THE NETHERLANDS - Best of Europe 2014 - page 1351

Café'tGasthuysthreeblockstoOudezijdsAchterburgwal237,thengothrougharcheddoor-
way on the right; tel. [phone]).
Between Central Station and Dam Square
(See “Hotels & Restaurants in Central Amsterdam” map, here . )
Brasserie Restaurant de Roode Leeuw (“Red Lion”) offers a peaceful respite from the
crush of Damrak. While this old standby is somewhat overpriced these days, you can still
get a menu filled with traditional Dutch food, good service, and the company of plenty of
tourists.The stamppot (pickledporkloinwithbaconandmashedpotatoes)isanadventurein
Dutch comfort food. Call ahead to reserve a window seat (€17-25 entrées, €33 three-course
fixed-price meal with traditional Dutch choices; daily 12:00-22:00, Damrak 93-94, tel. 020/
555-0666).
Dam Café, on the first floor of the De Bijenkorf department store on Dam Square, has
a small lineup of tasty salads, sandwiches, and desserts. Enjoying views of busy Damrak,
comfortable(butlimited)seating,andanupscalecafévibe,you'llfeelmilesabovethechaot-
ic streets below (€8-11 salads; Sun-Mon 11:00-20:00; Tue-Sat 10:00-20:00, Thu-Fri until
21:00;Dam1,tel.[phone]).Foramuchwiderrangeofdishesandlotsofseating—but
no Dam views—head up to Kitchen, the store's swanky fifth-floor self-service restaurant
(similar prices and hours as café).
Munching Cheap
Traditional fish stands sell €4 herring sandwiches and other salty treats, usually from
easy photo menus. Stubbe's Haring, where the Stubbe family has been selling herring
for 100 years, is handy and well-established, a few blocks from Central Station (Tue-Fri
10:00-18:00, Sat 10:00-17:00, closed Sun-Mon, at the locks on Singel canal, near the train
station, see map on here ). Grab a sandwich and have a canalside picnic.
Supermarkets: You'll see Albert Heijn grocery stores (daily 8:00-22:00) all over town.
They have great deli sections with picnic-perfect take-away salads and sandwiches. Helpful,
centrallocationsincludebehindtheRoyalPalaceonDamSquare(NieuwezijdsVoorburgwal
226), near the Mint Tower (Koningsplein 4), on Leidsestraat (at Konigsplein, on the corner
of Leidsestraat and Singel), and inside Central Station (far end of passage under the tracks).
Be aware that none of their stores accept US credit cards: Bring cash, and don't get in the
checkout lines marked PIN alleen.