If you’ve been to Amsterdam before but never been to Noord (the area North of the River Ij opposite Central Station) trust me, you don’t know what you’re missing – and Helling 7 isn’t the only surprise. But let’s start at the beginning, I don’t review a huge number of restaurants in North Amsterdam.  Understandably most visitors to the city tend to stick to places within easy reach of the canal belt and though Noord is increasingly accessible it does still take a little more effort to get there. But those who do make the effort are rewarded with a very different Amsterdam.  Forget th ..read more

There are loads of canal-side cafes with terraces and regardless of how good the coffee is (or isn’t) the view typically more than makes up for it.  But I’ve sat in many of these in my time (usually rubbing up against noisy tourists) and never quite felt any of them, bar a couple, are worth remarking on. The exceptions have been Cafe t’Smalle because it used to have the most incredible teeny tiny terrace with a couple of wobbly tables hanging right over the canal, and Cafe van Zuylen because its right on top of a wide bridge over the Singel canal with boats literally passing beneath you ..read more

I often get asked about how to spend the perfect day in Amsterdam.  It’s such an open-ended question and depends on whether you’ve been before, the time of year and who you are with but it got me thinking, what would my perfect Amsterdam day look like?  After all I’ve written posts like 48 Hours With Kids or First Time Amsterdam but whilst many of the suggestions would still be high on my own list, a perfect Amsterdam day of my own choosing would more likely look a little like this… Ok, let’s start with the time of year.  Whilst I do have a passion for cycling past some of the m ..read more

I’ve been a huge fan of Fort Negen for ages but its taken me a little while to share details of this fabulous hotspot. Why?  Well its not in the very centre of town, and I know most visitors spend their time within touching distance of the canal ring, but honestly if you’re on the hunt for the best bakery in Amsterdam, one that attracts queues of hip locals for their weekend specials, then its worth a ten minute tram ride to Amsterdam West for some stunning bakes that taste even better than they look – and that’s truly saying something.   Head Baker Maarten started his career at th ..read more

Let me start by stating the obvious, Ramen restaurants are not Dutch. I say this because AmsterdamWonderland is about recommending the very best of Amsterdam to visitors – places with a local flavour that are grounded in this amazing city.  And so, in theory, the last thing I’d ever recommend to someone visiting for a few days is a ramen restaurant.   I mean you could eat ramen anywhere in the world, right? Except the ramen I had in Amsterdam this week was so freaking good I can’t bear not to write it up. For the last few years, ramen has become hugely popular in Amsterdam and a ..read more

Searching for the Amsterdam restaurant of your dreams?  You know – that dreamy canal-side spot with amazing food, a cosy interior and killer views. Trust me, De Belhamel is the place you’re imagining. Often cited as Amsterdam’s most romantic restaurant, the moniker doesn’t really do this wonderful place justice.  You see, this isn’t some twee little spot for couples looking for a Disneyfied version of Amsterdam but rather something that just effortlessly ticks all the boxes. In Summer enjoy one of the handful of tables necklaced over a bridge and along the junction of Amsterdam ..read more

There are some foods it would be rude to leave Amsterdam without tasting.  Take stroopwafels for example (yes really take one!). Stroopwafels are syrup waffles, you may even have had one in Starbucks before.  Well forget that.  That was not a stroopwafel.  A real one is freshly made, the syrup is warm and dripping – oozing between freshly baked, thin, crispy and at the same time chewy, waffles. Does your Starbucks version do that? Thought not. So please trust me when I say the place to try one of the best stroopwafels in Amsterdam  is the gorgeous Hans Egstorf Bakery ..read more

At either end of the Amsterdam dining scene, you find restaurants that fall into one of two categories – at one end the big, blowsy industrial warehouse spaces along the Ij, at the other small, intimate more gezellig eateries like the Yuzu Dining Bar – a long, moody room in a hidden corner of the canal ring. And so it was that I found myself on a night out with my lovely recently-turned teenager.  Osc is slowly getting ever bolder in his eating habits and thank-the-lord is finally discovering a world beyond nuggets.  His cuisine of choice now is Japanese food and within that, most be ..read more

For visitors who have a few days to spend in Amsterdam, I tend to advise breaking things down into different areas – perhaps spending a morning in the Museum District to the South of the city, an afternoon (or even a day) wandering around the Jordaan and Canal Belt in the centre and for foodies, some time in West. But one of my favourite areas for a magical morning or afternoon (or a full day if you have the time) is the magnificent area just to the East of Amsterdam known as The Plantage, on the right bank of the Amstel River. The itinerary I’d recommend for this beautiful historic area is a ..read more

As an Amsterdam blogger I’m often disappointed by the tourist traps that many visitors are recommended when looking for somewhere great to eat in the city. I’m assuming this is because people want to be helpful and if you’ve been somewhere and had a meal that was fairly reasonable you might be happy to pass it on if asked.  And so the loop of below-par tourist haunts continues. I want to share why I think some of the frequently suggested locations aren’t the best of what the city has to offer and some similar but significantly better alternatives. Let me kick off by saying that whilst in ..read more