Well-priced set menus in Amsterdam

Madre

Nestled in the vibrant Jordaan, this modern Mexican restaurant offers an affordable plant-based dining experience. For €44 per person, you can indulge in a Chef’s Choice menu brimming with fresh, locally sourced Mexican delights. Other highlights include table-side guacamole, chipotle mole cauliflower ‘wings’, spicy beetroot-hibiscus tostadas, and smoky mezcal margaritas. The stunning décor, inviting atmosphere and attentive service make Madre a must-visit for vegans and adventurous omnivores alike.

Tip: pop in for Taco Tuesday and grab two tacos and a margarita for €23.50.

Madre | Westerstraat 186 BG, Jordaan

Sampurna

Founded over 35 years ago, this Canal District classic on the Flower Market keeps going strong. Its a la carte offerings and rijsttafels (from €27.50) celebrate old family recipes in a gilded interior that pays subtle homage to Indonesian culture. Highlights include ayam goreng kering (fried chicken with chilli sauce), beef satay with spiced soy sauce, mango salad, and daging rendang (beef stewed in Sumatran coconut sauce). The fresh and fluffy spekkoek is the best traditional take in town.

Sampurna | Singel 498, Centrum

A Beautiful Mess

Head to The Refugee Company’s charming restaurant to support the organisation’s learn-work programmes while enjoying fairly priced Middle Eastern and North African food. For refugees, it's a first step in the Dutch labour market and a chance to learn the language and regain a sense of normalcy. For you and me, there's a generous spread of moreish mezze for €28.50 per person. This includes soup, salad, a couple of house dips such as labneh, hummus or smoky moutabel with saj flatbread, as well as platters of colourful roast vegetables and two meat or fish dishes such as flavourful lamb merguez with yoghurt-dill sauce or aromatic Iraqi chicken slathered with 14 spices. Conveniently situated next to Centraal Station in a glass-fronted building along the Oosterdokskade, it’s a great first – or last–stop if you’re trying not to blow your budget.

A Beautiful Mess | Oosterdokskade 227, Centrum

Café Cress

Based in a fast-developing part of Noord, this newcomer offers a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere with friendly service and affordable internationally-inspired food and European wines. Chefs Cyril Martineau and Niamh Groentjes craft a weekly changing menu (€38.50 for three courses) from fresh market produce, blending French and Asian influences. It’s all very family-friendly, complete with games for children, a pet-friendly policy and a large, south-facing terrace that gets the sun all day.

Café Cress | Johan van Hasseltkade 322, Noord

Tiny Danser

The folks behind Box Sociaal bar-restaurant, Winestories natural wine shop and the former Alex + Pinard wine bar have created this easy-breezy new Italian bar and trattoria. Go for the aperitivo hour, the extensive natural wine list or house cocktails such as the Caprese Straight Up (€13), a boozy take on the classic Italian combo. Stay for chef Ricardo Russo’s Italian-international cuisine, like seabass crudo with salted lemon (€14), bone marrow with brioche, anchovies and gremolata (€16) and tender-crisp seasonal greens (€8), or order the affordable menu del giorno (€39 for three courses with bread).

Tiny Danser | Dapperstraat 10, Oost

Chez Nina

This modern vegetarian neo-bistro, with globally inspired all-day seasonal shared dining, remains popular with Amsterdam’s fashionable plant-based crowd. You’ll find an eclectic collection of colourful plates (€39 for four dishes), including crowd-pleasers like peanut bucatini with makrut lime, pesto and vegan cream, aubergine melt with gremolata, sesame, pickled chilli and smoked tamarind-tomato relish and panna cotta caprese with tomato jam and basil glaze. There is also a good selection of wines and cocktails.

Chez Nina | Van Limburg Stirumplein 10A, Westerpark

Café Binnenvisser

This reborn brown café in West is a convivial spot to meet friends and tuck into the five-course chef’s menu. It’s generally a selection of exciting veg-led dishes (€41-43, depending on the ingredients). Alternatively, order the whole à la carte menu for the table, to share. Wash it down with a glass of natural wine – there’s a decent selection sourced from small-scale producers. Tip: you may have to wait for a table since the restaurant has a walk-ins-only policy.

Café Binnenvisser | Bilderdijkstraat 36, Oud-West

Hotel de Goudfazant

This vast warehouse-turned-restaurant (there’s no hotel in sight) is tucked away in the former Stork industrial complex. Its hard-to-find status has only added to the allure, but the area’s become quite the culinary destination for foodies in the know. The “golden pheasant” continues to deliver the good, honest food it’s become known for, like perfect poussin (whole rotisserie-roasted baby chicken served with rhubarb-apple compote, Roseval potatoes and green beans) and a Med-led menu (three courses for €43.50) with classics such as steak tartare, risotto nero and molten chocolate cake.

Hotel de Goudfazant | Aambeeldstraat 10H, Noord

Elo Food Based

This recently opened BoLo-based restaurant deserves attention for its chef’s singular style. Renata Szeles, a Vinkeles** and Aan de Poel** alum, is known to combine lesser-known Brazilian ingredients with European cooking techniques in delicious dishes like duck in tucupi (fermented cassava sauce) with tapioca pearls, tarragon oil, tingly jambu flower, whipped goat’s cheese in guava sauce, and a white chocolate and cacao nib crumble (€49 for four courses).

Elo Food Based | Admiraal de Ruijterweg 331H, Bos en Lommer

Café Rijsel

Situated in a former school, Rijsel’s spartan 60s interior with an impeccably kept open kitchen is just as no-nonsense as its Northern French-Flemish food. Rijsel is, after all, the Flemish name for Lille. Revered by local foodies for classics such as Breton fish soup and rotisserie chicken, an excellent wine list, and superb service, you’re always in good hands at this Eastside culinary mainstay (€50 for three courses).

Rijsel | Marcusstraat 52B, Oost