Our recommendations
COFFEE & CAFES
Monks - good for brunch
Grammes
Coffee & Coconuts - good for brunch
Scandinavian Embassy
Cafecito
Cafe Peltz Negen straatjes
LUNCH & DINNER
General & Central
Pizza Beppe (multiple locations)
Five fat brothers (multiple locations) - modern tapas
Little Collins (multiple locations) - great option for brunch
Ron's gastrobar
West & Jordaan
REM restaurant - very cool fine dining restaurant on an old radio tower in the water
Restaurant MAX (Indonesian)
Foodhallen
Gertrude
Toscanini
Pesca
De Pijp & South
Lulu's pizza
Miri Miri - modern Indian fusion restaurant with cocktail pairings
Bam Boa
Restaurant Floreyn
Mana Mana
Restaurant JA
Grahams kitchen
Il Cavallino
East
Box Social - Brunch
De Kas - organic greenhouse restaurant
4850
Noord
Bacalar (Mexican)
Coba (Mexican)
Barracuda (Seafood)
Pllek
We actually recommend avoiding the centre! Or go for a quick visit to see the obligatory red light district and weed cafe's if you've not been to Amsterdam before. BUT, the best parts of Amsterdam are the non touristy bits! Staying around the canal rings and the different neighbourhoods is the best way to get a feel for the city (e.g. Joordan, Old West, De Pijp, South around Vondelpark)
The Jordaan and the Negen Straatjes are beautiful parts of Amsterdam. We highly recommend going for a mooch around here - it's full of lovely cafe's, boutique shops and pretty canals.
If you have time on Saturday morning, there is Noordermarkt, a lovely farmers style market with loads of food, costmetics and vintage clothes. You can also stop in at Cafe Winkel for the Amsterdams best apple pie (trust me - it's amazing, and I don't even like apple pie much)
If you're into second hand and vintage shopping and small independent stores, take a walk down the Haarlemmerstraat, just above Jordaan.
Canal tours are a great way to see the city and get a feel for the history. We recommend Pure Boats for a more intimate and in depth tour, rather than the large touristy ones.
Anne Franks house is definitely worthwhile, however you should book about a month in advance as it gets booked up. Van Gogh's museum is also great. There are lots of designer and high end shops around the museums.
In general, renting bikes and riding around is a great way to see the city. Vondelpark is beautiful, as is the area just outside around Cornelis Schuytplein.
If you are around the city for awhile and fancy a bit more nature, you can bike down through the South of the city to the Amstelpark, all the way down the Amstel river to Oudekerk aan de Amstel, a small beautiful little town with great restaurants. It's a very scenic and pleasant ride.
People also swim a lot in the open water in the summer. A lovely swimming spot is just south of the city in Swimming Nieuwemeer.
It's also easy to take day trips out the city, as the Netherlands is a small country with great train connections. Utrecht is lovely, as is Haarlem and with a beach very close by (Bloemendaal aan Zee). A great day trip is biking from Amsterdam, stopping in Haarlem for brunch, and biking on to the beach from there.
Some useful websites: