Leidseplein Restaurants
In and around Leidseplein, restaurants are very easy to find. From well-appointed, classy dining establishments, through cheap and cheerful meal deals in tourist focused eateries to grabbing a cone of vlaamse frites (chips) on the street, getting something to eat here is always easy.
High End Leidseplein Restaurants
For high end dining, there are a number of Leidseplein restaurants that jump out as truly deserving a visit. Café Americain, in the Eden Amsterdam American Hotel that sits right on the square, has been a fixture of Amsterdam since 1902 and serves an excellent menu in elegant, Art Deco surroundings. On Sundays, Café Americain's famous Jazz Brunch offers a great atmosphere for good food and live music, although this does not run during July and August.
Just across the canal is another very well regarded Amsterdam restaurant in the form of the Blue Pepper at Nassaukade 366. This Indonesian restaurant does not come cheap but the food is top class, the wine selection dazzling and the surroundings stylishly intimate. On the opposite side of Leidseplein, Restaurant Thijs in the Dikker & Thijs Hotel on Prinsengracht serves high quality Mediterranean cuisine and Italian wines to go with the picturesque canal view.
Affordable Leidseplein Restaurants
If your wallet is a bit lighter and you are looking for some more affordable Leidseplein restaurants, then you really are in the right part of town. Korte Leidsedwarsstraat, which runs across Liedsplein's northern edge, and the streets radiating from it are packed to bursting with Chinese, Italian and Argentinean restaurants, many of whom offer meal deals and substantial discounts in order to get ahead of the stiff competition. A quick browse of the boards outside each restaurant lets you know what's on offer, but be sure to walk down the street a bit as the deals often get better the further from Leidseplein you travel.
One great example of a value for money restaurants that also serves good quality food is Pizzeria Il Palio on Leidsekruisstraat, where every tasty choice on the menu is EUR 5 and the service is friendly and personable. For something slightly more expensive but still affordable, Zorba De Griek across the street serves an excellent selection of Greek food, while the ever popular Rancho Argentinean Grill sits just off Leidseplein and offers discounts with the iAmsterdam card.
Fast Food at Leidseplein
Sometimes you just want to grab a quick bite and carry on with your day, and Leidseplein has no shortage of fast food restaurants to let you do just that. You haven't properly been in Amsterdam until you have paid a visit to Febo, the most truly Dutch fast food experience there is. Here, rows of burgers and croquettes sit behind coin operated hatches ready for passersby to grab them and go. The food here is understandably cheap and the trick is to arrive just as the hatches are restocked with fresh items.
Nearby, Chipsy King is a minor Amsterdam fast food chain with two locations serving cones of vlaamse frites with any topping from the famous mayo to green peppercorn as well as some hunger-busting lunch deals. Maoz, right next door, is a must for vegetarians and anyone who enjoys an unlimited salad bar with their top notch falafel. During much of the winter months, fast food stalls also dominate Leidseplein square itself, selling hotdogs and other snacks.