Brunch and Breakfast in Amsterdam: Where to Go and What to Order

The Dutch breakfast: what locals eat in the morning

Bread, hagelslag and cheese

A Dutch breakfast fits on one plate: slices of bread or rolls, butter and a topping laid on top. The one visitors know best is hagelslag, chocolate sprinkles (dark, milk or white) scattered over a buttered slice; its cousins are vlokken, chocolate flakes, and muisjes, sugar-coated aniseeds traditionally served on rusks when a baby is born. Sliced cheese, young or matured gouda, is the other everyday topping, along with ham and jam.

Two more classics appear on café menus: the krentenbol, a currant bun often eaten with cheese, and ontbijtkoek, a soft spiced breakfast cake eaten plain or buttered. It all comes with a coffee or a koffie verkeerd, the Dutch version of a caffè latte, or a glass of milk or buttermilk (karnemelk).

Cheeses and where to buy them are covered in our guide to Dutch cheese in Amsterdam, and the city's other specialities in our guide to what to eat in Amsterdam.

The uitsmijter, a lunchtime classic

The uitsmijter is the quintessential café dish: two or three fried eggs laid over slices of bread, with ham, cheese or both (uitsmijter ham-kaas), often served with a little salad. People order it late in the morning or at lunch, and it is often the most filling and least expensive option on a brunch menu. Many cafés let you add a topping (bacon, tomato, mushrooms) for a small extra charge.

Pannenkoeken and poffertjes

Pannenkoeken are large, thick pancakes the size of the plate, topped with apple, cheese, bacon or simply icing sugar and syrup (stroop). On their own they make a full brunch. Poffertjes, small puffed pancakes served with butter and icing sugar, are more often shared as a dessert or afternoon snack. Specialist pancake houses serve both, often with gluten-free or vegan versions, and also offer American-style pancakes.

Appeltaart, for an afternoon break

Dutch apple pie, tall and spiced with cinnamon, is ordered with whipped cream: ask for it "met slagroom". It is not a breakfast dish, but many visitors fit it in at the end of brunch or in the afternoon, with a coffee.

Where to have brunch, neighbourhood by neighbourhood

Jordaan and Noordermarkt

Winkel 43, Noordermarkt 43 (1015 NA), is a corner café in the Jordaan, on the square around the Noorderkerk, known across the city for its apple pie. It opens at 7am on Monday and Saturday, 8am from Tuesday to Friday and 9am on Sunday; the kitchen serves breakfast and lunch from 8am to 3pm. The café takes no reservations at all. On market days, Monday and above all Saturday, the terrace fills up fast: come at opening time or in mid-afternoon.

The best plan is to combine the pie with the Noordermarkt market: on Saturday, the organic produce stalls let you taste cheese, bread and fruit before sitting down at the café.

The Nine Streets and around the station

Pancakes Amsterdam opened its first branch in 2007 at Berenstraat 38, right in the heart of the Nine Streets, where it opens daily from 9am. It serves savoury and sweet pannenkoeken, American pancakes and gluten-free, lactose-free and vegan options. Two more branches are near Central Station: Pancakes Amsterdam Centraal, Prins Hendrikkade 48, open daily from 8am to 5pm, and Aan 't IJ, De Ruijterkade 35, open from 8am, right next to the ferries to Noord, which also serves poffertjes. Bookings are made online, and payment is by card only.

For a pancake house set in a canal-side building, our guide to what to eat in Amsterdam also covers The Pancake Bakery on the Prinsengracht.

De Pijp and the eastern centre

Bakers & Roasters is a brunch café with two branches, open the same hours: 8.30am-3pm Monday to Friday, 8.30am-4pm on Saturday and Sunday. The first is in De Pijp, Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat 54 (1072 BH), a few streets from the Albert Cuyp market; the second is in the centre, Kadijksplein 16 (1018 AC), near the Oosterdok harbour. The café is mainly walk-in: you join its online waiting list on the day. Only the Kadijksplein branch accepts a limited number of reservations. Both branches close on King's Day, 25 and 26 December and 1 January.

A little further east, Dignita Hoftuin, Nieuwe Herengracht 18a (1018 DP), serves all-day brunch in the Hoftuin garden, a short walk from the H'ART Museum. It opens from 9.30am to 4pm on weekdays and from 9.30am to 4.30pm at weekends; the kitchen closes at 3pm on weekdays and 3.30pm at weekends. You can book on its website. The restaurant is linked to the Stichting Dignita foundation.

Oud-West and De Hallen

In the former tram depot of De Hallen, the Remise47 bistro, part of Hotel De Hallen, is open daily from 7am to 2pm, and the Kanarie Club serves coffee and breakfast bowls from the morning. The Foodhallen, on the other hand, only open at noon (until 11pm): they work for lunch, not breakfast.

The Vondelpark is about ten minutes' walk from De Hallen. After brunch, you can stroll to the Groot Melkhuis, Vondelpark 2, a grand café on the spot since 1874, with a large terrace and a playground, open daily from 10am to 8pm.

Westerpark

On the edge of Westerpark, at the entrance to Cultuurpark Westergas, the Stadscafé, Haarlemmerweg 8, opens daily from 7am and serves breakfast from opening time. It is the earliest address in this guide, handy before a walk in the park or a look at the industrial buildings of the Westergasfabriek. The area is covered in our guide to Westerpark and the Spaarndammerbuurt.

Amsterdam-Noord and NDSM

On the north bank of the IJ, Van de Werf, NDSM-kade 2 (1033 PG), opens daily at 9am and serves breakfast from opening time, with a view of the water. Take the free F4 ferry from the back of Central Station, then carry on with the street art and studios of the former shipyard: see our page on NDSM Amsterdam-Noord and our guide to Amsterdam-Noord.

Opening hours, booking and payment

• Opening hours: brunch cafés open between 8 and 9.30am and close between 3 and 4.30pm; the kitchen sometimes stops an hour before closing. Neighbourhood cafés open earlier, sometimes from 7am.
• Weekends: on Saturday and Sunday between 10am and 1pm, the well-known places often have a queue. Arrive at opening time, or after 1.30pm.
• Booking: many brunch cafés take few or no reservations, and work with an online waiting list (Bakers & Roasters) or no booking at all (Winkel 43). Pancake houses and larger cafés, such as Pancakes Amsterdam or Dignita Hoftuin, take online bookings: use them for a group or on a Sunday.
• Payment: cards are accepted almost everywhere, and some places, such as Pancakes Amsterdam, refuse cash. Tipping customs are explained in our guide to money, payment and tipping in Amsterdam.
• Public holidays: check opening hours on King's Day (27 April) and between Christmas and New Year, when several cafés close.

How much breakfast costs

The prices on the Winkel 43 menu give a good idea of what a neighbourhood café charges:

• Ontbijt special (croissant, yoghurt, bread roll and boiled egg): €10.50
• Uitsmijter: €8, plus €1.50 per extra topping
• Krentenbol with cheese: €6
• Cheese tosti (toasted cheese sandwich): €5
• Slice of apple pie: €5.30, or €6.30 with whipped cream

At Pancakes Amsterdam, deals combining a pancake, toppings and a drink cost €20 to €34 at the Centraal branch. To fit these meals into an overall trip budget, see our guide to the cost of a trip to Amsterdam.

Summary table

Opening hours and prices checked in October 2026 on the venues' official websites.

Further reading

To try the city's other specialities, from herring to bitterballen, read our guide to what to eat in Amsterdam. Brunch at Winkel 43 leads naturally into a walk around the Jordaan, and brunch at Bakers & Roasters into a morning at the Albert Cuyp market with our guide to De Pijp.