What Food Is Amsterdam Known For: Seven Dishes to Try

1. Stroopwafel: best eaten hot from a market

A stroopwafel is two thin waffles with a sweet syrup layer between them. Eat it hot from a market or a bakery, the tourist board I amsterdam advises. Albert Cuypmarkt is the easiest place to find one. The market runs Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 18:00, is closed on Sundays and has about 260 stalls, according to I amsterdam. The same page lists herring and fresh stroopwafels among the food you can buy there.

You can also bake your own. The stroopwafel-making workshop costs from €20 per person and lasts 45 minutes. We Are Amsterdam runs it, and you meet at Albert Cuypstraat 194. You make two XL stroopwafels, eat one and take one home, with coffee or tea. The workshop is rated 4.81 from 5,134 reviews, and you can cancel for free up to 24 hours before. Wheelchair users cannot join, as the listing says it is not suitable for them.

Pro Tip Go to Albert Cuypmarkt before 18:00 on any day except Sunday, and ask for a stroopwafel that is still warm.

2. Bitterballen: the bar snack to order with a beer

Bitterballen are crispy deep-fried balls served with mustard. You find them at most Amsterdam bars, says I amsterdam. Holland.com, the Dutch tourist board, calls bitterballen and kaastengels the perfect bar snacks.

Order one portion for the table and add mustard to each bite. No official page lists a price for bitterballen. Bars set their own, so read the menu before you order.

3. Raw herring: a broodje haring from a cart, May to July

Raw herring is sold from carts across the city, and you order it as a "broodje haring". That is herring in a bun with pickles and onions. May to July is the best time to try it, according to I amsterdam. Holland.com calls herring a taste of the Dutch seaside.

Raw fish is not for everyone. If that sounds too much, skip to kibbeling below, which is fried and served hot.

4. Gouda and other Dutch cheese: taste before you buy

For cheese, I amsterdam suggests Gouda, goat cheese (geitenkaas) or Maasdammer at Henri Willig Cheese and More shops. It also names a guided tasting at the Reypenaer Tasting Room.

If you want a seated tasting, the Henri Willig cheese tasting costs from €20 per person and lasts 40 minutes to 1 hour. You get 10 pieces of different Gouda, three dip sauces and mustard, and two drinks. Henri Willig runs it. The meeting point depends on the option you pick, so check it on the booking page. With 1,232 reviews it is rated 4.7, and free cancellation runs up to 24 hours before. People with mobility impairments should look elsewhere, as the listing says it is not suitable for them.

5. Poffertjes: small fluffy pancakes from market vendors

Poffertjes are small, fluffy pancakes dusted with powdered sugar. Market vendors sell the best ones, says I amsterdam. Do not mix them up with pannenkoeken, the thin, crepe-like Dutch pancakes.

Share a portion if you plan to try other dishes the same day.

6. Kibbeling: battered fish, hot from Dappermarkt or Ten Kate

Kibbeling is battered, deep-fried white fish, usually served with a herb mayonnaise. Eat it hot at Dappermarkt or Ten Kate market, says I amsterdam. A good first fish dish if raw herring puts you off.

The I amsterdam page lists no prices. It names no opening hours for Ten Kate market. For Dappermarkt, I amsterdam's market page says it runs Monday to Saturday and is closed on Sundays. It has about 200 stalls. The page gives the start time as both 9:00 and 10:00, with a close at 17:00, so arrive after 10:00. Dappermarkt also sells Surinamese, Turkish and Moroccan specialty foods, and no official page ranks it against Albert Cuypmarkt.

7. Rijsttafel: the Indonesian "rice table"

Rijsttafel is a sit-down meal of many small Indonesian dishes, and I amsterdam lists it among the dishes to try in Amsterdam. The page speaks of a solid Indonesian influence on the city's food scene. A guide to Indonesian restaurants from the same board calls rijsttafel a colonial invention from the time of the Dutch East Indies. It works much like a tasting menu. No official page says which restaurant is best. Both prices above come from the same board's guide, so Sampurna is the cheapest listed and Restaurant Blauw the dearest. A rijsttafel costs more than a market snack, and the meal and beer costs are in the cost section below.

The same guide lists rijsttafels from €27.50 at Sampurna in Centrum to around €52.50 per person at Restaurant Blauw in Zuid. Prices are as that page states them and can change, so check the restaurant's menu.

Key Takeaway If you only try three things, pick a hot stroopwafel, bitterballen with mustard and, from May to July, a broodje haring.

How to choose what food Amsterdam is known for, by taste and budget

Choose by what you like and how much time you have. Sweet fans start with stroopwafel and poffertjes, fish fans with kibbeling or herring, and anyone who wants a proper dinner books a rijsttafel.

Vegetarians have fewer choices among these seven dishes, since herring and kibbeling are fish. I amsterdam's vegetarian guide lists Golden Temple on Utrechtsestraat, a plant-based restaurant since 2008. It also lists Spirit Amsterdam, a buffet of more than 50 vegetarian and organic dishes. Chez Nina, next to Westerpark, is a vegetarian brasserie from the same list. Market stalls do not list ingredients, so ask before you order.

Street food tells you more about a city than a menu does.

If you avoid gluten, I amsterdam's gluten-free guide names Croque Madame in Centrum, where every menu item is gluten-free, and Craft Coffee & Pastry in De Pijp, a fully gluten-free bakery. For the stalls above, ask the vendor, because the pages do not list ingredients.

What does a meal cost in Amsterdam?

A mid-range sit-down meal in Amsterdam cost €26 to €40 per person in the 2026 Amsterdam Travel Cost Study, from published prices read in October 2026.

A glass of draught beer in Amsterdam cost €4 to €6.20 in the same study. Snacks from carts and market stalls are not in those ranges, and I amsterdam lists no prices for them.

Is a food tour worth it, or should you eat your way through on your own?

A food tour is worth it if you want many of these dishes in one walk with someone who explains them, and doing it alone is better if you only want one or two. A stall or a bar costs you the price of the snack and no more, but you plan the route and queue at each stop yourself.

A food tour of Amsterdam puts the tastings in one walk. The Best Travel Destinations' count of GetYourGuide listings for Amsterdam in October 2026 found 32 food tours, tastings and food workshops, from €12.41 to €125 per person.

The Food & Culture walking tour with 10 tastings costs from €79 per person and lasts 3.5 hours. Ollantay Food Tour runs it, and it is rated 4.95 from 1,255 reviews. The listed tastings include kibbeling, stroopwafel and bitterballen. A walking tour, a guide, the tastings and a bottle of water are included. Tips and hotel pickup are not. You meet at Vijzelstraat 5, and the listing says it is not suitable for people with mobility impairments. No group size is stated.

The ten-tastes food walk costs from €57 per person and lasts 2 to 3 hours. Flagship Bike Tours Amsterdam runs it as a small group, with no number stated. It is rated 4.7 from 304 reviews. The tastings include mini pancakes, chicken satay, herring and kibbeling. You meet at Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 101, near Central Station, and tips are not included. Both walks have free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

Before you book, check what is and is not included. The ten-tastes walk includes three drinks, a water bottle and a stroopwafel, and the listing asks you to arrive 15 minutes early. Neither walk lists hotel pickup, and the Food & Culture walk says it is not included. The stroopwafel workshop and the cheese tasting are single stops, so they cost less but show you only one food. GetYourGuide shows the ratings and review counts above, and we did not check them ourselves.

Prices and ratings as shown on GetYourGuide.