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Lof
Chef Sander Louwerens combines Southeast Asian and Mediterranean flavours in complex and complementary ways. This is evidenced in dishes such as pike served with fennel and miso sauce. Schoolhouse-surplus décor manages to feel cool.
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Los Pilones
Owners Hector and Pedro consistently set the standard among Amsterdam's handful of Mexican restaurants. If you're looking for wonderfully grilled bistek, crispy chicken rolls and fruity margaritas, you're definitely in the right place. No tacos ('we don't do Tex-Mex') but who cares? One of their 60 tequilas will help you get over it.
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Lucius
Simple, delicious and consistently full, Lucius is known for fresh ingredients and for not mucking them up with lots of sauce and spice. The interior, all fish tanks and tiles, is workmanlike and professional, just like the service.
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Lust
Parquet floors and walls, super-mod ceiling lamps and Brazilian dance beats animate this glam café. It's a fair bet you'll spot models nibbling focaccia sandwiches, tostis , generous salads or the popular grilled chicken club with avocado.
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M Café
Drink in that amazing, panoramic view! The location, high above the Keizersgracht in the top-floor gallery of the ritzy Metz Department Store, gives new meaning to 'high tea' (around €12 ), although other dishes are nothing you can't find elsewhere (soup, salads or sandwiches).
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Mamouche
Mamouche gets serious acclaim for modern Moroccan amid minimalism. Exposed flooring, mottled walls and slat-beam ceilings complement the changing selection of couscous, lamb and fish dishes. Check out the brass fixtures in the loo - if you can find it. Reservations are a must.
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Más Tapas
While 'tapas' has become Amsterdamese for anything served on a small plate, this cool, whitewashed room serves the real thing and is full of funsters having a garlicky good time. It wins raves from old and new customers alike.
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Moeder's Pot Eethuisje
Moeder (mother) is in his 60s (yes, his …he's big and gruff and probably a sweetheart inside), and he's been serving up solid, inexpensive meals for decades. The tiny kitsch-laden shop serves home cookin': beefsteaks, schnitzels and chicken with potatoes and vegetables (some canned) like your own moeder always wanted you to eat. The set menus are a steal.
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Moeders
Mum's the word at 'Mothers'. When this friendly place opened, staff asked customers to bring their own plates, flatware and photos of their own mums as donations, and the result is still a delightful hodgepodge. So is the food, including stamppot, seafood, Moroccan dishes, a vegetarian frittata and a rijsttafel of traditional Dutch dishes.
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Nam Kee
It won't win any design awards, but year in, year out, Nam Kee's the most popular Chinese spot in town. And why not: there's good roast anything, and service is snappy. A newer, fancier location is at Geldersekade 117.
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New King
If you want Chinese on the Zeedijk but don't want to feel like you're slumming it, New King is about the fanciest on the block. The roast meats may have you asking 'how much is that duckie in the window?' (around €24 with the full service of different courses.)
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Nielsen
This sunny café, with its bright interior filled with fresh flowers, has a tasty set breakfast - eggs, toast, fruit, juice and coffee (around €9 ). During lunch a large variety of salads and sandwiches are served: try the BLT or gigantic chicken club sandwich.
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Nomads
It's the Supper Club concept on the road to Morocco. Wine, dine and recline on mattresses amid decadent decorations, and graze on platters of mod Middle Eastern snacks while being entertained by belly dancers and DJs. Superbly sexy, and best experienced with a lively group.
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Noodle & Go
Here's the formula: choose from noodles or fried rice, add meat (like chicken satay, coconut beef, spicy pork) and a vegetable, and you're on your way. It ain't gourmet, but it's quick and honest. There are a few seats and a TV to occupy yourself, or you could instead choose to simply sit and do a bit of people-watching.
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Odessa
Odessa rocks. Literally. This groovy boat, with indoor and outdoor eating decks and a 1970s-themed 'plush-porno' décor, is just the sort of place where Hugh Hefner would hold a debauched pyjama party - as if to emphasise that fact, DJs take over late at night. The menu changes frequently, and although opinions on food and service run the gamut from 'love it' to 'hate it', there's no denying it's a scene.
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Oriental City
This huge Hong Kong-style restaurant with the requisite red lanterns is always lively. Join gaggles of local Chinese for daily dim sum ( to ; we like the meaty, flavoursome cha sieuw bao pork buns) and a 24-page menu (!) of classic Canto cuisine.
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Pacific Parc
Among the many venues in the newly refurbished Westergasfabriek, Pacific Parc is the most established and, arguably, the most interesting. Lunch time is typically sandwiches, pastas and salads, although dinner can get pretty adventurous with selections like ceviche and stuffed lamb shanks. Late at night expect to see DJs and guest performers.
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Paloma Blanca
The name is Spanish, but the lanterns, dishware and mosaic-top tables are straight out of a Marrakech souk. Try the starter of olives and brik (spicy tuna spread), mains of couscous and tajine (Moroccan stew) or mixed grills of spicy sausage, lamb cutlets and chicken. It's the only place in town to cook with smet, a specially aged butter.
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Pancake Bakery
This basement restaurant in a restored warehouse features a dizzying 79 varieties of this Dutch speciality from sweet (chocolate) to savoury (the 'Egyptian', topped with lamb, sweet peppers, garlic sauce). There are also omelettes, soups, desserts and lots of tourists given its proximity to the Anne Frank Huis.
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Pannenkoekenhuis Upstairs
Climb some of the steepest stairs in town to reach this small-as-a-stamp restaurant. The lure? Pancakes that are flavoursome, inexpensive and filling. We like the one with bacon, cheese and ginger. It's a one-man show, so service operates at its own pace.
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Pasta di Mamma
Casual, friendly Pasta di Mamma is supremely located for picking up a picnic to take to the Vondelpark. You can choose from dozens of antipasti, gorgeous salads and more substantial plates. The countrified-cafeteria space is also pleasant for eating in.
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Pasta e Basta
There may be better Italian food in town, but Pasta e Basta is popular with large groups year in, year out thanks to its singing waitstaff, who perform opera, standards and more. Regulars swear by the antipasto buffet and grilled meats. Reserve well in advance.
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Pastini
With a gezellig , rustic-renaissance interior and a can't-beat-it location facing two canals, Pastini wins praise for its looks, pastas and prices. Another speciality is the antipasto starter (around €12 for five choices), but save room for dessert.
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Pata Negra
Tapas and only tapas. The alluringly tiled exterior is matched by a vibrant crowd inside, especially on weekends, downing sangria by the jug and all those small plates (the garlic-fried shrimps and grilled sardines are standouts). Margaritas are made with freshly squeezed lime juice, as they should be. Arrive before or reserve.
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Piet De Leeuw
The building dates from 1900, it's been a steakhouse and hangout since the 1940s, and the dark and cosy atmosphere has barely changed since. If you don't get your own table, you may meet folks from all over (including, admittedly, tourists) at a common table, over well-priced steaks with toppings like onions, mushrooms or bacon, served with salad and piping-hot frites .
