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Discover things to do and where to eat in Costa del Sol, Axarquía, Spain

Discover things to do and where to eat in Costa del Sol – updated on 30 December 2022: Living semi in Andalucía brings me much joy in life and one of them is exploring interesting places on an easy pace across four seasons with sunshine almost all year round 😊. Most of the time, I combine my trips with a nice outdoor activity such as a village/city/beach walk or a nature hike and ending my day with a culinary experience.  

On this blog, you may not find tips on museum visits (only exceptional) or historical stories about the places I’ve visited. Nevertheless, I hope you will find something on this post that triggers your interest for your travel plans or maybe just find a nice restaurant for your day.

Most of my stay in Spain, I stay in Axarquía. This is a district of Málaga province in Andalucía on the east side of Malaga. Its name tracks back to Arabic meaning of “the eastern region” and covers the sunniest places on the east coast of Costa del Sol with an average of 320 sunny days a year. Axarquía is composed of 31 municipalities and I will share the places which I like or visit the most.

Towns and villages covered in this blog are: Frigiliana, Nerja, Torrox Costa, Torre del Mar, Caleta de Vélez, Vélez-Málaga, Salobreňa. More recommendations to be updated for Lake Viñuela, La Maroma.

Frigiliana

Frigiliana is my most favourite village so far which is also Spain’s most beautiful and well-preserved village.

  • Take a stroll in this picturesque village, explore the small streets with beautiful blue painted doors and window shutters, see colourful flowers in pots or pink bougainvillea growing on white walls that bring a heart-warming feeling. Ladies don’t forget to wear comfy shoes as the streets and alleys are charmingly cobbled in this village. Note that shops are often closed during siesta time (14-17pm) and in winters (Jan/Feb), some may be even totally closed having their winter break.
  • Prefer a guide telling you all the historic stories of this village? You can book a guided tour in English. Costs for an adult is €4. Check out for more information on this link www.frigilianatours.com
  • Want to go for a spectacular hiking route Rio Higueron and El Fuerte? This route takes you from the beautiful village of Frigiliana into the waters of the Rio Higueron following it upstream to near its source in the Carrascal. Find more about hiking routes in Frigiliana and in its Natural Park Sierras de Tejeda on this link.
  • Explore other activities on the official tourist office website for Frigiliana.
My favourite food places in Frigiliana:
  • Restaurante El Jardin – serves a range of fresh Mediterranean cuisine/Marrocan food. It has a divine terrace looking over Frigiliana village. To get there, it’s quite an uphill walk but worthwhile. Main dish approx. €20
Transportation

You can easily drive to Frigiliana by car from Nerja, it’s about 4km. There is one big parking garage, or you can park along the main road for free if there is a spot available. At high season, very unlikely to find something though. Taxi always possible.    

Another option is taking the bus that runs every hour between 07:20am until 20:30pm. Bear in mind, there is no bus service outside these service hours, also not on Sundays and not on public holidays. The bus departs from Nerja bus station. Ensure you have small bills/change to pay in the bus, one-way cost €1,20. For bus time table, please check here.    

Nerja

Nerja is well known across Spain for its natural beaches, with many of its coves frequently featuring amongst the candidates for the best beach in Spain.

  • Balcón de Europa, undoubtedly the heart of Nerja (balcony square) with amazing sea and mountain views.
  • Nerja caves, one of Spain’s most popular and spectacular historical sites. Sometimes, they hold classical music concerts onsite. For the early birds, they offer limited free entrance for EU citizen from Monday until Friday, on the first opening slot at 09:30am. Check for reservation rules on their website.
  • Wet and wild hiking trail along (in) the river Rio Chillar. The river flows through Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Nature Reserves. On your journey you will have the opportunity to bath in a natural gorge and waterfall. Be prepared that your shoes get soaked and bear in mind to wear steady walking shoes. Accidents has happened here and would be good to have urgent SOS numbers to reach out to.
  • For some beach moment, go to Burriana beach, it’s a cosy ‘posh’ beach with nice and modern restaurants. There are nice natural beaches along the coast nearby Nerja but bear in mind there are limited facilities. Access is often along the national beach road.
  • Tuesday market, located in Almijara II urbanization on the way up to Capistrano San Juan neighbourhood. They sell leather goods, textile, Spanish artisan pottery, spices, vegetable and fruit. Opening hours at 09:30-ish until 13/14:00pm. Take the Verano Azul blue bus from town, approx. €1.
  • Sunday Nerja Flea Market (also called as Rastro), find all kinds of second-hand items eg lamps, paintings, furniture, fabrics, clothing, books etc. Location is the same as the Tuesday market in Almijara II urbanization and starts from 08:30am until 14:00pm.
  • Explore other activities on the official tourist office website for Nerja.
My favourite food places in Nerja:
  • Spanish & seafood: La Marina Marisqueria. There are two types of seating areas. On the left side of the entrance is the tapas area. You can choose one free tapas from a designated list with each single drink you order. On top, you can also order dishes from the menu. On the right side, these are tables where you can order from the menu but no free tapas 😉. Tip – be assertive when you want to get their attention to place your food/drink order.
  • Italian: L’antica Nonna Mia. I highly recommend their fresh pasta dishes and tiramisu. Just superlicious and super value for its quality, price and quantity! On a nice sunny day, you can enjoy the surroundings at their divine terrace with sea view.
  • Italian: for a typical Italian style pizza, I would go to Vitaliano da Cristina (close to Nonna Mia and has a nice terrace with sea view) or go to Paparazzi.
  • For carnivores go to Posada de Iberica. I just love this place! Small menu, delicious food prepared with passion and all managed by a friendly man from Argentina. It’s a small cosy brown café style restaurant, a one-man show who serves quality food, good quantity and for a good price.
  • Prefer a trendy gastronomic experience with table settings and cosy atmosphere? Go to Fusion by Silvio Santogiacomo, Pápalo,  Restaurante Unico.
  • At Burriana beach, one of my favorite trendy gastronomic tapas place is RAW Lounge.
  • Do you like drinking cocktails? Go to Hemingway’s, I always go back to this place to get close to my cocktail standards. Wanna go for a nice holiday feeling with amazing rooftop views? Go to Terazza Buddha Lounge bar or the Volk’s Bar Sevillano (take the elevator situated inside Sevillano restaurant).   
  • For the best churros in town, I go to a simple local place at Café Bar las Cuatro Esquinas. They serve fresh fried churros between 09:00-12:00 noon and from 17:00-19:00pm. Chocolate lovers, order a cup of hot chocolate to dip in, you will not regret!
  • Breakfast: is your breakfast the most joyful meal to start with your day? Go to Parador Hotel, it isn’t cheap, ~€20pp but they serve an amazing buffet breakfast with a divine sea view on the terrace. They serve fresh orange juice, various bread, amuses, cheese/meat cuts, cereals, yoghurts, cold & hot platters and sweets and more to have a happy day.  
  • Like to enjoy your morning coffee with a nice sunny sea view? Go to Café Anahi, they have a small balcony terrace in the back with decent local prices in a top touristic location.
  • For a nice tea-time, I like to go to Mena Garden Nerja. It’s situated at the back of the hotel in a charming inner garden. Their carrot cake is delicious! Not too sweet of not overly layered with crème.
  • For good bread or pastry, especially their carrot cake, go to bakery Panadería Confitería Salvador Nerja.

Torrox Costa

Have a nice morning or sunset run or walk on the beach boulevard of Torrox Costa. This beach can be quite windy comparing to other beaches but gives an uber relaxing holiday feeling. The boulevard offers plenty of beach cafés and restaurants, and a nice simple breakfast menu for about € 5

  • Monday market next to Iberostar hotel building. They sell leather goods, textile, Spanish artisan pottery, spices, vegetable and fruit. Opening hours at 09:30-ish until 13/14:00pm.
My favourite food places in Torrox Costa:
  • For the best ice-cream in Nerja and neighbourhoods, I tried them all and this is in my opinion the best place for milky ice cream at Vistamar Helados Artesanos. Note that they are closed during the winter season, I believe from October until March. It could be that they are open for weekends with limited opening hours in March.
  • Spanish & Seafood: Marisquera Encinas, one of my favorite typical local places where Spanish families gather for a weekend lunch. The food is delicious! Highly recommend their creamy Russian salad, almejas, boiled gamba’s, shell fish conchas finas naturale, grilled fish, paella or soup rice meal – arroz con bogavante (local lobster) or arroz con carabineros (mix seafood with giant shrimps). If you want to lunch during Spanish time, after 14pm, I highly recommend you in booking a table in advance. Bear in mind, this is not a fancy place, tables are setup on the pedestrian street facing a busy road. However, the seafood is divine with local cosiness! Another nice place and has a beautiful terrace on the seafront boulevard is at Restaurante La Farola. It’s a very popular place among locals and tourist, a table reservation for lunch would be highly recommended. Especially on the terrace.
  • Spanish: restaurant El Tito Arenas, a hidden gem with a relaxed local atmosphere. Excellent service and delicious food at great value. Their back garden terrace is nicer than the street side. Highly recommend their entrecote and on Friday’s lunch time, you can pre-order arroz con bogavante dish for €9,5 pp. On other days, its minimum 2 persons order and cost more. For the latter, suggest a table reservation.  
  • Spanish: a little bit off from Torrox Costa boulevard, along the main road towards Nerja at the beach front, you have chiringuito Jose Jimenez 34. Great service and delicious paella! Pre-order your paella with your table reservation to avoid disappointment as they won’t make this for you when its busy. They have mix (chicken/seafood) or seafood paella. Cost ~€22 for 2 persons and lobster paella for €46,-
  • Breakfast or lunch: trendy small cosy place at Entre Vientos, close to the lighthouse with nice sea view. Craving for real German bread or torten (sweet pie)? Go to Wolfgang und Karina’s Backstűbel. They serve an amazing breakfast set for ~ €5,5 that includes excellent coffee, various bread, cheese/ham and jam, or add ~€1,5 for scrambled egg.
  • Craving for some good Belgium beer and good simple food? Go to Le Comptoir Belge. In my opinion, when a place serves good crunchy tasty fries, that’s the place to have a good meal! They have a nice terrace with sea view.
  • For gastronomic Spanish go to Restaurante Pata Negra Playa. Serves Spanish food in a modern twist with excellent quality and price.

Torre del Mar

A popular beach site for local tourists with nice chiringuitos (beach bar/restaurant) along the boulevard. This nice promenade goes all the way to Caleta de Vélez, approx. 4km.

My favourite food places in Torre del Mar:
  • Spanish: Chiringuito Casa Miguel, a nice trendy place with great service serving delicious grilled/fried seafood. In- and outdoor seating at the beach front.
  • Spanish & seafood: El Señuelo, a very popular place among the locals. They have a tapas seating area at the entrance or tables on the terrace (however facing a parking place) or indoors. Spanish lunch time in weekends (after 2pm), I highly recommend you booking a table in advance.

Caleta de Vélez

Take a nice stroll at the little harbour where all the sailing boats are docked and have lunch or a drink at one of those bar/ restaurants.

My favourite food places in Caleta de Vélez:
  • Spanish & seafood: Marisqueria Mani, popular among locals with decent prices. The fish is fresh and delicious!
  • Spanish & seafood: Chinchin puerto, a trendy posh place located opposite of the little harbour. Atmosphere is superb, food is good but prices are a bit high-end.

Vélez-Málaga

Take a very nice town walk along the alley’s, especially walking up to the fort (Alcazaba La Fortaleza). It’s quite uphill but you will get an amazing 360 view over the town and sea. This town still has preserved its local vibe. There aren’t many tourists here and this is what I like the most.

My favourite food places in Vélez-Malaga:
  • Spanish tapas bar: Restaurante la Gamba Dorada, this place offers a nice vibe with great services. You can choose one free tapas from a designated list with each single drink you order. What I most like about this place is, they offer a wide variety of red, white and rose wine per glass, so you don’t need to buy a bottle to taste the wine.

Salobreňa

A beautiful white village on the Costa Tropical, dominated by a hilltop castle from the Al-Andalus period. This castle transitioned from a Phoenician to a Roman site, then to an Arabic fortress and at last conquered by the Catholic kings.

  • Take a stroll in the old town, walk along the narrow streets and relax in tranquility.
  • Visit the fortress castle that offers a mixture of architecture from different periods. At the top, you will have a 360’ panorama view. At clear blue sky, you can even see Sierra Nevada.   
  • Don’t miss the beautiful beach that is at the bottom of the town. Take a nice stroll along the boulevard and enjoy a glass Tinto de Verano (soda mix with wine) or sangria.

More recommendations to be updated for Lake Viñuela, La Maroma.

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Tiramisu

Tiramisu, who doesn’t like it? One of my favourite desserts and it is simple to make. Superlicous and fancy for a dinner close out accompanied with a glass of digestive. I learnt making this dessert from an Italian friend. I slightly change the ingredients after making it multiple times and found my own right balance of sweetness and flavours. I hope you like it 🙂

Cooking time: approx. 30min and serves 4 portion

Tip:

  1. Make tiramisu 1 day before serving as it bring more flavour
  2. Replace lady fingers with cantuccini biscuits if you like trying out a different tiramisu texture

Ingredients & Tools

  • 250gr mascarpone
  • 2x egg white
  • 2x cups black coffee
  • 1x pack lady fingers, you might only need 4-5 fingers per glass
  • Cacao powder
  • Cacao spreader or use a sieve
  • Optional liquor: e.g. Tia Maria, Grand Marnier, Amaretto or Pampero rum  
  • Optional topping: e.g. fresh mint leaves, raspberries, blueberries, red berries, or chocolate flakes
  • Mixer
  • 4x water glasses
  • 1x big bowl
  • 1x small bowl
  • Tea spoon
  • Aluminium foil

What to do?

  1. ————- Prepare coffee mix & cream ————-
  2. Make 2 cups of black coffee and let it cool off with a splash of liquor in a small bowl. Be careful with pouring too much liquor as it can bring your tiramisu flavour out of balance. Leave out the liquor for alcohol free tiramisu.
  3. Mix at lowest stand 250gr mascarpone and 2x egg white until well mixed. The mixture might be a little stiff but no need to over-mix.
  4. Bring a splash of liquor into the mixture and continue mixing to a creamy consistence. If consistency is to fluid, you might need to add more mascarpone to get the right balance.
  5. ————- Layer the Glasses ————-
  6. Break the ladyfingers in line with the glass width size from bottom to top when you do each layer.
  7. Dip the fingers in the coffee mix, not too long and not too short. It should absorb enough coffee mix without falling apart. Layer the bottom of the glass first.
  8. Then layer with cream by using a tea spoon and gently smoothen it flat on the fingers.
  9. Spread a thin layer of cacao on the cream.
  10. Repeat step 6 until 9, until the glass is nicely filled upto 1 cm below glass top
  11. Cover aluminium foil on each glass.
  12. Chill the glasses in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.
  13. Before serving spread an extra thin layer of cacao.
  14. Optional: chop mint leaves to fine flakes and sprinkle a little bit on top of the tiramisu. Finishing touch by putting a full mint leave on top.

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Japanese restaurant Yakitori la Kushi in Amsterdam

Do you like Japanese grilled skewers but also like to have the option in eating sushi or tempura? A new authentic Japanese restaurant bar is finally open in Amsterdam Rivierenbuurt, Yakitori la Kushi. I was so much looking forward to this new Japanese grill bar. The opening got a bit delayed by covid19 and some construction work but its now open for delightful dinners 😃

You can enjoy traditional Japanese dishes and some are with a modern twist. The menu offers a variety of appetizers, sushi, sashimi, tempura, rice bowls and ofcourse Yakitori. All look superlicious! You can take a seat at the bar counter like how it goes in Japan or dine at a table. 

What is Yakitori? Yakitori means grilled chicken skewer, it can be served with various part of a chicken e.g. wings, stomach, heart or skin and the grilling is finished with a little bit of salt seasoning or yakitori sauce (glazed savory sweet sauce). When there are other grilled ingredients, you can also call it Kushiyaki as this term covers all kind of meat or vegetable skewers and not explicitly chicken. 

Grilled skewers are a classic food served at izakaya in Japan and is a serious business. It’s about having dinner in a Japanese-tapas style pub where beer, sake, tasty bites and jolly chatters take part. The quality, the meat texture and the grilling skills are important factors in bringing the right atmosphere & flavours. Just yummie!

I started my evening with a smooth dry sake drink, a junmai ginjo from Kyoto and I loved it! I didn’t take a starter, I wanted it but I was so much graving for nigiri sushi. My sushi was fresh made with gloves on ☺️, this already gave me a positive hygienic feeling. It tasted very good, especially the unagi was in balance of sweetness and had the right texture. Personally, I’m not a unagi fan and I wanted to eat more.  I continued with a shrimp tempura roll. The tempura shrimp was fresh fried and crunchy, and not greasy at all, so thumbs 👍🏼. Although, it could have a bit more kewpie mayonnaise and extra lettuce for a divine balance between fried food and a fresh taste. After the sushi and roll, I felt quite pleased in my tummy but being in a Yakitory bar I must try the skewers before leaving. So I ordered a tsukune (chicken ball) and hatsu (chicken heart), one of my favourites. The heart tasted fine, I was missing a bit of smoked flavour and the tsukune meat texture was a bit dry and pricy for a small thin ball. To my personal taste in terms of Yakitori, I prefer my regular favourite Yakitori bar but nevertheless, I had a superlicious dinner + good sake = which made my evening superb! Definitely highly recommended. 

  • nigiri sushi
  • shrimp tempura roll
  • hatsu, tsukune
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Covid19 Summer Trip in Bordeaux and Arcachon

After a delicious tapas roaming experience in Donostia, we crossed over the Spanish/French border meeting up with our friends in Bordeaux. We stepped our foot in heaven; Cité du Vin, enjoying life with fromage, charcuterie and French gourmet!

What more could we ask for?

J’ adore Bordeaux, this was my 2nd visit and Bordeaux is a very lovely city where everything is on a footstep away. Not like Paris, where you need the metro to go to the other side of the center. I definitely suggest in staying in the city center as it’s more convenient and everything is close for a few days of stay. Nice things to do in Bordeaux:

  • Wandering through the historic cobbled streets and around medieval St. Pierre district… yes, bring your flat shoes 🙂
  • Absorbing neo-classic architecture at Triangle d’Or (golden triangle), bounded by 3 fine boulevards Cours Clemenceau, Cours de L’intendance and Allées de Tourney.
  • Attend a classical concert or opera at the Grand Theatre.
  • Palais de la Bourse, famous for its palace reflection on a water pool. 
  • Walk or run along the riverfront Garonne and Pont-de-Pierre bridge.
  • Visit Marché des Capuchins – a bit off track from the center and close to the station. It’s a covered outdoor market with food stands selling fresh daily groceries. There are a few food stands where you can have breakfast or lunch. Slurp down some oysters & white wine on it’s French style. 
  • Enjoy a glass of wine on a terrace or wine bar.
  • Rent a car and take the D2 Route Vins. This route is an hour drive from the city where you can visit many popular vineyards & wine houses. A wine tasting reservation is highly recommended as we ended up not able to get in anywhere.  
  • Bistro du Fromage
  • Cent33
  • Cent33
  • Cent33
  • Cent33
  • Pont-de-Pierre bridge
  • Pont-de-Pierre bridge
  • Porte Cailhau
  • La Grosse Cloche
  • D2 Route Vins
  • D2 Route Vins

After Bordeaux we left for Arcachon. I remembered when I landed at Bordeaux airport on my 1st visit, there was a big wall poster of this place. I forgot the city name but definitely remembered the beautiful sand dunes and paragliders on that wallpaper. I googled and finally found the name where I wanted to go.

Did you know that ‘Dune of Pilat aka Grande Dune du Pilat’ is the tallest sand dune in Europe and runs parallel to a beach? It’s located in Arcachon Bay area, on the southwest coast of France, about 60km from Bordeaux. This dune has a length of 2,7km and the height is about 106,6m above sea level (this can vary each year).

I was so excited to be there. Going uphill, puffing and almost out of breath in getting to the top. It wasn’t easy walking uphill on sand that falls down on every step but the view from the top was amazingly gorgeous! We sat and lay down at the top and embraced the breeze, having sea view on one side and a forest on the other side. We didn’t stay long and the men were planning to go back the next day for an early morning run. I had no doubts and wanted to join. Not the running part ofcourse as they are crazy serious runners. 

The next morning, we left at 8am. Wearing my running cloths and flip-flops…. I was ready in taking this challenge on my bear feet in running and walking off the entire sand dune stretch. This wonderful moment is unforgettable, in my own bubble enjoying this serene environment with just a few people in having the same thought. There was even a family walking up to the top with a baguette under their arm and had their breakfast when they finally found their spot 🙂

  • Chez Jejhene
  • Running up Dune de Pilat
  • Women relaxed uphill
  • Morning walk/run
  • Social pétanque kick-off
  • Learning Pétanque
  • Le Pit
  • Le Pit

Foodie & Wine places we liked in Bordeaux

  • Aux 4 coins du vin – a local favourite wine bar where you tap wine from an enigmatic machine. You use a chargeable card and tap the card to pay for each type of glass you want to taste. They offer a large variety of local wines including high-end wines. You can order charcuterie & cheese plates. Highly recommend in booking a seat if you go after dinner.
  • Cent 33 – superlicious gastronomic experience and awarded as Bib Gourmand. It was an unforgettable dinner menu.
  • Conseil Interprofessional de Vin de Bordeaux (CIBV) – a governmental organisation (includes a wine school) that represents Bordeaux wines within its region at incredible prices. In addition they offer small deli plates. Sunday’s closed. 
  • Horace café – very nice charming place offering daily plats. Starter ~€8, main ~€13
  • Le Bar Du Boucher – carnivore paradise with a casual vibe and a local’s favorite. Choose your meat at the counter.
  • Le Bouchon Bordelaise – non fancy friendly bistro with affordable prices. A lunch plate is from €10.
  • Le Boulanger de l’Hôtel de Ville – very delicious small bakery (its not in the hotel) with a few tiny tables where you can eat your croissant or pastry and coffee.
  • Le Chien de Pavlov – contemporary bistro ran by native Bordeauxlais with good value menu.
  • Suzzi– popular Swedish café for breakfast, brunch or lunch.
  • Le Bocal de Tatie Josée – on my list to go for my next visit if I need a good breakfast place.
  • La Tupina – on my list to go for my next visit
  • Boulangerie Louis Lamour – a bakery to try out on my next visit
  • Racines – on my list to go for my next visit
  • D2 Route Vins, take a lunch at Le Wine Bar Margeaux – we had an amazing lunch here serving house wine from Chateaux Margeaux for a very good market price. 

Foodie places we liked in Arcachon

  • Chez Jejhene, in La Teste de Buch – a simple oyster farm offering oysters, snails and pate and one type of housewine.  
  • Le Cabestan, in Arcachon city center – we had an amazing good dinner here except for the black ink risotto.
  • Le Pitt, in Arcachon city center – lovely bistro and nice terrace offering oysters, shrimps, snails, pate & charcuterie.
  • Le Patio – fine dining for next visit

How to get from BOD airport to Bordeaux city center?

By public transport, take ‘Liane bus 1’. Ticket can be purchased at Hall B near the bus stop. The ride can take upto 45min-1hr. Hopp off at bus stop ‘Gambetta’ (1 stop before train station St. Jean). Please note getting off and onboarding is not the same spot. Onboarding to the airport, the bus stop is situated on street Judaïque, close to street Château d’Eau.

Bon voyage if you plan your trip to Bordeaux or Arcachon & Enjoy your fabulous moments!

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Happy Temari Sushi

My weekly dinner with my partner + friends continues in this covid period. We were doubting between cooking a Serbian dish or having sushi 🍣 and decided for the latter. 

This time, curiosity brought us in trying out a new popular place in Amsterdam where they normally don’t offer take away service because it affects the food quality e.g. temperature and freshness. Taking this opportunity and the limited boxes they sell per day, I ordered the sushi boxes a few days in advance. 

Opening the box, the presentation looks so cute! They made Temari Sushi and each sushi was placed in a wooden paper boat. Temari sushi has a different shape then nigiri sushi. It has a ball shape and normally goes with a variety of colorful toppings, and are often served for happy celebration occasions.

Happy, it definitely is😊. If you like to have a happy dinner feeling as well, you can order this sushi box at Ken Sushi.

Itadakimasu! 

Temari Sushi
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Social Distance Picnic

My weekly virtual dinner with my partner + friends continues in this bizarre pandemic period. We had a social distance picnic on a beautiful sunny Saturday evening along the canals of Amsterdam. It was a fabulous and inspiring dinner!

Finally, having some good Japanese Izakaya food, champagne, wine and ofcourse being with great company 🥂🌻✌🏼

Do you also crave for good BBQ meat in Japanese style?

Take away is now possible from one of my favourite restaurants in Amsterdam at Hakata Senpachi.

Itadakimasu!

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My favourite Culinary & Cultural spots in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a lively place to live and definitely a must visit in getting inspired by the many wonderful activities this city has to offer. I am not referring to ‘the coffee shops’ or red light district but to history, culture, museum, architecture, flat nature and the charming canals we have. Go sail on the canals, ride on a bicycle, enjoy a stroll in the park, just have a relaxing time and absorb the local vibe.

Not to be missed out are our typical Dutch tidbits e.g. bitterbal, broodje kroket, stroopwafel, haring met uitjes en zuur, patatje oorlog, poffertjes, oliebol (christmas season only) and many more local or international culinary adventures you can try out. Pictures from left to right are in order of the tidbits.

Oh, there is one thing that might not charm you… the quality of customer service can be far below your expectation. I don’t understand either and occasional I also get annoyed by that. It’s quite normal in Amsterdam and people tend to leave it as it is. However, there are fabulous and friendly cosy places to go, so just go to the ones you like. On the tipping part, we do not have a standard custom and most locals round up the bill or tip 10% for excellent service provided.  

Culinary Spots in Amsterdam

Area ‘De Wallen’ (red light district)

  • Wynand Fockink (drinks) – a hidden tiny tavern where you can sip ~70 Dutch liqueurs and genevers. Passionate outgoing staff and definitely a memorable experience. Opens from 3pm and can close early evening. 
  • Restaurant de Compagnon (French) – a hidden gem in the red light district. It is a small cosy restaurant with three floors. You will have a wonderful tasting experience. Ensure a table at the window with a great view on the canal. Highly recommend table reservation.
  • Bridges (Michelin Star* Western) – situated in Sofitel Legend The Grand. This building was the former town hall of Amsterdam. Another marvellous gastronomic experience with excellent service.
  • Restaurant Vermeer (Michelin Star* Western) – situated in the NH Barbizon Palace Hotel opposite of Central Station. A marvellous gastronomic experience with excellent friendly professional staff. Ingredients are locally sourced. Highly recommend table reservation.

Area Jordaan

  • Chocolaterie Pompadour (café, patisserie) – go for a super delicious patisserie experience. They have a small tearoom in the shop. Queues may occur outdoor. 
  • Winkel 43 (café, lunch) – taste the best apple pie in Amsterdam. Freshly baked and delicious with a bit of whipped cream. Long queues may occur.

Area Rokin

  • De Laatste Kruimel (café, bakery) – a charming café having delicious sandwich, bakery and quiche. Not many seats and not comfortable but definitely cosy and a must experience. 
  • Café de Jaren (café, lunch, dinner) – a nice high-ceilinged café ambiance with a sunny canal-side terrace. Just enjoy some reading and the local vibe. 

Area Museum Kwartier (museum quarter)

  • Taiko Restaurant (Asian, Japanese) – situated in the Conservatorium Hotel. Splendid Asian fusion and mostly with Japanese influences. A superb gastronomic experience in a great ambiance. An evening to splurge yourself. Excellent service but some staff can be a bit snobbish. Highly recommend table reservation.

Area Canal Belt

  • Café de Balie (café, lunch, dinner) – have a coffee break and absorb the local life with free high-speed wifi. It’s a cultural centre with diverse programme about freedom of speech, contemporary art, politics, culture, cinema and media. 
  • Tapas Tia Rosa (Spanish) – a nice cosy ambiance with superb joyful staff, good house wine and delicious tapas. Try out the surprise menu. You won’t be disappointed.  

Area Amstel River

  • Café Restaurant De Ysbreeker (café) – in the summer they have a lovely terrace along the Amstel river where you can enjoy the view and the tranquillity of Amsterdam. The food and wine is quite good. 

Area RAI, Rivierenbuurt

  • Hakata Senpachi (Japanese) – a taste of the rising sun. This is my most favourite Izakaya restaurant in Amsterdam. The grilled sticks taste delicious like as in Japan, great sake selection and in weekend they serve Fukuoka ramen noodle lunch. Ambiance setup is a Dutch brown café, simple wooden tables and chairs. There was a fire incident end 2016, reopening will be on Feb 27th2017. I’m so looking forward to it. 

Cultural Spots in Amsterdam

  • Het Concertgebouw – classical music, enjoy a free concert at lunch time on Wednesdays at 12:30pm. Queuing for free tickets starts at 11:30am and there is a limitation of seats. First come first serve basis and only one ticket per person available.
  • Book market, address Oudemanshuispoort – a charming walk on a non-official book market selling old books, music and prints. Location makes it more special, a gate passage dated from 1786 connecting between Kloveniersburgwal and Oudezijdsvoorburgwal. Opening hours from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm and subject to shop availability/season/weather condition.

Tip: daily last minute online tickets offered at http://lastminuteticketshop.nl from 10am. There is a maximum of 2 tickets per transaction and the website is in Dutch only.

Enjoy discovering Amsterdam!

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