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Café Vlinder
This window-lined corner place in the Jordaan serves a magnificent, fresh-made breakfast (around €14 ), laden with Dutch cheese, pâté, smoked salmon, eggs, coffee and fresh juice. It's also pleasant for afternoon cake and coffee (try the cheesecake or nut tart). We love the sassy service that describes itself as 'straight-friendly'.
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Café Walem
The industrial-mod building by Gerrit Rietveld, two terraces, friendly service and a changing menu keep this place busy. There's a popular carpaccio sandwich, mains including fish and duck, a neat line of soups and salads, and coffee from Illy.
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Café-restaurant Amsterdam
One of the city's hippest eateries is housed in a former water-processing plant. Expect classic French brasserie cooking (steak bearnaise, mussels, roasted garlic chicken). Note the 30m wooden ceilings (with hanging metal hooks and chains) and the huge floodlights rescued from the former Ajax and Olympic stadiums.
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Cambodja City
The owner's welcome is warm and friendly, and the flavours are from across Southeast Asia - loempias (spring rolls), Vietnamese noodle soups, Thai curries etc. Set menus also reflect the different traditions, and there are fab displays of takeaway foods in case you don't feel like eating in.
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Casa Perú
When the weather's good, there's nothing quite like enjoying a crema de ajo (cream of garlic) soup or lomo saltado (beef with onion, tomato and French fries) while overlooking the confluence of the Leidsegracht and the Prinsengracht. Indoors, it's busy and homely.
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Christophe
Lobster dishes, duck-liver terrine and unusual elegance keep Jean-Christophe Royer's Michelin-starred restaurant busy every night. However, the excellent, caring service puts it over the top in our book, making this an extraordinary restaurant by world, and not just Amsterdam, standards.
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Cilubang
In the Negen Straatjes, cute, cosy and slightly romantic celadon-hued Cilubang soothes the stomach and soul with rijsttafel and attentive, personal service. They've been at it for two-and-a-half decades. The food is west Javanese style, and with any luck you'll hear gamelan music too.
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Cinema Paradiso
Action! Cinema Paradiso opened in 2002 in a former movie theatre, and the glitterati have been appearing in the dining room ever since. Direct yourself into a booth or table near the open kitchen, and enjoy pastas, pizzas, lots of antipasti, and stargazing. Sample the cocktails or just drink in the atmosphere.
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Cobra Café-Restaurant
This arty glass cube of a restaurant, full of original works by Corneille and Appel, sure is touristy. But when you're all museumed out and need a salad, massive club sandwich or slice of 'Karel Appel taart', you'll hardly notice. The hi-tech toilets are almost worth the €1.50 .
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d'Vijff Vlieghen
So what if every tourist and business visitor eats here? Sometimes the herd gets it right. The 'Five Flies' is a classic, spread out over five 17th-century canal houses. Old-wood dining rooms teem with character, Delft tiles and works by Rembrandt and Breitner. Some chairs have brass plates for the celebrities who've sat in them.
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De 2 Grieken
Craving stewed mountain goat or some juicy lamb chops? This relaxed family-run bistro caters to your carnivorous desires with great grills and gets a big ' opa !' from locals. In nice weather, grab a seat on the flower-lined terrace out back. If you're a fan of Greek wines, this is the place to go.
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De Belhamel
In warm weather the canalside tables at the head of the Herengracht are an aphrodisiac, and the sumptuous Art Nouveau interior provides the perfect backdrop for excellent, French- and Italian-inspired dishes like silky roast beef.
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De Blaffende Vis
Meals at the rowdy, corner 'Barking Fish' are better than they need to be for the price (contemporary Dutch - steak, fish, chicken - changing daily). Students and 30-somethings happily bop and swish beer while listening to music with a beat.
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De Bolhoed
The 'Charlie Brown's pumpkin patch goes to India' interior is a nice setting to tuck into enormous, organic Mexican-, Asian- and Italian-inspired dishes; in warm weather, there's a verdant little canalside terrace. Leave room for the banana cream pie. Veggies swear by it - reserve.
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De Burgermeester
This sleek little bistro makes the finest burgers in town, bar none. It uses only organic beef (or lamb, falafel or tilapia), in mouth-stretching portions that would pass as a main dish without a bun. Then come the toppings: spicy fusion veggies, bean sprouts, piri-piri mayo and more. The name is a play on 'mayor' (burgemeester) .
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De Kas
Admired by gourmets city-wide, De Kas has an organic attitude to match its chic glass greenhouse setting - try to go during a thunderstorm! It grows most of its own herbs and produce right there (if it's not busy you might be offered a tour), and the result is incredibly pure flavours with innovative combinations. Romantic and tony.
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De Keuken van 1870
Thanks to a recent makeover, you'd never guess that this smart-looking place was once a restaurant for the poor. It still keeps up that heritage, though, with decent cooking (think stamppot or couscous) at exceedingly decent prices.
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De Prins
Close to the Anne Frank Huis, this pleasant and popular brown café prepares good lunch-time sandwiches, a terrific blue-cheese fondue at night, and international dishes like vegetarian wraps.
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De Schutter
This large student eetcafé has a brown-café look, a relaxed vibe and inexpensive, tasty dagschotels (dishes of the day). It's open for lunch and dinner, and is a good place to fortify yourself on the cheap before a night on the town.
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De Struisvogel
This former kitchen to some large canal houses offers a great deal. It's in the basement ( struisvogel means 'ostrich'), and yes they do serve the bird, along with a nightly rotating menu - generous portions of more conventional French-inspired choices. It gets crowded; book ahead.
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De Taart van m'n Tante
One of Amsterdam's best-loved cake shops operates from this uber-kitsch parlour at the entrance to De Pijp: apple pies (Dutch, French or 'tipsy'), pecan pie, and tarts with ingredients like truffles and marzipan with strawberry liqueur. Savouries include the mozzarella-pesto quiche. Hot-pink walls accent cakes dressed like Barbie dolls - or are they Barbies dressed like cakes?
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De Vliegende Schotel
Service can be spotty at the 'Flying Saucer', but if you're prepared to take your time in the summer camp-chic dining room, you'll enjoy some of the city's favourite veggie gratins, lasagnes and Indian-inflected meals. There's a decent wine list.
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Divan
In a town where 'Turkish' usually means 'takeaway' (or 'pizza'), Divan offers a calming alternative. For around €25 you get the meze combo starter of 10 assorted dips, skewers and salads, and we loved ali nazik (minced lamb with aubergines in yogurt garlic sauce), but it was the gracious, sweet service that will take us back.
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Dolores
Biologische (organic) is the name of the game at this tiny shop, which resembles a kiddie train station in the traffic island. Try organic burgers, tostis (grilled sandwiches) , chicken and frites . Service has been known to take its time, but it is fun to watch the world go by at the picnic-table seating outdoors.
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Duende
Flamenco music (Saturday night), big shared tables and reasonably priced tapas guarantee Duende's popularity. It's great for a party with a big group of friends - or strangers. The front room is the more lively (and attractive) of the two. Note: order at the bar.
