Amsterdam Adventures (II) – Places to Eat

A compilation of my experience at all the places we grabbed some grub from during our trip to A’dam – enjoy!

B&B lunchroom (Sandwiches)

ADDRESS: Leidsestraat 44 (map)

PHONE: 020 6381542

WEBSITE: www.onzecatering.nl (Dutch)

The best breakfast I've had in a while.

MY STORY: After spending our first night in Amsterdam hungry because we couldn’t find any eateries near our hotel, we were desperate to scoff back some proper breakfast. We weren’t sure how good B&B lunchroom was, but went in regardless as it was the first place we came across – it turned out to be a very lucky guess. I ordered a hot chocolate and a chicken and avocado sandwich. The former was more whipped cream than hot chocolate, but the sandwich was phenomenal. It’s decently priced, and I definitely felt like I got my money’s worth. Ingredients were fresh, tasty, and everything was very well presented. It was clearly a rather popular hotspot, as there was a good mix of both locals and tourists. A great way to start the day.

Genroku Sushi & Grill (Japanese)

ADDRESS: Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 115 (map)

PHONE: 020 4288809

WEBSITE: www.genroku.nl (Dutch)

A tasty corner of Japan near Dam Square.

MY STORY: As I’ve mentioned before in a subdued understatement, I love sushi. A lot. And so when the sign for ‘all you can eat’ floated into my frozen view, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Costing €17 per person, it’s marginally cheaper than places in London like Sushi Ga Ga, especially with the current exchange rate, but the choice of food was very impressive. The quality of the food is alright although, as its manager Fai admitted, not as good as their a la carte stuff. ‘So the grilled chicken for the all you can eat buffet, for example, would be fried and then grilled for a couple minutes right before it’s served,’ said Fai. ‘While the ones on the a la carte menu would actually be grilled properly. You get what you pay for, basically.’ That said, I still very much enjoyed lunch there. Just bear in mind that the green tea is non-refillable, so ration thyself.

Febo de lekkerste (Fast Food)

ADDRESS: Leidsestraat 94 (map)

PHONE: 020 6208615

WEBSITE: www.febodelekkerste.nl/eng/ (Eng – but just the Homepage, everything else is in Dutch)

Be confronted by a wall of food. Literally.

MY STORY: I’ve heard about Febo from some documentary a while back, so it was very exciting actually trying it out. The concept was revolutionary – it works like a manned vending machine which gets filled with freshly made fast food from the kitchen behind. There is a wall filled with columns of mini hot boxes as you enter, and after you insert the money you can open a flap and retrieve your food. Be warned that the sides of the box is very, very hot (I learnt the hard way for your convenience). They even have a free change machine on the wall opposite in case you don’t have coins. The actual food, however, wasn’t that great. Despite ‘de lekkerste’ apparently translating as ‘the tasty’ according to the waiter, it didn’t live up to its name. Worth going if you get easily fascinated by things like opening little doors, or if you’re in need of some late night drunken/high munchies, but if you’re looking for a good lunch then I wouldn’t recommend this place. There is more food that you can order behind the counter if you’re paranoid that the machine will swallow your money and not regurgitate your food, but the quality is unfortunately equally average.

Rembrandt Corner (Western)

ADDRESS: Jodenbreestraat 2 (map)

PHONE: 020 6274463

WEBSITE: N/A

If only the food was as nice the interior design.

MY STORY: From the outside, Rembrandt Corner looked inviting, and yet maybe the fact that it was completely empty should have set off some alarm bells in our heads. We went in regardless, and it was very disappointing. The food wasn’t great, and neither was the service (Mr. Waiter obviously found the TV more alluring than his customers). Its only redeeming factors were its location and perhaps its decor, but it would need a hell lot more than that to make up for its flaws.We ordered a rack of spare ribs and a salmon pasta, and the bill came to something like €30. We should’ve gone to a sex show instead.

Nieuw Albina (‘Surinamese’/Chinese)

ADDRESS: Albert Cuypstraat 47-49 (map)

PHONE: 020 3790223

WEBSITE: N/A

The place to go for very average Chinese food.

MY STORY: Having heard that Surinamese food is supposed to be quite renowned in Amsterdam, we decided to give this place a go. It turned out, however, that we underestimated what they meant by a restaurant ‘with a Chinese twist’. What they meant was that it’s essentially a Chinese restaurant with an identity crisis, and thus operates under a false pretense that it is Surinamese. We ordered a meat dish which was under the ‘Surinamese Specialties’ section, having already avoided the ‘Chinese’ bit, and the result was a small plate containing a few pieces of traditional Cantonese ‘roast meat’ like char siu. And it wasn’t particularly good Chinese food either. Not much to recommend here unfortunately, although the owners – an old couple from Hong Kong, which explains a lot I guess – are very nice.

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