While the Dutch were mostly eating bread with hagelslag for breakfast until fairly recently, the past two decades has seen a trend in international brunch culture. Spearheaded by the Australian and New Zealand immigrants, there are now a plethora of great places offering breakfast and brunch dishes from the world over. Below are my top picks of the places serving the best brunch in Amsterdam…
Planning your visit to Amsterdam
Before you can start your morning with breakfast, you’re going to need to get here! Below are a few trip essentials, but I’ve also written an Amsterdam travel guide for first-time visitors.
- Getting to Amsterdam: Schiphol airport is well-connected, and Expedia and Omio are good starting points for comparing flights and rail options. If you’re coming from London, Paris or Brussels, the Eurostar is a relaxed alternative to flying, though Dutch national carrier KLM has direct flights to most major cities in Europe and beyond.
- Getting around: Amsterdam is compact enough to walk, and public transport covers everything else. Skip the rental car – use GVB to plan your route, or do as the locals do and rent a bike!
- Where to stay: From canal-side luxury (Pulitzer) to boutique quirkiness (Hotel Not Hotel), there’s plenty of choice. Browse the full range on Booking.com.
- Tours and experiences: A canal boat trip is a must – find options on Viator or GetYourGuide. For food tours, I recommend both Eating Europe and Devour Tours.
- Further reading: For restaurant and wine bar recommendations, grab a copy of my Amsterdam Restaurant Guide or Amsterdam Wine Lover’s Guide.
10 of the Best Brunches and Breakfasts in Amsterdam
Little Collins
I first discovered Little Collins’ excellent line in international brunch dishes, from kedgeree to waffles, at their cosy location in de Pijp, but I later discovered they also do dinner. The menu is very international, which I would usually avoid, but they do so many things well. The chef is Australian, and of course Australian cuisine is a melting pot of influences from Europe, Asia, America… you name it. I usually order a rhubarb bellini and/or a coffee while I’m waiting for brunch. You can’t go wrong with one of their Asian dishes, like smoked tofu or pork belly with kimchi, or one of their Middle Eastern brunch classics like cilbir or shakshuka. Little Collins was the first to bring Antipodean brunch culture to Amsterdam, and a few other copycats have sprung up since – but none are as good as the original.
Box Sociaal
Also run by Antipodeans, Box Sociaal is known for its brunch but (much like Little Collins, above) is worth visiting for dinner as well. They do a good line in the usual brunch suspects from eggs Benedict (pictured below) to breakfast sandwiches, but they also had some more creative-looking menu items when I went, like the yum cha waffle or what looks like a pimped-up PBJ sandwich. Their coffee and juices are very good, and their service impeccable. Box Sociaal has been going strong in the Plantage neighbourhood for several years now, but they’ve since opened a second location in the Jordaan, too.
Eggs Benaddicted
With two locations in Amsterdam, Eggs Benaddicted does what it says on the tin: eggs, every which way. Florentine, benedict, omelette, shakshuka – you name it. It was staggeringly hot when I visited, so I wasn’t in the mood for meat (as delicious as the options involving roast beef, smoked duck breast or Parma ham sounded on the menu). Instead, I got the eggs Florentine, which featured well-structured brioche toast, creamy spinach and Hollandaise sauce that was just the right tang and texture. Mr Foodie ordered the Greek omelette, which was like a potato omelette encased inside a filo parcel, topped with a yoghurt sauce. If it sounds strange and a little carb-heavy, trust me when I say it absolutely worked. Drinks were a couple of cool juices to beat the heat, but of course there are coffees and teas too – plus cocktails for days you want to make brunch a bit boozy.
Belly Pepper
I love Turkish food at any hour, but Turkish breakfast has to be perhaps the best meal of the day. Belly Pepper in Amsterdam West has a lovely curated menu of half a dozen or so brunch dishes, including a hearty wrap filled with sucuk (sausage), eggs, cheese and avocado, with chilli-dipped potatoes on the side. But for big flavours with a smaller appetite, order the borek: whirls of light pastry are filled with spinach and feta, served topped with a perfectly poached egg and surrounded by a small lake of yoghurt with chilli butter. Delightful with a glass of homemade lemonade.
Snob Amsterdam
Also flying the flag for Turkish breakfast is Snob Amsterdam, right in the centre of the city on Thorbeckeplein. It’s an airy canal house space, with vibrant décor and an all-day dining concept. But I was here for the Bosphorus Sharing Rhapsody: a two-person platter featuring homemade sucuk, four types of Turkish cheese, tahini molasses, hummus with za’atar, chilli jam, and of course that inimitable simit bread – a ring-shaped piece of dough that’s been dipped in molasses and sesame seeds and baked – all washed down with a pot of tea. It’ll transport you straight to Istanbul, before you’ve even followed up with a genuine Turkish coffee.
Dignita
As well as serving up an excellent brunch, Dignita is excellently set up for families dining with kids at their Vondelpark location. But they’ve subsequently opened up another branch along the Amstel, too – my favourite being the restaurant/ terrace that’s tucked into the leafy garden behind the H’ART Museum. I’ve loved pretty much everything I’ve eaten at Dignita, but my number-one pick has to be their chickpea and courgette fritters with fried halloumi, poached egg, avocado, dukkah and a mint-yoghurt dressing. The fritters are moist, the egg perfectly poached, the textures well balanced – all in all, a lovely dish. Their coffees and breakfast cocktails are also good, and even the service is quick – although you might have to wait for a table at busy periods.
The Cottage
One of the few truly British restaurants in Amsterdam (other than Greenwoods below!), The Cottage is a lovely spot for breakfast, afternoon tea or Sunday roast in the Watergraafsmeer neighbourhood. But it’s their brunch we’re here to talk about. I generally order one of the egg-based dishes: scrambled eggs with hot-smoked salmon, horseradish and watercress, for instance. Or Bombay eggs with Indian spices, coriander and pickled red onion. But The Cottage also serves a full English breakfast for those with a hearty appetite in the morning. If you’re not too full, be sure to order their scones with proper English clotted cream and homemade jam for dessert. A taste of my childhood.
Greenwoods
Greenwoods is the quintessential English tearoom, and with its very central canal-side location, it’s perfect for taking visitors. Their soda bread is to die for – moist and cakey, slathered with butter. You also can’t go wrong with either of their takes on eggs Benedict: the classic comes with ham on English muffins, but the “Emperor’s Eggs Royale” comes with salmon on hash browns with beetroot Hollandaise. Don’t let the strawberry-sauce visual effect put you off – the flavour is pure Hollandaise!
Miri Mary
I love brunch. I love Indian food. So it’s hardly surprising that I loved the Indian-inspired brunch fare at Miri Mary. There were two menu items that jumped out at me immediately: the Butter Chicken Benny and the Goan omelette. The first was (as you might have guessed) a take on eggs Benedict, with the requisite poached eggs and brioche bun, but with butter chicken instead of ham and hollandaise. It absolutely worked (albeit the sauce could have been a little warmer). The second dish I liked perhaps even more: the omelette was perfectly cooked, filled with an interesting combo of coconut and goat’s cheese, and it came swimming in a spicy curried sauce, ready to be mopped up with soft flatbreads. Prices were the same you’d see for brunch anywhere in Amsterdam, but the quality and thoughtfulness of the dishes made Miri Mary feel like far better value for money.
Pannenkoekenhuis Upstairs
You can’t come to Amsterdam without experiencing the gluttony that is Dutch pancakes – especially if you have a hangover. These bad boys are the size of dinner plates and as thick as pizzas, with both sweet and savoury toppings. My favourite pancake house is Pannenkoekenhuis Upstairs, which is (unsurprisingly) up an extraordinarily steep and narrow flights of stairs – even by Dutch standards. It’s a tiny place, and easy to miss, but worth it once you get inside. Teapots hang from the ceiling in every size and shape, and the pancakes are buttery and satisfying.
Want to eat more than just brunch in Amsterdam? Download my Amsterdam Restaurant Guide:
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