Our picks run from a cheesemonger with a back room and a wood-fired pizza kitchen to a ramen bar, a seafood restaurant on a central canal and a West African fine dining room. Two of them sit on Marnixstraat inside the Jordaan, and the rest are spread across Centrum and Oud-West, with a Korean toast counter on Spuistraat as the farthest walk from the neighbourhood.
The short list
8 places, in the order they appear below.
- 1Fromagerie Abraham KefTasting cheese, cheese and wine flightWalk: 6 minJordaan
- 2Pizza RebelsNeapolitan pizza, vegan optionsWalk: 6 minJordaan
- 3Fou Fow RamenA quick tonkotsu bowlWalk: 6 minCentrum
- 4Chun Café SpuistraatKorean toast to goWalk: 12 minCentrum
- 5Stacks DeliDeli subs at lunchWalk: 11 minOud-West
- 6Balthazar's KeukenA weekly set menuWalk: 7 minOud-West
- 7KennehWest African fine diningWalk: 8 minOud-West
- 8LuciusOysters and a seafood platterWalk: 11 minCentrum
Where can you eat inside the Jordaan itself?
Two of our picks are in the Jordaan proper, a few numbers apart on Marnixstraat and about six minutes on foot from the centre of the neighbourhood. One is a cheesemonger with a small back room where you can have a plate and a glass of wine. The other is a loud, low-lit Neapolitan pizza room with a wood-fired oven. Go to the first by day and the second for dinner.
Fromagerie Abraham Kef is a shop first, stacked with wheels of French and Dutch cheese. The staff will cut a piece, talk you through it and let you taste before you buy. Try a few of the aged Dutch cheeses before you choose. If you’d rather sit down, book the back room for a cheese and wine flight.
Fromagerie Abraham Kef
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Thu 10:00–18:00 · Fri 10:00–18:30 · Sat 09:30–18:00 · Sun closed
Address: Marnixstraat 192B, 1016 TJ Amsterdam, Netherlands
At Pizza Rebels the oven is at the back of the room, and the pizzas come out Neapolitan style: soft in the middle, with a puffed, blistered rim. Vegetarians and vegans get a real run of pies to pick from, more than a single token option. Order a classic Neapolitan first, because that’s where you taste the dough, then try the specials. Most nights it fills up with people from the surrounding streets. Book for Friday and Saturday, and grab a seat near the oven if one is free.
Pizza Rebels
Hours: Mon–Fri 17:00–22:30 · Sat–Sun 12:00–22:30
Address: Marnixstraat 198, 1016 TJ Amsterdam, Netherlands
What’s good for a quick lunch near the Jordaan?
For lunch, look just outside the Jordaan. There’s a ramen bar on Elandsgracht about six minutes away, Korean toast on Spuistraat about twelve, and an American-style deli on De Clercqstraat in Oud-West about eleven. Two of them are set up for turnover, so even at the busiest hour the wait moves quickly. The third is a tiled lunch counter that bakes its own bread.
Fou Fow Ramen keeps a short menu of proper bowls, built on a long-simmered broth with noodles made in house. Order the tonkotsu-style bowl. It’s a tight room with a young crowd, and at peak times you’ll probably share a table.
Fou Fow Ramen
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sun 12:00–15:00, 17:00–21:00
Address: Elandsgracht 2A, 1016 TV Amsterdam, Netherlands
Chun Café puts Korean flavours inside a thick, soft slice of milk bread and grills it until the edges crisp. The rib eye bulgogi toast comes with a soft-boiled egg cracked over the top; the five spice garlic shrimp is the spicier one. Ask for yours toasted a little longer than usual. That extra minute makes the bread crackle instead of going soft. At lunch the queue is mostly students and office workers, taking a toast and a matcha drink to go.
Chun Café Spuistraat
Hours: Mon–Sun 10:00–17:00
Address: Spuistraat 122, 1012 VA Amsterdam, Netherlands
Stacks Deli is an American-style deli in Oud-West that bakes its own bread, opened by the team behind the diner three doors down. Inside there’s a tiled counter and a glass case, plus a soft serve machine. At lunch, get the Italian sub with mortadella and two salamis. The tuna salad with provolone and chilli comes on the house potato bread. Tavern pizza and meatball subs are only on when the small evening kitchen runs later in the week, so check the card before you walk over.
Stacks Deli
Hours: Mon 11:00–16:00 · Tue–Wed closed · Thu–Sun 11:00–16:00, 17:00–21:00
Address: De Clercqstraat 24h, 1052 NE Amsterdam, Netherlands
Where should you book dinner near the Jordaan?
For a sit-down dinner, our picks are just beyond the Jordaan, in Oud-West and Centrum. One cooks a weekly set menu, another seasonal West African cooking, à la carte or as a ten-course tour, and the third is a plain seafood room. Two of them open only on some nights of the week. Book ahead instead of hoping for a table on the day.
Balthazar’s Keuken is a tiny room with an open kitchen, where the couple who run it cook one short set menu each week. The food leans rustic and Mediterranean and rests on a handful of ingredients done well. You get almost no choice, so mention any dislikes when you book. Reserve well ahead. It has a devoted following and tables go fast.
Balthazar's Keuken
Hours: Mon–Tue closed · Wed–Sun 18:00–23:00
Address: Elandsgracht 108, 1016 VA Amsterdam, Netherlands
Kenneh is West African fine dining from chef Samuka Kenneh. The cooking moves through The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal and Nigeria, and the menu changes every season. On a first visit, the à la carte (called Mama Kenneh’s Favourite) is an easier way in than the ten-course tour. The kitchen keeps the heat mild unless you say otherwise, so ask for a traditional spice level to eat the dishes as they’re cooked at home. The room is relaxed, not hushed.
Kenneh
Hours: Mon–Tue closed · Wed–Sat 17:30–22:00 · Sun closed
Address: Nassaukade 153g, 1053 LK Amsterdam, Netherlands
Lucius is a long-running seafood restaurant on a central canal. It’s plain and unfussy, and locals have kept coming back for years. Oysters, whole grilled fish and the cold seafood platter for two carry the menu. The fish of the day is whatever looked best at the market, so ask the staff which one to have.
Lucius
Hours: Mon–Sun 17:00–22:30
Address: Spuistraat 247, 1012 VP Amsterdam, Netherlands
Which place near the Jordaan suits which occasion?
For tasting cheese by day, go to Fromagerie Abraham Kef. For a quick lunch, pick Fou Fow Ramen, Chun Café or Stacks Deli. Pizza Rebels suits a lively dinner with real vegan choices. For a booked sit-down dinner, choose Balthazar’s Keuken for a weekly set menu, Kenneh for West African cooking or Lucius for oysters and a seafood platter.
Think of the list by time of day. Go to the lunch counters and the cheesemonger while it’s light, then pick a dinner room for the evening. Opening days vary a lot here, and several places close early in the week, so check each card before you set out. You can stop for lunch, walk through the afternoon and come back for dinner.
