before the restaurant closes around 4.30 PM. While being conveniently located in the Jordaan neighbourhood, you will quickly make it back and forth between your travel schedule and a lunch at Piqniq.
3. Winkel 43
In the heart of the Jordaan neighbourhood lies a famous restaurant, particularly known for their apple pie. It is so popular to the point where you will meet a crowd in and outside of the restaurant despite the day or time of day, but don’t feel discouraged by it, even locals will stand in line to have one of their famous pies. Out of curiosity and having stumbled upon the name of this restaurant over and over again, we ended up falling into the hype and have a taste of their famous apple pie; we were even so lucky to get a nice spot inside the restaurant in a cozy corner and were quickly attended to by the waitress. Growing up with having homemade apple pies for my birthday every year, I have tried many apple pies throughout my life and perhaps that’s why I wasn’t all too blown away by their pie. Albeit being one of the better ones I have tasted throughout my entire life, the hype has exploded over the years. However, the location and the cake somehow made up for it again, and if you, too, are curious like me, you should definitely give it a try.
4. Mortimer
One of the best and simultaneously most unusual lunches I had was at Mortimer. A restaurant opened by a chef who has worked at several Michelin starred restaurants where the quality in every dish can plainly be tasted, nothing less due to the quality of the organic ingredients. Coming just in time to have a late lunch (the restaurant already closes at 3 PM serving primarily breakfast and lunch), we had the first floor of the restaurant all to ourselves and our orders were hence quickly carried out. The restaurant is made up of a small space on the ground floor with a spiral staircase leading to the upper floor which is nothing less but cozy. Viewing my dish in front of me, I could never have imagined that a combination of such odd ingredients would taste so good. I heard that their breakfast tastes just as good; if you happen to be nearby, trying out their breakfast or lunch will be an adventure of your taste guts whatsoever. Another restaurant to add to your where-to-eat-in-Amsterdam-list.
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