Most unusual dining experiences in Amsterdam | I amsterdam (2024)

Wolf Atelier

Located a stone's throw from Central Station, Wolf Atelier is a stunningly-renovated restaurant located in a beautiful glass building on a 1920s rail-road bridge. This unique history gives diners a stunning perspective over the surrounding Westerdok area, with a waterside terrace overlooking the passing boats. Head there for multi-course lunches and dinners with honest ingredients elevated with culinary flare.

Skatecafé

Image from Skatecafe

Tuck into delicious seasonal dishes and an á la carte menu or delicious pizzas as you witness skating pros and newbies performing their best tricks. Skatecafé is a hip restaurant, bar and club in Amsterdam Noord with a massive halfpipe in the corner, making it the perfect pitstop for skaters and diners alike. From 15:00 to 21:30, you can come here for drinks and dinner before the tables are removed for the evening club program.

Pasta e Basta

Slurp spaghetti vongole as the talented waiting staff of this welcoming trattoria serenade you with arias, pop ballads and Italo disco. Pasta e Basta offers an Italian menu, beautiful wines and performances by professionally-trained waiters who will sing to you as you eat - the perfect soundtrack to a romantic dinner for two or an unforgettable group meal. Check out our full list of dinner show restaurants.

Café Restaurant Amsterdam

The expansive dining room and high ceilings of Café Restaurant Amsterdam never fail to delight. This iconic brasserie-style restaurant is housed in the former engine room of a 19th-century pumping station where four colossal machines pumped water into the city through huge pipes in the basem*nt and the water tower. Many of the original features are left intact, giving diners a brilliant impression as they tuck into the varied menu.

Mediamatic ETEN

Restaurant Bellezza

Head through the 400-year-old Hoogkamersgang passageway in the heart of the Red Light District until you find a charming courtyard with a historic building that was once a former spice warehouse. Welcome to Restaurant Bellezza - a new culinary experience that pairs fine dining with matching audio-visual effects. As you tuck into the starters, you'll be accompanied by images of Italian frescoes whilst upstairs, in a candy-floss-coloured chamber with angelic wall art, a generous dessert course awaits.

NELA

Nela is situated in the new Vertical Village Valley, recently dubbed the best new skyscraper in the world. Acclaimed chef duo Hari Shetty and Ori Geller (known for their work at London's Nobu and Yaffo in Tel Aviv) set out to create a space where they could celebrate the union between live-fire cooking and high-quality ingredients. Considering its awe-inspiring setting and fire-flavoured cuisine, there's no doubt that Nela has the potential to become a shining star in Zuidas.

REM Eiland

Image from Koen Smilde

At this towering sea rig in the harbour of Amsterdam, you can dine 22 metres above the water in a former pirate radio station. Named, not after the American rock band, but the REM law which effectively shut down the station in 1964, the platform is now one of Amsterdam’s most unique restaurants. Cosy in the winter and glorious in the summer when guests can dine on the roof terrace, the restaurant is open for lunch and three-course evening meals.

Restaurant De Kas

Image from Ronald Hoeben

Essentially a giant greenhouse where you eat the produce grown there, De Kas is one of Amsterdam’s finest restaurants and offers diners an unforgettable culinary experience based on fresh, seasonal produce. And we mean really fresh – menus are created daily depending on what’s been picked from the garden that same day. The glass building dates back to the 1920s when it was used as the city’s municipal greenhouse and retains its old-fashioned charm despite its conversion into a super-stylish restaurant. It recently won a Michelin star, and it's not the only Michelin-starred eatery in Amsterdam.

Vuurtoreneiland

For a limited time during the summer or in the cosy winter months, adventurous diners can take a boat to a nearby deserted island and enjoy a four-course meal in a specially constructed greenhouse. Completely surrounded by glass and with exceptional panoramas, the pop-up restaurant at Vuurtoreneiland means diners can soak up the natural scenery and elements from all angles. This experience is a popular culinary draw, so be sure to book in advance.

Vuurtoreneiland | boats depart from Oostelijke Handelskade 34, Oostelijke Eilanden

Moon

Image from Koen Smilde

It is not often that you get to see Amsterdam from above. At Moon, a restaurant located on the 19th floor of A’DAM Lookout, you get to enjoy the views of Amsterdam from all sides. The restaurant revolves (literally!) for a 360-degree view of the harbour, city centre and the horizon. Lunch patrons can dine à la carte, and dinner guests can select one of the set menus of the evening. Using fresh, local and seasonal ingredients — mixed with a few exotic ones, like the Japanese dashi and miso — Moon takes you on a culinary and literal adventure.

Borisov

Image from Felicia Savelberg

If you want a bit of everything – and we really mean everything – look no further than Borisov. Located in Amsterdam's emerging Houthavens neighbourhood, Borisov is an all-day café turned restaurant at night that doubles as a work and events space, too. But what makes it truly special is its ever-changing roster of chefs who take over the kitchen for a night or two. Expect anything from handmade noodles on ramen nights to a journey through West African cuisine on another.

Contrast

Perched on the westerly edge of popular NDSM, you'll find the neighbourhood's newest eatery addition: Contrast. Not just another restaurant, though, Contrast is built on a boat for those who want more than just waterside views. A meeting point between architecture and food, the menu is an eight-course romp through Chef Iñaki Bolumburu's culinary home – the Basque Country – and features everything from seaweed butter and squid tartare to red pepper-laced cod and an adventurous yolk, miso, pil pil and dill dish. Savour it all among the minimal Scandinavian midcentury decor and take in the views of the IJ through the floor-to-ceiling windows, or steer your gaze to one of the artists' showcases on rotation on the ground floor.

Contrast |Ms. van Riemsdijkweg 306

Canal dinner cruises

Image from Stromma

For a dining experience not available anywhere else in the world, try a culinary canal cruise on Amsterdam’s famous UNESCO-protected canal belt. What could be more Amsterdam-ey than wining and dining while weaving between historic canal houses and drifting under fairy-lit bridges? Stromma’s cruise makes for a wonderfully fromage-fueled way to explore the enchanting canals. Or get a group together for the Pizza Cruise, choosing from six different flavours before you board. See the complete selection of dinner boat tours in Amsterdam.