Amsterdam is not a grand restaurant city so much as a great grazing city. The best way to eat here, and the cheapest, is to work your way along a market with a few euros and an empty stomach. Between the open-air street markets and the covered food halls, you can eat extremely well without ever sitting down.
Here are the three markets I'd actually send you to, what to order at each, and the timing that makes the difference.
Albert Cuypmarkt, De Pijp
The Albert Cuypmarkt is the big one - over 250 stalls strung the length of Albert Cuypstraat in De Pijp, running since 1905 and open Monday to Saturday, around 9:00 to 17:00.
De Pijp is home to roughly 150 nationalities and the market reflects it. In a couple of hundred metres you can eat Surinamese, Turkish, Lebanese and Dutch, most of it cooked fresh and most of it under 5 euros. Do not miss:
- A stroopwafel pressed warm off the iron - around 2.50 euros, and worlds better than the packaged kind
- Kibbeling or a broodje haring from the fish stalls, roughly 3 to 6 euros
- Surinamese roti and broodjes at the south end
Bring cash; many smaller stalls do not take cards. Trams 4, 12 and 24 and the De Pijp metro stop all serve it. The market is the heart of one of the city's best eating areas - see our full guide to where to eat in De Pijp.
Foodhallen, Oud-West
When the weather turns - which in Amsterdam it will - Foodhallen is the answer. It fills a beautifully converted 1902 tram depot at Bellamyplein 51 in Oud-West, with around 20 food stands ringing a buzzing central hall and bars.
It is open every day from late morning until late. This is grazing as a group activity: dim sum, Vietnamese, bitterballen from De Ballenbar, gyoza, cheese, wine. It is not the cheapest market eating - small plates run roughly 6 to 12 euros - and it is busy and loud at peak times, but for a rainy afternoon or a casual group dinner it works brilliantly. Trams 7 and 17 stop nearby.
Ten Katemarkt, Oud-West
A two-minute walk from Foodhallen, the Ten Katemarkt on Ten Katestraat is the one locals actually shop at. Smaller, calmer and properly gezellig, it runs Monday to Saturday. You will find homemade hummus, Taiwanese dumplings, Brazilian cheese bread, fresh fish, cheese and produce, with prices well below the tourist centre. If the Albert Cuyp feels like a scene, Ten Kate feels like a neighbourhood. Pair the two halls and markets of Oud-West into one easy afternoon.
A few more markets worth knowing
- Dappermarkt in Oost - another big, genuinely local daily market, multicultural and cheap
- Noordermarkt in the Jordaan - a lovely organic farmers' market on Saturdays, plus an antiques market on Mondays
- Pure Markt - a roaming Sunday food market that sets up in different city parks; check the schedule before you go
Street food to seek out
- Haring - raw herring with chopped onion and pickle, eaten from a stall; a true Amsterdam thing, around 3 to 4 euros
- Stroopwafel - always buy it freshly pressed and warm
- Kibbeling - chunks of battered fried fish with garlic-herb sauce
- Bitterballen - crisp fried ragout balls; the snack-bar and brown-café staple
- Patat - Dutch fries, thick-cut, with mayonnaise or oorlog (peanut sauce, mayo and onions)
Practical timing
For the open-air markets, aim for 9:00 to 11:00: produce is freshest, stalls are fully stocked, and the crowds have not arrived. Foodhallen is the opposite - quiet at noon, packed and atmospheric in the evening. Carry some cash, come hungry, and plan to eat in small bites rather than one big meal. That is how the city does it.
Market grazing is also the cheapest way to eat here - see our cheap eats guide for more budget bites, and our Oud-West local guide for the neighbourhood around Foodhallen and Ten Kate.
