Amsterdam is not necessarily a food destination and Dutch cuisine is not really famous. But the melting pot of cultures this city represents makes the selection of food and a variety of restaurants available in the city, one of the best in Europe. Cost of food and drinks are quite standard among the whole country and on the more expensive side, but definitely worth trying.
| MEALS | 1 person | 2 persons |
| Brunch | 13-15 | 26-30 |
| Lunch | 10-20 | 20-40 |
| Dinner (mid-range restaurant) | 25-30 | 50-60 |
| Dinner (expensive restaurant) | 40-50 | 80-100 |
| Coffee Break | 2.5-4 | 5-10 |
| Supermarket Meal | 5-7 | 10-15 |
List of average prices in Amsterdam for all the meals of the day.
Either if you are a tourist or you live in Amsterdam, food is on the expensive side. The best you can do is learn the most useful tips to make the most out of your money and find good deals in supermarket, or get to know those restaurants that are worth your money and are not only a touristic scam. If you want to know more about the cost of food and drinks in Amsterdam, keep reading this article.
Restaurant Prices
In our Guide of the Cost of Living in Amsterdam I already made some calculations for groceries and other expenses you will have living here, according to my experience, of course. Going out is something relatively expensive and with my brother and his friends came to visit me and they asked me where they could eat on a budget, I couldn’t think of a really cheap place to eat, not even high quality, just nothing at all.
What I came up with are places where you will end up spending your money but you will get a good deal, good food and a proper amount of it. Here there are some of the options I have discovered after living here for a long time, for all the meals.
Brunch
De Drie Graefjes (Rokin 130) a cool small place where they offer sweets and brunch or lunch in the centre of Amsterdam, close to Kalverstraat. You can get some proper sandwiches, eggs and a lot of brunch options, standard prices but a good amount to be a very touristic location. Check the prices here.
De Tulp (Marie Heinekenplein 33, 1072 MH ) one of my favourite brunch places where you also enjoy the food and get a good value for your money. Also cool for drinks in the evening. See prices here, for instance, you can get some eggs for 12 euros and some avocado on toast for 7 euros, average Dutch but good quality!
Lunch
A good option either for dinner or lunch it is FoodHallen, where you have options from everywhere in the world and you are not obligated to get something from a menu. There are a lot of stands, each restaurant representing a different cuisine. The good part is that prices are the same for lunch and dinner, something not very common in the Netherlands. Much recommended! Read here.
STACH is one of the places I mentioned that I like to study in Amsterdam, they have fresh sandwiches and sushi, high quality and you can get a fresh sandwich for 5-6 euros. Definitely with giving it a try. Check it here.
An average lunch is easily from 10 to 20 euros per person, the cheaper version being a quick mean and a drink at an AH to go or some soup of the day at a restaurant.
Dinner
Expensive option: De Kas, (Kamerlingh Onneslaan 3, 1097 DE ) a much recommended restaurant if you are a foodie and you are coming to Amsterdam. It is a more luxury restaurant where they cook with their own self-grown vegetables and make small creations without a standard menu. The menu is here and dinner is at least 60 euros per person.
Cheaper option: Eethuis Sie Joe (Gravenstraat 24-A, 1012 NM), my favourite Indonesian recommendation in Amsterdam at a very good location too. The average price is 20 to 30 euros, you will get a good amount and prices don’t vary from lunch to dinner.
Take Away
If you are curious and want to compare the prices you pay at the average take away restaurant in your country and here in Amsterdam, here is the most famous take away online:
Thuisbezorgd.nl is the website by default where Dutch people order take away, something very common. There are more international chains here, Starbucks (same prices in most European countries), McDonalds, Burger King, Domino’s and more local options, including most restaurants in Amsterdam.
Most hotels would also receive take away food if you want to order in when you are visiting Amsterdam. The minimum amount you have to order in most places is 15 euros, something that you will easily spend in any of them.
Extra Information:
- Coffee is just as expensive in McDonalds as it would be in a proper coffee place, it never is less than 2.5 euros.
- Water everywhere will cost you 2.50 euros, no matter where, that is the cheapest you will find it unless you buy it at a supermarket.
- Beer: the standard price for ordering a beer somewhere is from 3.50 to 7 euros, depending on your taste.
- Cocktail: the least you can pay a cocktail in Amsterdam is 10 euros, from there you can expect to pay as much as you want for it. Alcohol is actually expensive.
- Most drinks in general are expensive, since restaurants and bars get their profits mostly out of drinks. If you pay attention they will ask you to order the drink and it will take a while until they ask you if you want to order some food. It is very strategic.
Living in Amsterdam: Supermarket Prices
Albert Heijn (AH) is by default the most famous Dutch supermarket and the easiest to find in Amsterdam. In most touristic areas you will be able to find AH to go, a quicker and convenient version of this supermarket. AH is an amazing supermarket where you will find absolutely everything you need. However, it is more on the pricier side if you are doing groceries there every day of the week. Here you have some tables with prices of their own brand and brands you can buy there:
| AH SUPERMARKET (Dairy) | Price |
| Milk 1l. (own brand) | 0.99 |
| Milk 1l. (brand) | 1.25 |
| Eggs 10 (own brand) | 1.64 |
| Eggs 10 (brand) | 3.05 |
| Butter 250g (own brand) | 2.31 |
| Butter 250g (brand) | 2.59 |
| AH Supermarket (Fruit and Vegetables) | PRICES |
| Tomatoes 500g | 1-1.99 |
| Pepper 1u | 0.99 |
| Bananas 1kg | 1.95 |
| Potatoes 1kg | 2.09 |
| AH SUPERMARKET (Meats) | Price |
| Hamburgers (4) | 3 |
| Salmon 200g | 4 |
| Minced Meat 500g | 3.69 |
| Bacon pieces 300g | 2.39 |
| Chicken Filet 500g | 4 |
| AH SUPERMARKET (Carbs) | Price |
| Bread 1kg | 1.86 |
| Granola 500g | 2.60 |
| Porridge 300g | 0.50-1 |
| AH SUPERMARKET (Drinks) | Price |
| Coffee 1kg | 8.50 |
| Tea (own brand) | 1.20 |
| Tea (brand) | 2.50 |
| Coca Cola 1l | 1.79 |
| Cola 1l | 0.86 |
| Sparkling water 1l | 0.60-0.95 |
| Juice 1.5l (own brand) | 1.29 |
| Juice 1.5l (brand) | 1.69 |
| Cola 250ml | 0.28 |
| Coca Cola 250ml | 0.59 |
| Wine 1l | approx. 5 |
| Beer (pack 6) | 5.75 |
| Beer 500ml | 1.99 |
According to NLTIMES the cheapest supermarket in the Netherlands is Jumbo and the most expensive one is Albert Heijn.
Supermarket Tips:
- AH Card: if you are going there for the first time it is important that you know you have to get an AH card to get all the discounts you see inside the supermarket, otherwise you will end up paying full price for the items you thought had a discount. If you go to the tobacco store they have in most bigger AH supermarket, you can ask for one free and without any registration. It is worth it!
- Recycle bottles: in every supermarket you will end up paying a 0.25 or 0.10 euros fee for plastic and glass bottles. This money will be returned to you when you bring back those once you have used them and insert them in the recycling machines they have inside the supermarket. This machine will give you a receive you can use to get a discount on your shopping.
- Bring bags: everywhere in the Netherlands you will have to pay for a bag, bringing your own is a good idea. Fruit and veggies bags are free!
- Late hours, early openings: supermarkets are open all week long, most of them open at 8 and they close at 10, making it easier to do groceries whenever it is more convenient for you.
Other supermarkets are:
- Dirk van den Broek
- Jumbo
- Vomar
- Ekoplaza
- Aldi
- Lidl
- Spar
- Etc
Something I have learnt after living in the Netherlands is that prices are quite average. The difference between buying in one supermarket or another is the very small and you end up paying for higher quality and not really for a brand. If you have the chance to decide what to buy in each is a great option, if you have time to go to the small, normally Moroccan or Turkish stores, they offer other varieties of food, fresh veggies and fruit as well as meat cuts, nuts and exotic ingredients too.
More options can be all going to some of the big markets open all week long where you can buy all the basic fresh ingredients, sometimes cheaper if they are in season, sometimes more expensive if they are higher quality:
- Albert Cuyp Market (Monday to Saturday)
- Ten Kate Market (Monday to Saturday)
- Nieuwmarkt (Saturdays)
- Leidseplein Market (open every day of the week)
- Noordermarkt (Saturdays)
- Marqt (every day of the week)
- Ekodis (every day of the week)
