For a romantic dinner in Amsterdam, De Belhamel sits on a canal junction, Restaurant Watergang fills a narrow canal house, and De Kas turns candlelit after dark inside a greenhouse. We also picked a late tasting menu in the Jordaan and a fireside bistro in Oud-Zuid. There’s a wood-panelled room that cooks over open fire, too, and a harbour view from the top floor of a warehouse.
The short list
8 places, in the order they appear below.
- 1Restaurant De BelhamelA terrace table over the canalJordaan
- 2Restaurant WatergangA monthly five-course surprise menuSpiegelkwartier
- 3DaalderA late tasting menuJordaan
- 4De KasThe chef's table in a greenhouseOost
- 5't LemmekeA walk-in dinner by the fireplaceOud-Zuid
- 6VeneurOpen-fire cooking with a wine pairingWeteringbuurt
- 7BakA harbour view before dinnerHouthavens
- 8Vin FouA glass of French wineOud-West
Which restaurants in Amsterdam have a table over the canal?
De Belhamel sits on the Brouwersgracht, where two canals meet at an angle. Restaurant Watergang fills a narrow canal house in the antiques quarter. Book both ahead. The Belhamel terrace over the water has only a few tables, and the Watergang dining room is small, so neither has many seats to spare.
Only thirteen buildings in Amsterdam stand directly on a canal junction, and the Belhamel is among them. Inside, the Art Nouveau room has kept its original woodwork and the stained glass above the windows. Ask for the small terrace over the water rather than the main room. On a warm evening, phone ahead for it.
Restaurant De Belhamel
Hours: Mon–Sun 09:30–22:00
Address: Brouwersgracht 60, 1013 GX Amsterdam, Netherlands
Watergang feels warm and a little bohemian, not formal. Dinner is a five-course surprise menu that the kitchen rewrites every month, moving between French, Italian and Asian ideas. The menu is fixed and the kitchen cooks in butter, so mention any dietary restrictions when you book.
Restaurant Watergang
Hours: Mon–Tue closed · Wed–Thu 18:00–00:00 · Fri–Sun 12:30–16:30, 18:00–00:00
Address: Weteringstraat 41, 1017 SM Amsterdam, Netherlands
Where can a couple book a tasting menu in Amsterdam?
Daalder serves a creative tasting menu with Indonesian and other Asian influences, and service runs late into the night. De Kas works through a short set sequence inside a 1926 municipal greenhouse. The menu follows whatever was picked that morning, and after dark the glass room is lit by candles.
In 2026 Daalder went back to the Jordaan address where chef Dennis Huwaë made his name. Expect plates like pigeon with carrot and kumquat, or beans with sambal. Save room for the stroopwafel with caramel, the kitchen’s version of the Dutch classic. Service runs from half past five until midnight, so a late table is part of the experience.
Daalder
Hours: Mon 17:30–00:00 · Tue–Wed closed · Thu–Sun 17:30–00:00
Address: Lindengracht 90, 1015 KK Amsterdam, Netherlands
Much of what reaches the plate at De Kas grows in the nursery next to the dining room or on the restaurant’s own land outside the city. For two, reserve the chef’s table in the kitchen. Or come at lunch, when the greenhouse light is at its best and the set menu is shorter.
De Kas
Hours: Mon–Sat 12:00–16:00, 18:00–00:00 · Sun closed
Address: Kamerlingh Onneslaan 3, 1097 DE Amsterdam, Netherlands
Which Amsterdam restaurants feel cosy on a cold night?
Fire and dark wood set the mood at two of our picks. ’t Lemmeke in Oud-Zuid is a candlelit bistro with a fireplace, where people come planning to stay for hours. Veneur in Weteringbuurt is a high-ceilinged, wood-panelled room that cooks French classics with a Basque tilt over open coals. One takes walk-ins only; the other is easiest to book at lunch.
’t Lemmeke is half Dutch bistro, half English pub, and it does comfort food properly: stew and chips, lasagne, cordon bleu and stamppot. It doesn’t take reservations. Walk in, and if the dining room is full, wait in the basement pub with a beer until a table opens upstairs.
't Lemmeke
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Thu 17:00–00:00 · Fri–Sat 16:00–00:30 · Sun 16:00–23:00
Address: Van Breestraat 107A, 1071 ZJ Amsterdam, Netherlands
Two chefs and a sommelier who had cooked together for years opened Veneur. Lunch runs Thursday to Sunday only, and a table is easier to get then than in the evening. Artichoke, red mullet and saddle of hare all come off the coals. With the sommelier as one of the owners, take the wine pairing rather than a bottle.
Veneur
Hours: Mon–Wed 17:30–22:00 · Thu–Sat 12:00–14:00, 18:00–22:00 · Sun 12:00–14:00, 18:00–21:00
Address: Weteringschans 171, 1017 XD Amsterdam, Netherlands
Where to go in Amsterdam for a harbour view or a slow evening of wine?
Away from the canals, Bak in Houthavens serves a vegetable-led tasting menu on the top floor of a raw former warehouse. Big industrial windows frame the harbour. Vin Fou in Oud-West is a small wine bar with a French soul, and it opens seven days a week.
At Bak the kitchen buys almost entirely from organic and regenerative growers, and the room is stripped back. Book a table while it is still light so you see the harbour before dinner. Even if you came planning to order meat, trust the vegetables.
Bak
Hours: Mon–Tue closed · Wed–Fri 18:00–22:00 · Sat–Sun 12:30–15:00, 18:00–22:00
Address: Van Diemenstraat 408, 1013 CR Amsterdam, Netherlands
Vin Fou is named after a sparkling wine from the Jura. The bottles are mostly French, poured alongside snacks and plates that work at any hour. The kitchen puts its effort into the weekly special. If one of you isn’t drinking, the non-alcoholic list holds up well.
Vin Fou
Hours: Mon–Thu 15:00–01:00 · Fri–Sat 12:00–01:00 · Sun 12:00–21:00
Address: Jan Pieter Heijestraat 143, 1054 MG Amsterdam, Netherlands
Which romantic restaurant in Amsterdam suits which kind of date?
Choose by the kind of evening you want. The canal-side rooms suit a classic dinner, and the tasting menus a long celebration. Go to the fireside bistro for a walk-in night, and to the wine bar when the evening starts with one glass. The table below puts all eight side by side so you can match the room to the occasion.
Wherever reservations are taken, book ahead, and save ’t Lemmeke for a night when you’d rather walk in. De Belhamel and Daalder are both in the Jordaan. De Kas and Bak are better kept for an evening each. Several places close on Mondays or Tuesdays, so check the cards for opening days before you set a date.
