Canal houses along the Herengracht in Amsterdam, seen from the Raadhuisstraat bridge

Noord- & Zuid-Holland·Province

Holland

The trading heart — herring and cheese markets, Haagse bluf, and the sweet baking of the merchant cities.

Holland

Broodje Shoarma (Dutch Shawarma Sandwich)

Broodje Shoarma

The Dutch high-street shawarma sandwich — spiced meat in a soft Turkish flatbread with crisp salad, cool garlic sauce and as much sambal as you can take.

35 minBeginner

Gerookte Zalm op Toast (Smoked Salmon Toast)

Fish

Holland

Gerookte Zalm op Toast (Smoked Salmon Toast)

Gerookte Zalm op Toast

Cold-smoked salmon on toasted sourdough with lemon-dill cream, capers and cress — a light, modern Dutch plate for lunch or the borrel table.

20 minBeginner

Borrel

Holland

Kalfskroket (Veal Croquette)

Kalfskroket

The genteel elder of the Dutch croquette — a delicate veal ragout set with a hint of nutmeg, breaded and fried pale gold, the café-terrace bite with mustard.

75 minAdvanced

Soups

Holland

Pompoensoep (Roast Pumpkin Soup)

Pompoensoep

A modern Dutch autumn soup — pumpkin roasted until caramelised, then blended smooth with ginger and stock and finished with toasted seeds and cream.

65 minBeginner

Stews

Holland

Runderlappen (Braised Beef Slices)

Runderlappen

The foundational Dutch braise — thick beef slices browned in butter and simmered hours in a dark, mustard-sharpened jus until fork-tender. Sunday food.

200 minBeginner

Kwark met Muesli & Honing (Quark Breakfast Bowl)

Cheese

Holland

Kwark met Muesli & Honing (Quark Breakfast Bowl)

Kwark met Muesli & Honing

Creamy Dutch quark layered with toasted muesli, honey and fruit — the fresh, high-protein breakfast bowl of the modern Netherlands.

22 minBeginner

Gerookte Makreeldip (Smoked Mackerel Dip)

Borrel

Holland

Gerookte Makreeldip (Smoked Mackerel Dip)

Gerookte Makreeldip

A smoky North Sea borrel dip — flaked smoked mackerel folded with crème fraîche, lemon, horseradish and dill, spread on rye toast or scooped with crudités.

15 minBeginner

Kapsalon (Rotterdam Fries, Shawarma & Cheese)

Bread

Holland

Kapsalon (Rotterdam Fries, Shawarma & Cheese)

Kapsalon

Rotterdam's loaded tray — fries topped with shawarma and melted Gouda, grilled, then piled with fresh salad and garlic and hot sauce. A 2000s street-food legend.

35 minBeginner

Bruine Bonen met Spek (Brown Beans with Bacon)

Stews

Holland

Bruine Bonen met Spek (Brown Beans with Bacon)

Bruine Bonen met Spek

The Dutch brown-bean pot — dried bruine bonen slow-simmered with smoked bacon and onion, finished sweet-sour with syrup and vinegar. Deep winter thrift food.

140 minBeginner

Stamppot

Holland

Posteleinstamppot (Purslane Mash)

Posteleinstamppot

A rare summer stamppot of succulent purslane wilted into potato — lemony, faintly saline and green, an old kitchen-garden dish from before spinach ruled.

35 minBeginner

Borrel

Holland

Zure Bommen (Giant Dill Pickles)

Zure Bommen

The snackbar's "sour bombs" — big whole cucumbers brined with dill, garlic and mustard seed until crunchy and sharp, the classic bite alongside fried Dutch snacks.

25 minBeginner

Leverworst op Roggebrood (Liver Sausage on Rye)

Borrel

Holland

Leverworst op Roggebrood (Liver Sausage on Rye)

Leverworst op Roggebrood

Soft Dutch liver sausage on dense dark rye — a butcher's-counter borrel classic topped with mustard, pickle or a slick of appelstroop, sliced thick and unfussy.

15 minBeginner

Fish

Holland

Gemarineerde Haring (Pickled Herring)

Gemarineerde Haring

Herring fillets steeped in a sweet-sour vinegar marinade with onion, bay and peppercorns — the keeping herring of the Dutch larder, sharp and bright.

30 minBeginner

Stews

Holland

Gehaktballen (Dutch Meatballs in Gravy)

Gehaktballen in Jus

The great Dutch meatball — one fist-sized gehaktbal per person, browned in butter and braised in its own dark jus. The Wednesday-night heart of the table.

80 minBeginner

Soups

Holland

Preisoep (Leek & Potato Soup)

Preisoep

The homely Dutch leek and potato soup — sweet softened leeks and floury potatoes simmered in stock, blended smooth or left chunky, with smoked bacon.

50 minBeginner

Borrel

Holland

Kaasplankje (Dutch Cheese Board)

Kaasplankje

A Dutch cheese board built around aged Gouda and cumin Leidse — how to choose, age and plate the nation's cheeses with mustard, syrup and rye for the borrel.

20 minBeginner

Saucijzenbroodje (Puff-Pastry Sausage Roll)

Bread

Holland

Saucijzenbroodje (Puff-Pastry Sausage Roll)

Saucijzenbroodje

The Dutch bakery-counter sausage roll — spiced minced meat in crisp, buttery puff pastry, glazed and baked to shattering gold. Warm from the oven, at its best.

50 minIntermediate

Stews

Holland

Blinde Vinken (Stuffed Veal Rolls)

Blinde Vinken

"Blind finches" — thin veal escalopes wrapped around a seasoned mince filling, browned in butter and braised soft in their own gravy. A Dutch Sunday classic.

95 minIntermediate

Borrel

Holland

Gehaktballetjes (Cocktail Meatballs)

Gehaktballetjes

Small spiced Dutch meatballs for the borrel — juicy gehakt bound with rusk and nutmeg, browned and served warm on cocktail sticks with mustard.

40 minBeginner

Cheese

Holland

Komijnekaas / Leidse Kaas (Cumin Cheese)

Komijnekaas · Leidse Kaas

A firm, low-fat cows'-milk cheese studded with cumin seed — Leiden's spiced weigh-house cheese, pressed with the city's crossed-keys brand.

90 minAdvanced

Fish

Holland

Gerookte Makreel (Smoked Mackerel)

Gerookte Makreel

Whole mackerel brined and hot-smoked to a burnished gold, its oily flesh turned firm and savoury — eaten flaked on rye or whipped into a pâté.

75 minIntermediate

Stews

Holland

Kalfsragout (Creamy Veal Ragout)

Kalfsragout

The pale, elegant Dutch veal ragout — tender veal in a lemon-bright cream sauce, the filling of vol-au-vents and the ancestor of the bitterbal.

100 minIntermediate

Borrel

Holland

Berenhap (Meatball & Onion Skewer)

Berenhap

The "bear bite" — a snackbar skewer of fried gehaktbal and raw onion, drenched in satésaus, the Dutch peanut sauce, and eaten straight from the stick.

50 minBeginner

Bread

Holland

Eierkoek (Soft Egg Cakes)

Eierkoek

The pale, pillowy Dutch egg cake — a low-fat sponge round, soft as a cloud, eaten plain or buttered with morning coffee. Light, mild, and comforting.

35 minIntermediate

Hutspot met Klapstuk (Hutspot with Braised Beef)

Stamppot

Holland

Hutspot met Klapstuk (Hutspot with Braised Beef)

Hutspot met Klapstuk

The full Sunday version — coarse carrot, onion and potato mash crowned with klapstuk, beef rib braised for hours until it falls apart in its own dark jus.

210 minIntermediate

Jachtschotel (Hunter's Beef & Potato Bake)

Stews

Holland

Jachtschotel (Hunter's Beef & Potato Bake)

Jachtschotel

The Dutch hunter's dish — braised beef layered with onions and apple under a potato-mash lid, baked golden. Leftover-braise comfort food at its best.

100 minIntermediate

Beschuit met Muisjes (Rusk with Aniseed Sprinkles)

Bread

Holland

Beschuit met Muisjes (Rusk with Aniseed Sprinkles)

Beschuit met Muisjes

The Dutch birth ritual on a plate — crisp round rusk, buttered, heaped with sugared aniseed "little mice" in pink or blue to announce a newborn.

5 minBeginner

Borrel

Holland

Vlammetjes (Spicy Mini Spring Rolls)

Vlammetjes

Little "flames" — crisp mini spring rolls with a fiery sambal-spiced filling, a Chinees-Indisch snackbar favourite served with sweet chilli for the borrel.

55 minIntermediate

Stamppot

Holland

Spinaziestamppot (Spinach Mash)

Spinaziestamppot

A springtime green mash of wilted spinach folded into buttery potato, lifted with nutmeg and often a hard-boiled egg — lighter and fresher than the winter stamppotten.

35 minBeginner

Sweets

Holland

Banketstaaf (Almond Pastry Log)

Banketstaaf

The festive Dutch pastry log — a length of puff pastry wrapped around dense almond spijs, glazed, and cut into slices for the Sinterklaas and Christmas table.

65 minIntermediate

Cheese

Holland

Watergruwel (Fruit & Barley Porridge)

Watergruwel

A cold water-based porridge of pearl barley and dried fruit, thickened and spiced — the lean-day Dutch gruel that predates the milk pudding.

65 minBeginner

Fish

Holland

Lekkerbek (Large Battered Fried Fish)

Lekkerbek

A whole battered fillet of white fish, deep-fried crisp and golden — the bigger, sit-down cousin of kibbeling from the Dutch fish stall.

35 minBeginner

Rode Kool met Appel (Braised Red Cabbage with Apple)

Stews

Holland

Rode Kool met Appel (Braised Red Cabbage with Apple)

Rode Kool met Appel

The Dutch winter side — red cabbage braised slow with apple, clove and a splash of vinegar until sweet, tart and glossy, the classic partner to hachee.

80 minBeginner

Filet Américain (Dutch Steak Tartare Spread)

Borrel

Holland

Filet Américain (Dutch Steak Tartare Spread)

Filet Américain

The Dutch broodje staple — seasoned raw beef whipped smooth with egg yolk, capers and mustard into a soft, spreadable tartare for rye, rolls and the borrel.

20 minIntermediate

Pepernoten & Kruidnoten (Sinterklaas Spice Nuts)

Sweets

Holland

Pepernoten & Kruidnoten (Sinterklaas Spice Nuts)

Pepernoten & Kruidnoten

The tiny spiced nuggets scattered by the handful at Sinterklaas — crunchy kruidnoten and the chewier true pepernoten, both built on speculaaskruiden.

40 minBeginner

Cheese

Holland

Rijstebrij (Dutch Rice Pudding)

Rijstebrij

Pudding rice simmered slow in whole milk until thick and creamy, served warm with brown sugar and cinnamon — the oldest Dutch comfort in a bowl.

70 minBeginner

Fish

Holland

Stokvis (Stockfish with Potatoes & Mustard Sauce)

Stokvis

Dried, soaked stockfish gently poached and served with potatoes, rice, mustard sauce and fried onions — an old Amsterdam feast-day dish.

70 minIntermediate

Stamppot

Holland

Rauwe Andijviestamppot (Raw Endive Mash)

Rauwe Andijviestamppot

The quick post-war favourite — cool raw endive shredded into hot mash so it half-wilts, keeping crunch and bite, with bacon and a molten butter well.

35 minBeginner

Soups

Holland

Uiensoep (Dutch Onion Soup)

Uiensoep

Dutch onion soup — onions cooked down slow and dark, simmered in beef stock, and finished with a cap of toasted bread and melted Gouda or Leiden cheese.

95 minBeginner

Bread

Holland

Krentenbollen (Currant Buns)

Krentenbollen

Soft Dutch breakfast rolls studded with currants and raisins — enriched dough baked to a glossy dome, split warm and spread thick with butter.

50 minIntermediate

Osseworst (Amsterdam Spiced Raw Beef Sausage)

Borrel

Holland

Osseworst (Amsterdam Spiced Raw Beef Sausage)

Ossenworst

Amsterdam's lightly smoked raw-beef sausage, spiced with clove, mace and pepper in the VOC style — sliced soft onto rye or bread as a butcher's borrel bite.

40 minAdvanced

Chipolatapudding (Layered Gelatin Pudding)

Cheese

Holland

Chipolatapudding (Layered Gelatin Pudding)

Chipolatapudding

A festive Dutch gelatin pudding of whipped cream, ladyfingers, candied fruit and liqueur, set in a mould — the grand table pudding of the old cookbooks.

50 minAdvanced

Soups

Holland

Koninginnesoep (Queen's Cream Soup)

Koninginnesoep

A refined Dutch cream of chicken — koninginnesoep, the 'queen's soup', a velvety chicken velouté enriched with egg yolk, cream and a little sherry.

60 minIntermediate

Fish

Holland

Gebakken Kabeljauw (Pan-Fried Cod)

Gebakken Kabeljauw

A thick fillet of cod floured and fried in butter until golden and just set, finished with lemon and parsley — the plain, perfect Dutch fish supper.

22 minBeginner

Stews

Holland

Suddervlees (Slow-Simmered Beef)

Suddervlees

The plain, patient Dutch weeknight braise — beef slices left to sudderen, to murmur on the lowest heat, until tender in a simple dark gravy.

195 minBeginner

Stamppot

Holland

Wortelstamppot (Carrot Mash with Bacon)

Wortelstamppot

A sweet, sunset-orange mash of carrot and potato shot through with crisp bacon and onion — softer and sweeter than hutspot, a plain winter comfort.

45 minBeginner

Sweets

Holland

Tompouce (Pink-Glazed Cream Slice)

Tompoes

The Dutch pastry impossible to eat with dignity — two sheets of puff pastry, a thick slab of crème pâtissière, and a lid of glossy pink fondant.

70 minIntermediate

Cheese

Holland

Hopjesvla (Coffee-Caramel Custard)

Hopjesvla

Pourable Dutch custard flavoured with hopjes — the burnt coffee-caramel sweet born in The Hague — a grown-up vla the colour of strong tea.

35 minIntermediate

Soups

Holland

Kippensoep (Dutch Chicken Soup)

Kippensoep

The Dutch chicken soup made when someone is under the weather — a clear homemade broth with shredded chicken, vermicelli, leek and a little parsley.

110 minBeginner

Sweets

Holland

Gevulde Koeken (Almond-Filled Cookies)

Gevulde Koeken

The bakery-window classic — a fat round of buttery dough packed with almond spijs, glazed with egg and crowned with a single blanched almond.

65 minIntermediate

Tomatensoep (Dutch Tomato Soup with Meatballs)

Soups

Holland

Tomatensoep (Dutch Tomato Soup with Meatballs)

Tomatensoep met Balletjes

The Dutch tomato soup of childhood — a smooth, faintly sweet tomato broth with tiny meatballs and vermicelli, the plate-lunch classic done properly.

70 minBeginner

Griesmeelpudding (Semolina Pudding with Redcurrant Sauce)

Cheese

Holland

Griesmeelpudding (Semolina Pudding with Redcurrant Sauce)

Griesmeelpudding met Bessensap

A turned-out semolina milk pudding, pale and quivering, flooded with tart red bessensap — the frugal Dutch dessert that outlived austerity.

35 minBeginner

Borrel

Holland

Kaasstengels (Cheese Straws)

Kaasstengels

Crisp, savoury cheese straws of buttery pastry and aged Gouda — the tidy borrel bite passed round with a cold glass, snapping cleanly and gone in two.

40 minBeginner

Bread

Holland

Wentelteefjes (Dutch French Toast)

Wentelteefjes

The Dutch way with stale bread — slices soaked in spiced egg and milk, fried gold in butter, and dusted with cinnamon sugar. Thrift turned into breakfast.

22 minBeginner

Sweets

Holland

Speculaas (Spiced Windmill Biscuits)

Speculaas

The deep-brown spiced biscuits pressed into carved wooden moulds for Sinterklaas — dense with speculaaskruiden, snapping crisp, scented of the VOC.

50 minBeginner

Stamppot

Holland

Andijviestamppot (Endive Mash)

Andijviestamppot

Cooked curly endive wilted into buttery mashed potato — a soft, faintly bitter green stamppot finished with crisp bacon and a knob of melting butter.

40 minBeginner

Draadjesvlees (Long-Braised Shredded Beef)

Stews

Holland

Draadjesvlees (Long-Braised Shredded Beef)

Draadjesvlees

The Dutch Sunday braise cooked until the beef falls into fine threads — draadjesvlees, simmered low with clove and bay in its own dark gravy.

230 minBeginner

Cheese

Holland

Vanillevla (Dutch Custard Vla)

Vanillevla

The pourable vanilla custard every Dutch fridge holds — thin enough to drink, rich enough to be pudding, the dessert of a thousand weeknight tables.

25 minBeginner

Sweets

Holland

Hollandse Appeltaart (Dutch Apple Tart)

Appeltaart

The tall, deep Dutch apple tart — a buttery cinnamon crust packed with spiced apples, raisins and a lattice top, baked in a springform and served in wedges.

110 minIntermediate

Bread

Holland

Broodje Kroket (Croquette Roll)

Broodje Kroket

The Dutch lunch of legend — a hot, crisp beef croquette crushed into a soft white roll with a stripe of mustard. Crunch, molten ragout, and cool bread.

50 minIntermediate

Sweets

Holland

Stroopwafels (Caramel Syrup Waffles)

Stroopwafels

Two wafer-thin waffles pressed hot and sandwiched with molten caramel syrup — the Gouda market treat, best warmed over a cup of coffee until the middle goes soft.

70 minAdvanced

Groentesoep met Balletjes (Vegetable Soup with Meatballs)

Soups

Holland

Groentesoep met Balletjes (Vegetable Soup with Meatballs)

Groentesoep met Balletjes

The clear Dutch vegetable soup — a good beef broth bright with carrot, leek and celery, dropped with tiny gehaktballetjes and a handful of thin vermicelli.

120 minBeginner

Fish

Holland

Kibbeling (Battered Fried Cod Bites)

Kibbeling

Golden nuggets of battered white fish from the market stall — crisp outside, steamy within, served in a paper cone with garlic-herb sauce.

40 minBeginner

Cheese

Holland

Hangop (Drained Yoghurt Dessert)

Hangop

Yoghurt or buttermilk hung overnight in a cloth until thick as cream, then sweetened with sugar and cinnamon — the Dutch dairy nation's oldest dessert.

15 minBeginner

Kaassoufflé (Fried Cheese Soufflé Snack)

Borrel

Holland

Kaassoufflé (Fried Cheese Soufflé Snack)

Kaassoufflé

The snackbar's molten heart — a slab of Dutch cheese sealed in crisp breadcrumb, deep-fried until it billows and the centre runs to stretchy gold.

35 minBeginner

Bread

Holland

Tosti (Dutch Grilled Ham & Cheese)

Tosti Ham-Kaas

The Dutch toasted sandwich — ham and Gouda pressed between white bread until the cheese runs and the crust ridges golden. Café comfort in ten minutes.

11 minBeginner

Borrel

Holland

Bitterballen (Crisp Ragout Croquettes)

Bitterballen

The crown of the Dutch borrel — crisp breadcrumbed spheres of slow-cooked beef ragout that ooze when you bite them, served with sharp mustard and cold beer.

70 minIntermediate

Sweets

Holland

Oliebollen (Dutch New Year's Doughnuts)

Oliebollen

The deep-fried yeast dumplings the Dutch eat to see out the year — studded with raisins and apple, rolled in icing sugar, best eaten by the frozen canal.

60 minIntermediate

Soups

Holland

Snert (Dutch Split Pea Soup)

Erwtensoep

The Dutch winter soup thick enough to stand a spoon in — green split peas, smoked pork, celeriac and leek, finished with sliced rookworst on dark rye.

170 minBeginner

Cheese

Holland

Gebakken Goudse Kaas (Fried Gouda)

Gebakken Goudse Kaas

Slices of young Gouda in a crisp breadcrumb coat, fried until molten inside — the Dutch cheese country's simplest, most reckless pleasure.

23 minBeginner

Soups

Holland

Bruine Bonensoep (Brown Bean Soup)

Bruine Bonensoep

A thrifty Dutch brown bean soup — kidney-brown beans simmered soft with smoked bacon, root vegetables and a spoon of vinegar to cut the richness.

170 minBeginner

Stews

Holland

Hachee (Dutch Onion & Beef Stew)

Hachee

The dark, sour-sweet onion and beef stew of the Dutch winter table — a kilo of onions cooked down with vinegar, cloves and bay until glossy and deep.

210 minBeginner

Fish

Holland

Hollandse Nieuwe (Dutch Salted Herring)

Hollandse Nieuwe

The first young herring of the season, mild-cured and lightly salted — tipped back by the tail with raw onion, the most Dutch bite there is.

30 minIntermediate

Stamppot

Holland

Hutspot (Potato, Carrot & Onion Mash)

Hutspot

The oldest Dutch mash — floury potatoes, carrots and onion crushed together and tied to the 1574 Relief of Leiden, served under braised beef or klapstuk.

60 minBeginner

Borrel

Holland

Kroketten (Beef Ragout Croquettes)

Kroketten

The crisp-shelled Dutch croquette — a slow beef ragout set firm, breaded, and deep-fried, eaten from a paper cone with mustard or crammed onto a soft roll.

70 minIntermediate

Sweets

Holland

Poffertjes (Little Puffed Pancakes)

Poffertjes

The tiny yeasted pancakes of the Dutch fairground — puffed in a dimpled iron, turned with a fork, and buried under butter and a snowfall of icing sugar.

45 minIntermediate

Bread

Holland

Uitsmijter (Fried Egg on Bread with Ham & Cheese)

Uitsmijter

The Dutch lunch-counter classic — two or three fried eggs over ham and cheese on buttered bread, edges crisp, yolks loose, ready in minutes.

13 minBeginner