Amsterdam‘s Oud-West lies just outside the city’s historic canal belt and runs southward alongside Vondelpark. The neighbourhood has more than its fair share of excellent restaurants, many of which are located on, or near, its three main thoroughfares; Kinkerstraat, Overtoom and de Clercqstraat.
Bar Centraal
This charming spot on the corner of Ten Katestraat looks as though it was lifted straight from central Paris and has the wine card to match. The bar almost exclusively stocks organic wine created by ecologically-minded winemakers from around the world and offers an ever-changing menu of elegant tapas-like dishes to accompany its wine selection, which includes Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Though Bar Central doesn’t advertise its current menu online and regularly changes its selection, its chefs tend to create elegant, well-balanced dishes that are partly inspired by Mediterranean cuisine and often centre around fresh seafood, hearty greens or high-quality cuts of meat.
Café Panache
This cavernous yet stylish bar and restaurant is located inside an old warehouse on the eastern side of Ten Katestraat, which was originally built to store the stalls and trestles that appear every day at Ten Katemarkt. Nowadays, this rustic industrial building features long lines of dark wood tables and classy decor that matches wonderfully with Café Panache’s refined menu and welcoming ambiance. Though there are vegetarian options available inside the restaurant, such as roasted cauliflower or pea soup, its menu mainly revolves around charcoal grilled seafood and meats that are served alongside other high-quality ingredients like foie de canard or herring caviar. Café Panache also has an extensive co*cktail menu, which includes many classic mixes and long drinks that are available in pitchers.
The Dutch Weed Burger Joint
The Dutch Weed Burger Joint serves tasty vegan fast food-style dishes that are made from sustainably produced seaweed. The minds behind the restaurant decided to tailor their menu around seaweed, as this aquatic crop contains many essential nutrients and has a lower impact on the environment than other protein-rich plants. The restaurant also offers several mouthwatering fast food staples, aside from its titular burger, including seaweed, shawarma kebabs wrapped in flatbread and hot dogs topped with zesty pickles.
Waterkant
Waterkant might have the best location in Amsterdam. The restaurant is spread over the ground floor of an enormous renovated multi-storey car park. This coiled building overlooks the last ring of Amsterdam’s canal belt and Waterkant’s terrace is completely surrounded by water. Its kitchen combines Indonesian, Surinamese and traditional Dutch cuisine and its delightful menu includes spicy saté dishes, gado-gado salads and roti rolls.
Abyssinia
Abyssinia creates delicious and authentic Ethiopian food and in respect to the country’s traditional culinary practices, serves its meals without cutlery. Main courses are stuffed inside of sourdough flatbreads and eaten by hand. As Ethiopia’s trade routes were historically tied to the Middle East, its cuisine is quite spicy and steeped in rich and sturdy flavours. The restaurant serves a selection of the nation’s principal delicacies and cooks meals that are suited for small and intimate gatherings.
Restaurant Hap-Hmm
As this delightful Dutch restaurant has welcomed hungry customers for well over 70 years, it ranks among the oldest establishments of its kind in Amsterdam. Like all traditional Dutch restaurants, Hap-Hmm serves a sterling selection of hearty, simple grub ranging from deluxe pork chops to homemade meatballs. Hap-Hmm buys most of its stock from local merchants and uses the freshest ingredients to create delicious, healthy meals. Though Dutch cuisine tends to lean towards quality meat or seafood, Hap-Hmm offers several vegetarian dishes, including veggie burgers and meat-free schnitzel.
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Food Hallen
This bustling indoor food court features around 20 individual stalls that are manned by local culinary experts, who prepare, cook and serves dishes ranging from fresh sushi rolls to gourmet bitterballen. These stalls centre around a large dining area, where visitors can share dishes with friends and order drinks from the nearby bar. Foodhallen is part of a larger cultural complex called de Hallen, which was built inside a former tram depot in Amsterdam Oud-West. This awesome multipurpose centre houses many other cultural sights, aside from de Foodhallen, including an art house cinema, boutique stores and a public library.
Pazzi Amsterdam
This cosy Italian restaurant uses a large wood-burning oven to cook its pizzas to perfection. There are around 10 types of pizzas available on the restaurant’s menu, which are authentically and traditionally prepared. Aside from its specular pizzas, Pazzi Amsterdam also serves a refined selection of Italian antipasti dishes and desserts, including freshly-baked focaccia, burrata and tiramisu. There’s space inside the restaurant for solo diners, couples and small groups and even more room outside on the sunny terrace.
Meatless District
Meatless District’s menu features many classic breakfast, lunch and dinner items that have been adapted around vegan dietary requirements. A decent portion of these dishes traditionally contain meat, dairy or eggs, but have been tweaked by Meatless District’s chefs in order to make them vegan-friendly. For instance, the restaurant serves BLT sandwiches with eggplant bacon and several mouthwatering burgers that are stuffed with protein-rich seitan patties. Meatless District also has a section on its menu dedicated to meat-free Dutch-style bar snacks, which taste incredible next to a cold pilsner.
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