Until about fifteen years ago, fine dining in Amsterdam was a little thin on the ground. There were a few stuffy, formal, French restaurants, but not a lot else. Fortunately, that’s now all changed and there are lots of creative, high-end restaurants displaying their international influences in new and innovative ways. I’ve selected a few of my favourites, but there are plenty more that didn’t make this list – not because they’re lacking in quality but because I’ve not visited them recently enough to write confidently about them.
Michelin-starred restaurants in Amsterdam
Whatever you think about the Michelin Guide, it’s still a pretty reliable yardstick when it comes to fine dining, so if you’re planning for a special occasion I’d recommend looking at their shortlist of Michelin-starred restaurants in Amsterdam. Those listed below are some I’ve eaten at myself recently, but of course there are many more and the list changes every year!
Looking for other recommendations in Amsterdam? Download my Amsterdam Restaurant Guide:
The White Room
Located in the luxurious dining room at the Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky on Dam Square, The White Room certainly looks like a special occasion restaurant with its gold accents and ornate chandeliers. Fortunately, the cooking lives up to its Michelin-starred credentials, too.
The menu plays a duet between Dutch ingredients and exotic flavours: Zeeland kingfish with white strawberries, Japanese wasabi and a citrusy dressing, paired with Apostelhoeve’s Riesling from Limburg, for example. Or langoustine with pickled pumpkin, masala spices and Surinamese passionflower, paired with a Georgian qvevri white wine, aged in clay vessels underground for texture and tannins. Thai influences make a couple of appearances – most notably in a spicy lamb dish with fresh mint, coriander and the comforting, platonic ideal of fried rice. Chef Tristan de Boer’s creations are as delightful to behold as they are to consume.
Looking for hotel dining options? Take a look at my guide to the best hotel restaurants in Amsterdam.
Restaurant Wils
The first time I ate at Wils, it had not yet received a Michelin star; but I was unsurprised that by the second time, it had. In a spacious location on Stadionplein, Wils’ concept involves cooking over a combination of wood fire, smoking hay, burning embers and whatever else they can set alight (including beef fat!). Be sure to book a “kitchen table” (rather than a “classic table”) for the best views of the chefs in action. This is seriously accomplished cooking with big yet refined flavours. For the best experience, get the chef’s tasting menu with all the wine pairings – pricey but worth it.
De Kas
You can’t get much more local and seasonal than plucking your fruit, vegetables and herbs from your own garden or greenhouse. And that’s exactly what de Kas (meaning greenhouse in Dutch) does at their Michelin-starred restaurant inside the Frankendael Park in Watergraafsmeer. What they can’t source from their own grounds, they procure from nearby farms. The menu is heavy on vegetables for obvious reasons, so dinner at de Kas leaves you feeling light and a little virtuous, too.
Sinne
Sinne is one of those restaurants that’s been around for donkey’s years – and has held a Michelin star for many of them – but it took me until quite recently to experience it for myself. I’m glad I rectified that because it was a stellar experience all round.
We opted for five courses with paired wines, of which the first two were my favourites: BBQ leek with marinated seaweed and ponzu caviar was zingy, smoky and citrusy. Meanwhile, sepia and chorizo came roasted with courgette, black olives, yoghurt and a sauce of smoky grilled peppers – a nod to the Middle East. You can’t visit Sinne without trying their signature egg/ celeriac/ truffle dish – it’s highly accomplished, albeit the black truffle was a little potent for my anti-mushroom palate. When I posted about Sinne on Instagram, one follower described it as “understated romance”. I couldn’t have put it better myself.
Choux
Just behind Amsterdam’s Centraal Station, you’ll find restaurant Choux in a roomy, industrial space with a casual vibe. Chef Merijn van Berlo offers a five-course fixed menu that’s highly seasonal and veg-led, which means that vegetarians and vegans can be catered for no problem. Choux offers an excellent pairing of dishes with its natural, organic wines – available by the glass and bottle from Zuiver Wijnen as well.
Fine dining restaurants in Amsterdam
This little lineup of restaurants do not, at the time of writing, hold Michelin stars – but in my opinion they probably should. Visit now before they get more expensive!
BAK
The first time I ate at BAK restaurant – on the top floor of Het Veem warehouse in Houthavens – was in celebration of the publication of my cookbook back in 2013. Fast-forward well over a decade and much has changed (including the prices!), but the seasonal ingredients and high-quality cooking still remains.
My most recent meal at BAK was a seven-course, veg-led tasting menu, with various optional extras and a very creative drinks pairing. I won’t be able to do justice to everything we ate, but highlights included the Savoy cabbage wrap with crispy artichoke tempura, bitter radicchio, sweet & sour kumquat and a richly oily pumpkin seed dressing. That might sound like a sommelier’s nightmare, but it found not one but two great matches: purists would love the fennel-y Saumur, while I was a big fan of the aged (2014) Ribolla Gialla orange wine from Venezia Giulia. Local fish was in ready supply, with Zeeland oysters topped with rhubarb, Dutch squid served with a tomato and jalapeno jelly, and skrei making an appearance with a Thai-tasting stuffing and a rich bisque. The meat course was an optional extra, but I’m glad we got the buttery côte de porc with the smoothest pommes mousseline and salad dressed in bagna cauda (not to mention a very fine Rioja). A memorable Amsterdam experience, whether you go for lunch or dinner.
Graham’s Kitchen
Understated and under the radar, Graham’s Kitchen is a culinary enclave down an often overlooked street sandwiched between Van Woustraat and the Amstel river. Like many of Amsterdam’s best chefs, Graham Mee doesn’t offer much choice: you’re invited to order between three and six courses, with the option to take the wine pairings with whichever courses you like. I’ve been to Graham’s on several occasions now and his flavour combinations never disappoint. On my first visit, he served a creative take on the English breakfast (Chef Graham is from Liverpool) featuring black pudding, egg and bacon. On my latest visit, we were treated to Asian-inspired versions of tuna tartare, skate wing and Iberico pork. A party on the palate and a great evening out.
Watergang
Occupying arguably one of the most romantic little canal houses in Amsterdam, restaurant Watergang makes efficient use of its diminutive space. We were sat tucked up on the mezzanine level, overlooking the rest of the restaurant below (perimenopausal women be warned: this can get warm). There’s no menu: just five fixed courses, plus wine pairings if you like, although dietary restrictions seem easy to accommodate (within reason).
I thought all the dishes were very accomplished, and the wine pairings were absolutely spot on. But my favourites were the salmon tartare with a herby beurre blanc, and the pork belly with mussels and a Thai coconut milk broth. The latter paired perfectly with the “Par Amour” white wine: an Auxerrois (lesser-known grape that does well in cool climates) from a French region I’d never heard of: Champlitte. It was mineral and delicate but with a juicy full body that really offset the spice and sweet savouriness of the dish.
Troef
Troef has quickly become one of Amsterdam’s most sought-after dining spots, often fully booked despite its tucked-away location off the River Amstel. But I understand why: walking into Troef, we were shaken by the hand and were immediately on first name terms with the maître d’. The service continued to be beyond friendly, while the interior glowed with a warm, convivial atmosphere that was part ski chalet, part French bistro, part Dutch café.
The food was casual but creative: the signature dish appeared to be the Giethoorn eel with crispy potatoes and a horseradish foam. We were sitting at the bar, and must’ve seen hundreds of these paling towers being prepped in the kitchen in front of us. It was salty, sweet and mildly fiery from the horseradish, and went perfectly with a glass of German Pinot Blanc. We stuck with the fishy theme, continuing with a velouté of clams, mussels, crayfish and sea lavender, with a hint of spice from ‘nduja. I also loved the lobster with an antiboise of baby artichokes, cherry tomatoes, creamy bisque and zesty orange. Be sure to ask for a peek inside Troef’s wine cellar as well – it’s an oenophile’s dream.
Vermeer
I’d been an Amsterdammer for a whopping 17 years before I finally made it to restaurant Vermeer – next door to, and part of, the luxurious Amsterdam Barbizon Palace hotel – which turned out to be quite the omission. The night I dined there, I was particularly impressed by the first course of mackerel-stuffed courgette flower with a grapefruit broth. Tricky to pair with wine, but the sommelier had laid her hands on an aged Sancerre that had a skunky, oily, herbaceous character that really did the dish justice.
I’m not generally a dessert person, but I also loved the Jerusalem artichoke and sesame number that came as our final course (perhaps because the constituent parts are not typical dessert ingredients!). The skate wing and beetroot fish course and the duck-based meaty main were a little more pedestrian, but no less tasty for it. And the sommelier did a spectacular job all round. An elegant, sophisticated, dining experience.
Mont Blanc
Inside, restaurant Mont Blanc is like a Swiss chalet (albeit a very fancy one): everything smells of pine wood, there’s a roaring log fire, leather sofa, sheepskins on the lounge chairs by the entrance… It’s the perfect spot to decompress with a glass of bubbles and some amuse-bouches before making your way to your table.
We plumped for the five-course fixed menu, the first of which involved the humble leek – elevated to new heights with trout roe and smoked hay. Next up came a take on oeuf en meurette: a rich bowl of slow-cooked egg yolk with an onion purée and a decadent reduction of Persan – a Savoie red wine that paired perfectly with the Pinot Noir we drank with it. But perhaps my favourite course was the fish: a medley of crisp-skinned perch, tiny sweet crayfish, creamy bisque and Swiss chard. The cheese trolley was also a huge hit. Dinner at Mont Blanc comes at a price, but every detail is taken care of – from the crockery to the wine pairings.
Fuku Ramen
A bowl of ramen might not be something you’d readily peg as fine dining. But Fuku Ramen is here to prove us all wrong. Opening in 2023, word of mouth quickly spread about this Japanese restaurant with its regularly changing fixed five- or six-course menu, culminating in some of the finest ramen Amsterdam has to offer. But before you get to that, you’ll be treated to all sorts of tasty morsels, plus a whole range of sake.
On the evening we visited, highlights included lobster gyoza with lobster-head cream and oyster leaves; monkfish with BBQ bimi, burnt butter and a sauce based on sake residue, which made it taste almost cheesy; and an umami-tastic fermented tomato dish. All this was followed up with a rich tonkotsu broth housing homemade noodles, smoky pork loin and the usual ramen trimmings. I’m not usually a sake fan but, with the help of our sake-sommelier, I discovered that I really liked the Ryusei Hibi Kimoto Junmaishu sake: for me, it had the freshness of unripe melon with the earthiness of forest mushrooms. A memorable meal that left me more than a little impressed.
Planning your visit to Amsterdam
Before you can start dining out in Amsterdam, you’re going to need to get here. Below are some trip essentials to get you started:
- Getting to Amsterdam: Schiphol airport is well-connected, and Expedia and Omio are good starting points for comparing flights and rail options. If you’re coming from London, Paris or Brussels, the Eurostar is a relaxed alternative to flying, though Dutch national carrier KLM has direct flights to most major cities in Europe and beyond.
- Getting around: Amsterdam is compact enough to walk, and public transport covers everything else. Skip the rental car – use GVB to plan your route, or do as the locals do and rent a bike!
- Where to stay: From canal-side luxury (Pulitzer) to boutique quirkiness (Hotel Not Hotel), there’s plenty of choice. Browse the full range on Booking.com.
- Tours and experiences: A canal boat trip is a must – find options on Viator or GetYourGuide. For food tours, I recommend both Eating Europe and Devour Tours.
- Further reading: For restaurant and wine bar recommendations, grab a copy of my Amsterdam Restaurant Guide or Amsterdam Wine Lover’s Guide.
Honourable mentions: other Michelin-starred and fine-dining restaurants in Amsterdam
The restaurants below are ones that I’ve visited and very much enjoyed at the time, but so long ago that I can no longer confidently recommend them. They may have changed; they may not. But still worth a visit!
- Scheepskameel – Located on the Marineterrein, Scheepskameel’s philosophy is to source outstanding produce that’s prepared as simply as possible to let the quality of those ingredients shine through. They serve exclusively German wines, which are also excellent in quality.
- Daalder – Daalder blew me away with its modern European cuisine way back in 2013. Since then, it’s seen a lot of changes but in the intervening years, chef Dennis Huwaë has racked up a Michelin star along the way – so I can’t be the only one who thinks this restaurant is exceptional.
- MOS – Featuring huge windows giving out onto the River IJ and with its unique location on the starkly angular glass-and-steel IJdok, MOS is very distinctive to look at. The food, much like the interior, is both modern and slightly opulent; international but with distinct nods to the chef’s Dutch heritage.
- Kaagman & Kortekaas – Kaagman & Kortekaas is somewhere I’d happily bring work colleagues for a leaving do, a group of friends for a dinner splurge, or really anyone I wanted to impress food-wise without the atmosphere being either pretentious or overly romantic. The kitchen is creative and modern, using plenty of local game and seasonal ingredients.
- Ron Gastrobar – Ron Blaauw is one of Holland’s great chefs, with his meat being a particular highlight. His original and most famous restaurant is Ron Gastrobar, where fine dining meets a fun, casual vibe.
Looking for other recommendations in Amsterdam? Download my Amsterdam Restaurant Guide:
Editor’s note: I was invited to The White Room, Vermeer and MOS as a journalist and didn’t pay for my meals. Obviously I try to be as objective as possible, but I always disclose when I’ve had a freebie.