The Amsterdam email

Amsterdam is just such a great city! I’d been before when I was in university and didn’t have any money. We went again recently and I loved it even more. I’ll be honest, Amsterdam on a little more money is a lot more fun. On my first visit we stayed at this awful backpackers in a dorm room with sixteen double bed bunk beds. Yes, read that again. Sixteen double bed bunk beds. I did it on a very tight budget but had such a fantastic time. When we moved to London I knew Amsterdam was a city Jono would love but I knew we’d need a bigger budget than my last trip!

The one thing to flag about Amsterdam is that the accommodation is expensive. Even that awful backpackers was expensive. I would recommend spending the money to stay centrally as walking around the city is so beautiful. So definitely prepare yourself for silly pricing. At the end of the post I have shared where we stayed which was wonderful, in a great location and was bigger than expected.

Another thing is how best to get there from London. We took the Eurostar from London to Amsterdam’s main station. Which is brilliant for getting you right into the city. BUT I am not sure I would recommend this route as there were significant delays on both our way there and home because of ongoing work on the rail lines preventing the train from running at full speed with a trip that should take four hours one way taking 6 hours. So the time we’d hoped to save by skipping airport security and commuting to and from the airports was a bust.

Restaurants we loved in Amsterdam

– Fuku Ramen
These guys have got to be joking with how good this food is. Fuku ramen offers a set menu with each dish being superb. This was one of my top meals of 2023 and each dish was a full on punch in the face with flavour. The chef is super lovely too and clearly passionate about every dish he serves. I’d highly recommend going for the optional fatty tuna if it’s on offer. EVERY DISH was a wowza dish. No more words. Just reservations, okay?

– Ken Sushi
This is another special meal which will require advance reservation. During our dinner I was taking notes of where the elements of the sushi were from – seaweed from Thailand, rice from Italy (I know!?), salmon from Norway, scallops from Canada, wasabi from Japan…. I could honestly go on. We ate ingredients from sixteen different countries and goodness was it delicious. This for me is a must visit and we will be back. Special shout out to the most insane wagyu nigiri – definitely opt for the upgrade. The dessert was an egg custard type thing and it was sensational! Please note, this is very much a premium experience so it is very much expensive. Worth it in our books but we’re huge sushi fans.

– Restaurant de Kas
The restaurant that originally inspired babylonstoren. Beautiful glasshouse serving gorgeous veggie forward dishes. Jono particularly enjoyed ordering one of each of the oysters. I’ve been twice and service was a definitely more of a miss this time but hopefully it was just an odd night.

– Café Sonneveld
This was a recommendation from our free walking tour guide and it was a great one! Gorgeous traditional Dutch cafe packed with “gezelligheid”. Of course you need to get beer and bitterballen. I had the Stampot which is a traditional Dutch dish of mashed potatoes and vegetables with a giant meatball and gravy. This was super comforting and perfect for our rainy afternoon. But in all honesty, the real star of the show are the ribs. I am not a big fan of ribs – I never feel they’re worth the effort! But I still think about these ribs and know on our next trip back they’re a must have again. I have never had such flavourful ribs which were both fall apart and tender but with a slightly charred sticky finish.

– Winkel 43
I have told so many people to go here – but I think everyone else has too – as the queues are around the block!! Winkel 43 is home to the best apple pie in Amsterdam. The long queue seems to be for people looking to sit down. If you’re in more of a rush I’d recommend walking all the way to the front and asking for a take away – don’t forget the cream on the side! We enjoyed our apple pie on the Eurostar on the way home with only a few minutes wait.

Places on our next visit list

– nNea Pizza
– Restaurant Choux
– 101 Gowrie
– De Japanner
– Ron Gastrobar Oriental

Things we did when not eating

– Van Gogh Museum
The museum is fantastic and a must visit. Definitely get the audio guide and get ready for a deep dive. I absolutely love van Gogh’s art and it is such a privilege to see so much of his art all in one place. His story is heart breaking but told so well through the museum experience.

– Free walking tour
I am such a big fan of free walking tours and we have done them all over the world. We went with Freedam tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. Amsterdam has a huge history and I really feel you need to prioritise doing a walking tour on your first day to understand the city better.

– Amsterdam Canal Cruise
We had a super rainy weekend but post afternoon nap the sun was shining and we raced down to the harbour to catch the next canal cruise. I am sure there are must recommend tours but in all honesty I’d guess they’re all pretty similar at a similar price. The cruise has a boat driver and a tour guide who give you an overview of the key sites and a little history. It was both a beautiful tour and really interesting too. I would recommend holding out for a little sunshine if possible as it really is a magic experience! The boat has a little cash bar and would be great timed with sunset too!

– Albert Cuypt Market
Great for strolling and packed with beautiful fruit and vegetables, fresh flowers and plants, treasures and plenty of ready to eat options. You shouldn’t miss the piping hot freshly made stroopwaffles! You can find stroopwaffles all over Amsterdam but you can’t find them freshly made which is a whole new level of delicious.

– Tulip museum
This was a surprise! The weather was dreadful, we had a little time ahead of lunch and the tickets were affordable. I gotta say we loved the Tulip museum – is it a must visit? Probably not. But if you have a little time and are interested in the history of Tulips (ie they’re not originally from Amsterdam or even Europe!!) then I’d recommend it. The other thing I would highly recommend is buying tulips from Amsterdam to take home for beautiful memories in the Spring. Ours are growing great guns! You can of course buy them all over Amsterdam but we bought ours from the museum.

– Anne Frank Museum
A visit to the Anne Frank Museum was high up on our visit list to the point where Jono read Anne Frank’s Diary ahead of the trip for added context. We were getting sorted for the trip and I went to book tickets a few weeks in advance. Nope. Sold out! Apparently, they sell out as soon as they’re released and once they’re sold out there are no exceptions and no tickets for sale at the venue on the day.
I’d visited before on my first trip to Amsterdam and would highly recommend getting organised and booking tickets in advance. Really saving this here for me but these are the details of the ticket releases if you need to know too: “Every Tuesday at 10am CET all tickets become available for a visit six weeks later”.

Where we stayed in Amsterdam

We stayed at Mokum Suites which was a fantastic location. We were right on the canal which made for great people watching and lovely views. Our room was huge and included access to a shared kitchen downstairs. Bonus points for complimentary beer and wine in the fridge!