Amsterdam Cultural Tips

Dining Out
With a restaurant or eating establishment on nearly every street corner, in Amsterdam, you are never far from a place to eat. Amsterdam's cultural diversity is well portrayed in the huge variety of restaurants representing every international cuisine. No matter what your palate desires, you'll find it here.

If you fancy Italian cuisine, the best in Amsterdam is Ristorante-lo-stivale-d-oro, at Amstel 49. This is a family run place where fresh is the word. Packed to the gills every night from 5pm to 11pm.  Reservations are accepted, but you can also just arrive and take a chance. There is a little bar across the street where you can sit and watch for a table to come free. A slightly more upmarket place is "Gusto's" on Kloveniersburgwal, number 7, No Pizza here! No reservations required.

Pancakes Anyone?
You cannot come to Amsterdam and not have some pancakes. For a quickie, head to "Renes's on Damstraat and get their Poffertjes, Mini Pancakes, Delicious! For a sit-down meal type Pancake, Pancake at Berenstraat 38.

Vegetarians are fairly well catered for also at such places as ‘De Kas’ restaurant, where the ingredients used are home grown in their own biological garden, and Green Planet, a great place with good food and great prices. Although the Dutch are not renowned for their culinary excellence, there are some places such as The vijf Vliegen offering traditional Dutch food.

Kitchens close early in Amsterdam, around 10pm to 11.00pm.

Most restaurants do not cater for the breakfast trade that is usually eaten in one of the eetcafes or lunch cafes dotted all over the city. A typical Dutch breakfast consists of bread with cold meat, jam, cheese, honey or sweet sprinkles called hagelslag. Beschuit, which is a type of rusk and ontbijtkoek, a spiced cake. Most of these cafes, particularly in the city centre, cater for the English bacon and egg type breakfast as well.

For dinner with a difference, try The Supper Club, where anything can happen and usually does.

The food is to die for, and you certainly won't be bored.

The show and dinner start 8pm sharp (ouch!), and when dinner is over
the restaurant turns into a nightclub with Europe's top DJ’s banging out the best tracks.

Brought to you by the same folk behind the Superclub, ‘Nomads’ one of the in places to be seen. Asian restaurant with great food. Reservations are a must.

If you're looking for a romantic dinner, check out the lovers dinner cruise. Enjoy a candle lit meal while sailing around the Amsterdam canals. Check www.lovers.nl for more information and to make a reservation.

Others places worth noting are Jamie Olivers " Restaurant Fifteen" and "Resturant Christopher".

A fairly new arrival, now appearing all over the city, is Wok to Walk, and it's numerous clones such as Wok to go and Wok n' Walk. Rice or noodles and your choice of sauce all cooked right in front of you, so no funny business!

This Amsterdam Resturant guide is a good way to find what you are looking for.

Nightlife

If you would like to meet the local Amsterdammers, visit one of the many "brown cafes", brown from smoking (soon to be banned in July 2008). Most famous one is "De Hoppe" on the Spui with saw dust on the floor.

Amsterdam is known for its crazy nightlife, with it's many bars and grand cafes as well as the new Escape cafe next door to the famous Escape Club which is well worth a visit.

After the bars start winding down people, head for the nightclubs, the most famous ones being the ‘Paradiso’ and the ‘Melkweg’ both around the Leidseplein square area. Both have live music and host many of the world's top bands. Other top clubs in Amsterdam are:

Supper Club http://www.supperclub.nl

Club Panama http://www.panama.nl

Club NL http://www.clubnl.nl

Jimmy Woo's http://www.amsterdamhotspots.nl/club.html#jimmywoo

Escape Club
Amsterdam's most famous club, maybe not the best but the biggest. Usual bouncer shit applies, No trainers, No male groups. Not easy for males alone to get in. Ask a girl in the line if you can go in with her.

CoffeeShops

A coffee shop in Amsterdam not only sells a cup of coffee but also a place which sells Cannabis and hash, weed, soft drugs, which is legal-ish in the Netherlands although you have to be over 18 years old to even enter a coffeeshop and ID is required, and you will be asked for it you look young.

We recommend BasJoe coffeeshop at Kloveniersburgwal number 62. Drop in once and you'll be back again and again.

Enjoying Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a very safe city and much safer that many other European cities, but just like in any other major city you should be careful of pickpockets and look after your belongings.

Drinking Alcohol in the street is forbidden.

If you are caught urinating anywhere other than the free public toilet, you will be fined on the spot 50 euro.

Cycling a bike without a light , gets you a Euro 38 fine.

When exploring the city by bike, make sure you use the bicycle lanes all over the city. Avoid cycling on the pavements / foot paths and always make sure you have working lights back and front if cycling at night. Bike theft is rampant so you will need at least two good locks to avoid your bike going missing at soon as you park it. When visiting the red light district, remember that it is not allowed to take photos of the girls. Buying any drugs on the street is 95% of the time at best a waste of your money and at worst life threatening. If you must buy, look out for the "crack heads" around the top of the red-light district around "Febo" fast food joint. They're likely to be able to point you in the right direction.

If you are approached by dealers on the streets you are for sure getting ripped off. The chances of getting anything real is zero, and you also risk being robbed as soon as you take out your money.

Once you have been to Amsterdam, you will certainly want to come back again and again and again. It is one of the cities which just grabs you and won't let go.

Enjoy your stay in wonderful Amsterdam.