Being 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the sea, Amsterdam was hardly anyone's choice for a beach holiday until sand was tipped on the artificial islands of IJburg, where 45,000...

This brasserie is housed in the oldest covered terrace in Amsterdam. As you might guess, it harks back to classier times, but what's more surprising is its embrace of the...

All of Amsterdam - students, tourists, lesbigays, cinema-goers, the fashion pack - come here for lunch, coffee or something stronger all day long, making it sometimes difficult...

District V not only offers a good and economical French-inspired daily menu, but sells the locally designed plates, cutlery and tables it is served on. The patio is a lovely...

A takeaway - with a few chairs - with superlative soups, sandwiches, salads and meals. Ask for a fork and hit a canalside bench.

Service at this teashop is friendly but can tend to be on the slow side. Everything is freshly made, though, so forgive them: cakes, scones and muffins are baked daily on the...

A bit of a lost opp, truth be told. While its modern French 'with a twist' cuisine is reasonable, it remains more about the location than anything else: a wooden church - once...

Hipsters make the trek to the unlikely environs of a Ukrainian fishing boat for the fusion food and the revamped interior. The vibe is 1970s James Bond filtered through a...

This transformed old ferry in the Western havens - amidst a neighbourhood of students living in revamped shipping containers - is all-round intriguing, if a bit out of the way.

Still trendy after all these years, and great for a market pit-stop or bar crawl kick-start. Inside is sleek and pared down in style - like the punters. If full, try Finch next...

Thought to be haunted, this Jugendstil monument now hosts its upteenth eatery in the form of a Japanese café, complete with lovely terrace, teppanyaki pyrotechnics and sushi...

Through the large windows of this cubic building you get great views of the eastern docklands. Come for soup and sandwiches by day and a daily menu of Mediterranean dishes by...