If you follow my Instagram you’ll see that my life often revolves around where I am eating that day and that pull only gets stronger when I’m away from home. I’ve just spent a long weekend in Amsterdam with my boyfriend and a bunch of friends and it was so refreshing being able to get a flight of less than an hour from my home town instead of spending hours travelling to and from the airport, let alone whilst in the air and dealing with jet lag and time differences. I loved my time in Amsterdam and would definitely recommend it for a short break, everyone is so friendly and the bars are great – extra special shout out to Those Dam Boat Guys who we had the best time with, definitely get in touch if you fancy booking yourself a little booze cruise down the canals. Also, make sure you have a go on some Dutch bikes and travel around the city like a local. We hired some one afternoon and it was so much fun, plus, somewhat less scary than being a pedestrian. However, loads of you on Instagram were interested in my food recommendations so I thought I’d write up a quick post featuring a few of my favourite meals.
1 – Pizza at Fuoco Vivo
On our first night, after a little bit of googling, we set off for dinner at Fuoco Vivo. We’d decided well in advance that we were definitely scoffing a pizza as soon as we got settled that evening and this was the perfect place to do that. Beautifully fresh, sourdough pizzas, wood-fired with a decent variety of toppings. I opted for Margarita as usual but it definitely didn’t disappoint. If you’re from the UK, it was very similar to Franco Manca which is my favourite pizza place over here, so if you find yourself in Amsterdam and fancy a pizza then this is 100% the place to go!
2 – Lil Pancakes AKA ‘poffertjes’ at Albert Cuyp Markt
Some of the pals I was away with have been to Amsterdam before so I had heard so much about these little pancakes from the market and – oh my God – they were next level amazing. They are as tasty as they are cute (look at them, so tiny!) and even the process of making them is super enticing, we were watching them being made in awe for ages! This market has loads of great food stalls with fresh stroopwafel, and macaroons amongst many other things but these little pancake babes are an absolute must have. I only wish I’d gone for the large portion as we didn’t have time to go back and I was craving them the rest of the weekend. After keeping my eyes peeled all day, I eventually spotted a stall at the airport and couldn’t resist but, unsurprisingly, they were very disappointing – all pancakes were not made equal! You must visit the guys serving up these sweet little bad boys at Albert Cuyp. Traditionally, they would be eaten just with butter and dusted with sugar but I had a bit of maple syrup and there were lots of much more decadent options with toppings like stroop waffles and kinder.
3 – Bagels at Bagels and Beans
Bagels and Beans was a really great meeting place for our group as we were staying in all different directions – we ended up going there twice for breakfast, including the last morning where a few of us were deathly hungover and we still received the best service from the staff which was very appreciated in our fragile states. They have a super varied menu where you pick your bagel (seeded, spelt, gluten free, etc) and then your cream cheese (pesto, plain, vegan, etc) and then your toppings. I had the same thing both times because it was so lovely; avocado with some tomato and salad leaves. The bagels are deliciously warm, you can order toasted options with melted cheese and they even serve a ‘bugs’ option served with crickets and all sorts – not for the faint hearted.
Special Mention for the ‘fucking strong coffee’ at Good Beans
We originally noticed this shop for the branding alone – SO GOOD! I’m a sucker for branding and I loved everything about Good Beans from the board outside to the bold tins of coffee you could buy to take home. The barista serves a small, simple menu at a good price for great coffee and the shop itself offers a few seats indoors plus a large bench outside for their customers. On our second visit, another customer even gave me his dog to look after whilst he ordered (she was a Rhodesian Ridgeback called Jagger and she was a beaut!) – what other reason could you possibly need to pay a visit?!
I’m sure I will return to Amsterdam in the not too distant future as it is just such a great weekend destination, so please let me know your own recommendations of where to eat next time! Obviously I munched a horrendous amount of stroopwafel and chocolate as well – even though you can get these in England it just seems to be more excusable to eat a packet when in Amsterdam without feeling guilty…At least, that’s what I tell myself.
ItsGemmaEdwards 