10 of the Best Middle Eastern Restaurants in Amsterdam
Please note that since writing this blog post, BARDAK has closed down
If I were to pick one region’s cuisine to eat for the rest of my life, it would likely be the Middle East. Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Iran, Israel, Lebanon – all these countries were once part of the Ottoman Empire and all have similar climates, which probably explains the similarities in their cuisine. It’s varied, full of herbs and spices, and with a great balance of sharing dishes (meze, mezze, mazzeh, mazze, spell it how you will) and grilled meats and fish. Plus, due to immigration from these parts of the world to the Netherlands, it’s a cuisine that’s well represented here. There are literally hundreds of Middle Eastern restaurants in Amsterdam, but these are some of my favourites.
Reserving a table at Amsterdam’s Middle Eastern restaurants
Reservations are crucial in most Amsterdam restaurants. Many of the restaurants below have their own reservation systems that use platforms like Formitable to book your table, but there are also sometimes good discounts via TripAdvisor.
Bar Bachrach
Located in the spot once occupied by Eetbar Wilde Zwijnen, Bar Bachrach opened in autumn 2021 to critical acclaim. I waited a few months before I visited, but I was not disappointed when I did. This is some next-level Israeli stuff, featuring flavours I’ve not tasted before in Amsterdam. Especially impressive were the beef tartare that was singing with preserved lemons, silky-smoky aubergine from a kamado-style BBQ in the kitchen, and a stunning dish of raw langoustine, pickled cabbage, crispy bulgar and sweet-sour pomelo. These were all small, shareable dishes, but there are larger dishes like whole grilled fish and sticky ribs as well. To taste the full gamut of Bar Bachrach’s impressive skills in the kitchen, order the chef’s menu for a little bit of everything. I loved the Alsatian pinot blanc and the Valencian tempranillo that we ordered, too. Food this good is matched by the price tag but it’s well worth every cent. Simply stunning.
Foreground: beef tartare at Israeli restaurant Bar Bachrach
Night Kitchen
It’s hard to categorise Night Kitchen, as they dabble in the general Mediterranean area as well as the Middle East. Yes, you’ll find plenty of za’atar, labneh and sumac, but you’ll also find Italian-style gnudi, French-style mussels and Portuguese-style octopus. Luckily for us, they do all these things (and more) extremely well. Night Kitchen is a cosy spot to prop up the bar with a perfectly mixed cocktail, and then wander through to the restaurant with its dark split-tone walls, copper pots and hanging plants. Your best bet is to order the shareable “dinner with friends”, and relax while dish after dish appears on your table. My favourites were possibly the celeriac with feta, za’atar and pistachio, as well as the octopus with spinach, potatoes, smoked paprika and yoghurt. But fish lovers will also highly rate the grilled sardines and the seabass sashimi. The excellent natural wines are easy to pair with the dishes, too.
Night Kitchen’s industrial-zen interior
Editor’s note: I was invited to eat at Night Kitchen as a journalist, and I didn’t pay for my meal. Obviously I try to be as objective as possible, but I always disclose when I’ve had a freebie.
Bar Mitts
Bar Mitts is a cosy little place on the Javastraat, with natural fabrics covering cushioned benches and greenery adorning the walls. The mezze-style menu is designed to be shared, and the dishes are split into a longer list of veggie options and a shorter list of meat ones, of which we tried what felt like a representative sample. Roasted beetroot with burrata and pistachio nuts was creamy and wintry, while grilled broccolini with tahini and za’atar tasted fresh and healthy. Meanwhile in the meat department, two small kofte-style lamb kebabs were possibly my favourite dish: served with a spicy tomato and herb salsa and more tahini. Pulled chicken with hummus, pecan nuts, pomegranate seeds and herbs was also delicious, especially when piled onto pillowy pitas. Bar Mitts’ cocktails are good too.
Bar Mitts. Foreground: broccolini; background: lamb kebabs
BARDAK
Speaking of cocktails, BARDAK is a fantastic little bar/restaurant in de Pijp to drink them! As well as the tasty yet unpronounceable Oaxaca Delight (a tequila, lime and pineapple concoction that was, indeed, delightful), we tried several dishes off the “street food” menu. Aubergine was pleasantly smoky, with crunchy nuts and seeds, creamy yoghurt, and fragrant dill – a good combination of tastes and textures. The arais were flavour pockets of minced-beef pita, served with three contrasting dipping sauces – tahini, green chilli and herb sauce, and amba (a sort of pickled mango condiment). Fried cauliflower with lemon and tahini was about as moreish as it sounds (definitely one for the Ottolenghi generation), while chicken thighs with freekeh came with more tahini and had a similarly lemony flavour profile. It was all lovely in its own right, but a little more contrast between the dishes would’ve been welcome. The atmosphere is also great fun for a night out.
Oaxaca Delight and arais at BARDAK
De Aardige Pers
Warning: do not eat for at least four hours (more if you can manage it – I can’t) before stepping foot inside De Aardige Pers. There’s no way you’re getting out of there anything other than food-baby full. With the fasting out of the way, start by ordering the trio of starters – the chef’s selection – all top notch. Then move onto the grilled meats: simple but perfectly cooked kofte kebabs, chicken thighs, lamb loin and so on – all served with fragrant saffron rice and grilled tomatoes. De Aardige Pers isn’t fancy looking, but the food is more than decent and the prices very reasonable.
Mixed grill at De Aardige Pers
Ali Ocakbaşı
With a gorgeously decorated interior and excellent service, Ali Ocakbaşı is a classy establishment for a night out. Their selection of starters is brought around in a giant basket from which to make your choice. My favourite was the çiğ köfte: finely minced raw beef with bulgur wheat and chilli, hand moulded into sort of knobbly cylinders. Eat them wrapped in lettuce leaves with a squeeze of lemon. Delicious. But the rest is great, too!
Dozens of dishes in the mezze selection at Ali Ocakbasi
Orontes
With two locations in Amsterdam, Orontes De Pijp on the Albert Cuypstraat and Orontes West on the Hugo de Grootplein pay homage to the Antakya region of Turkey. They import hard-to-find products from the area and cook them up into excellent dishes, including succulent lamb skewers, aromatic aubergine, and mixed grills cooked over charcoal. Nesip Can’s wine selection is wonderful, too.
Hummus Bistro d&a
Now with three locations, Hummus Bistro d&a serves officially the best hummus in Amsterdam – in variations involving falafel, chicken, siniya (minced lamb) and many more. In addition to the hummus, I also loved their shakshuka, stuffed aubergine, and a plethora of little side dishes that were either spicy or pickled or both. The service was friendly, the prices reasonable, and the wine flowing.
Hummus Bistro d&a in Amsterdam Oost
Beyrouth
Its name a riff on the Lebanese capital, Beyrouth has been a favourite Amsterdam restaurant for as long as I can remember (owner Kamal Estephan opened it in 1990 when I was just 10). The range of mezze here is huge – you can pick from separate dishes or order a selection of as many as 10 or 15 – so I usually fill up on those alone. Their tabbouleh was perfect: green and grassy with oodles of fresh herbs.
NENI
NENI’s enormous premises in the converted Citroën garage on Stadionplein make it ideal for group dining. But even if you’re having dinner for two, or flying solo, the size of the space doesn’t detract from the quality of the food. NENI’s owners have Israeli, Romanian and Spanish roots, so you can expect an Eastern Mediterranean party on your palate. The hummus is silky smooth, the aubergine smoky and grassy with olive oil, the seabass crudo laced with pomegranate – even the olives are outstanding. The veg-led dishes were definitely the highlight: try the sabich – think the Israeli answer to focaccia, studded with aubergine, eggs, tahini, a tangy mango sauce and a fresh, fragrant, herb-rich salsa. Try also the generous fish cakes with char-grilled vegetables. Prices are reasonable, the service friendly, and the atmosphere buzzing.
Charcoal-roasted aubergine (photo courtesy of NENI Amsterdam)
For excellent, affordable manouche (stuffed and rolled flatbreads), try the Lebanese Sajeria, now at three locations in Amsterdam. For Turkish mezze and grilled meats, try Maydanoz, and for its Kurdish equivalent, try Zagros – both in de Pijp. And for Syrian food, try Sham, now with locations in both West and Oost. You can also search for Middle Eastern restaurants by location and price via my restaurant finder.
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