One Perfect Day in Amsterdam — From Morning Pancakes to a Midnight Speakeasy
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From morning pancakes to a midnight speakeasy — a route we've walked a hundred times.
Full disclosure, before anything else: this guide is written by the family behind the four restaurants in it. We are exactly as biased as you'd expect — so we've kept the promises small and specific, added the places we love that we don't own, and put our name on every word.
Start where the batter hits the pan
Since 2016 we've done one thing every morning: fluffy American pancakes, savoury toasts on Louf sourdough, fresh slow-juices and proper coffee — with hip-hop on vinyl in the background. Halal-friendly, vegan options, walk-ins only. Come before 10:00 on weekends or embrace the line; it moves. Full menu at MOAK City Center.
You're two minutes from the Waterlooplein flea market (Mon–Sat) and the Rembrandthuis. Do the market first, museum second — the light in Rembrandt's etching room is better before noon. Neither is ours; both are great.
A moment of calm, whisked by hand
Inside our City Center restaurant stands a small Japanese matcha bar run by Saki, who grew up in Shizuoka between the tea fields. Single-origin ceremonial-grade matcha, whisked with a bamboo chasen in front of you — and a matcha tiramisu served in a hinoki masu box that has quietly become the thing people cross the city for.
Walk it off along the Amstel, or tram south to De Pijp: the Albert Cuypmarkt runs until 17:00 and Sarphatipark is the neighbourhood's living room. You'll end the night in this area anyway — scout your barstool early.
Sixteen courses of trust
Omakase means handing the evening to the chef. At our counter that trust is taken seriously — seasonal fish, precise rice, no menu, no shortcuts, and once a month a Tuna Festival built around a whole bluefin. A documentary about the restaurant, Becoming a Temple, premieres this September. For menus, dates and reservations, see omakaseamsterdam.nl.
It's a ten-minute wander from dinner to your nightcap. Take the long way past the canals on Ferdinand Bolstraat — De Pijp after dark is Amsterdam at its most itself.
The speakeasy under the pancakes
Beneath our De Pijp restaurant hides Bar Mokum — classic cocktails with a local twist, built on Dutch-distilled spirits, with small plates and old-fashioned table service. Named for what Amsterdammers call their own city. Come in your everyday clothes or all dressed up; Mokum doesn't do pretentious. Ask about the cocktail workshops by World Class Bartender Leroy Soumokil.
This guide is published by the family behind MOAK Pancakes, Matcha Atelier, Omakase Amsterdam and Bar Mokum. The restaurants are ours; the neighbourhood tips are simply places we love. We'd rather be openly biased than secretly convincing.
Amsterdam & Utrecht