Valentine's Day in Amsterdam

valentine's day cookiesI think Amsterdam is a great destination for Valentine’s Day with its pretty canals, little bridges and picturesque old houses. Not surprisingly, the tourist industry is doing its best to promote the event pitching visits to the flower market, horse carriage rides, dinner cruises on the canals and diamond factory visits. And also not surprisingly, these are rather fake than romantic.

Since I got several questions and also a comment about my Valentine’s day recommendations for Amsterdam, I decided to post a few more genuine and naturally food oriented suggestions for some romance in the Dam.

As always, my list of best Amsterdam restaurants is a great starting point. While De Kas is big and classy and Balthazar’s Keuken buzzing and packed, both De Witte Uyl and Marius are small, personal and intimate and hence good options for a great and romantic Valentine’s day dinner. Marius has a cute enclosed patio in the back. You might want to get a table there. And De Witte Uyl might be able to put together a special menu with inspiring champagne and wine suggestions.

A classier but nonetheless heavenly option would be restaurant Ciel Bleu, decorated with two Michelin stars and located on the 23rd floor of the Okura hotel. The vibe is a typically French and formal Michelin star experience, but the evening view of the city’s lights from high above is amazing. If you want the altitude but not the restaurant bill, you may want to consider a glass of champagne in the adjacent Twenty Third Bar.

Another possibility that meets all the criteria for Valentine’s is Koevoet. It’s located in a typical old Dutch house and very cozy. It’s small and intimate. And it’s Italian. What more can you ask for? Well, most importantly the food is very good! And since I wanted to include at least one restaurant located on a boat, I will suggest De Odessa. De Odessa is docked east of central station opposite of Java island. It’s slightly bigger than the other suggestions, but seated in the body of the ship, just above the water, you will enjoy a nice view of the IJ and the boats passing behind central station.

Since February 14th happens to be a Sunday, Lovefood Amsterdam must be on my list. Lovefood is a weekly brunch that serves the ultimate comfort food on Sunday from 11am until 3pm in Cafe Bax, Ten Katestraat. There are plenty of varieties of eggs on the menu, culminating in THE BEAST, the “ultimate breakfast taking inspiration from the Irish Ulster Fry and the English Full Monty”.

Finally, head over to Puccini Bomboni on Singel and get your sweetheart a large bag of Amsterdam’s loveliest chocolates!

5 thoughts on “Valentine's Day in Amsterdam”

  1. I’m a big fan of Marius and it would be my first choice for a romantic dinner, but they’re closed on Sunday, so for this V-day it’s unfortunately not an option!

  2. Thanks, Klary! Well spotted!

    Had totally forgotten about Marius being closed on Sundays. Maybe a pre-Valentine’s dinner on Saturday night with a glass of champagne at midnight would be an option.

  3. Too bad De Odessa is also closed on Sundays.. :-(.


    zo t/m di gesloten (wel af te huren voor groepen)

    (sunday till tuesday, only open for groupreservations).

    You would wish you had a polygynous relationship..

  4. Wout,

    Really sorry about that – I definitely did a poor job on this article… Amsterdam is hard on a Sunday…

    In case anybody is still looking for a good restaurant that is actually open tonight, try Restaurant As, in a former church in Beatrixpark: http://www.restaurantas.nl/

    Just to be sure: Open Tuesday to Sunday 11am to 11pm.

    Happy Valentine’s.

    –dutchgrub

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