5 Unique Restaurants You Must Visit In Amsterdam

Besides its outstanding Dutch and international restaurants, Amsterdam also features a number of unconventional establishments that take dining to whole new level. These quirky, unusual and unique restaurants have their own distinctive charms guaranteed to delight anyone looking for an exceptional dining experience. We’ve put together our hand picked list of the best unique Amsterdam restaurants to visit.

* REM Eiland Restaurant

During the 1960s, this towering offshore platform stood in the North Sea and was owned by a Dutch pirate radio and TV station that used it to broadcast transmissions into the Netherlands. Soon after this operation began, the Dutch government changed the law to make this type of broadcasting illegal, then sent a task force to raid the platform and shut down the station. In the early 2000s, this now-infamous rig was towed to Amsterdam’s Houthaven docklands, fixed in place, and converted into a restaurant. Though it has been renovated in order to meet modern culinary demands, the platform still features many industrial elements from its time in the North Sea, including old broadcasting equipment and its original metal flooring.

* Mediamatic ETEN

Almost every dish available on Mediamatic ETEN’s menu include vegetables and herbs that were grown inside an on-site aquaponics greenhouse. This innovative facility uses symbiotic processes to cultivate plants and fish in the same environment, creating an agricultural system that uses considerably less water, space and energy than regular greenhouses. Mediamatic ETEN mainly serves vegan meals and any dish that contains animal products is clearly marked on its menu. Its menu changes according to the season, but usually centres around small, mezze-like dishes and artisanal vegan pizzas. The restaurant is part of a larger cultural organisation called Mediamatic, which hosts events and exhibitions related to sustainability inside its stunning, high-tech headquarters on Dijksgracht.

* Dinner Train

After hopping on-board this rolling restaurant, guests are taken on a breathtaking tour through the Dutch countryside and presented with high-end brunch or diner meals. The train departs from Amsterdam’s Centraal Sation several times every day and travels through Holland’s stunning hinterlands, passing by tulip fields, dikes, and windmills. During these tours, guides are on-hand to point out specific landmarks and explain the ins and outs of each route. Every meal served on-board the Dinner Train is inspired by traditional Dutch cuisine and contains ingredients grown within the Netherlands. The dinner train also caters to private parties and can accommodate up to 150 passengers.

* MOON

Amsterdam’s only revolving restaurant spins atop A’DAM Tower on the northern side of the river IJ. Its revolving dinning area circles the tower’s 19th floor and stands almost 100 metres above sea level. Many of Amsterdam’s most iconic landmarks are visible from this height, including the Oude Kerk, the Royal Palace, and Vondelpark. Aside from incredible panoramas, the restaurant offers guests the opportunity to order from a high-end gourmet menu that features many classic dishes, from contemporary European to international cuisines.

* Restraurant de Kas

This stunning, high-end restaurant in Amsterdam-Oost has an expansive, on-site greenhouse and bases its menu around its nurseries’ current harvest. Although it has since been renovated into several different areas dedicated to dining, cooking and crop cultivation, the structure that houses Restaurant de Kas was originally built for agriculture and still features massive, plate-glass windows that reflect its history. The restaurant exclusively offers a table d’hôte menu – inspired by classic Mediterranean cuisine – that changes every day but will alter its selection to accommodate dietary requirements when necessary. While it is always worth experiencing Restaurant de Kas’ monumental dining room, it is also possible to enjoy meals outside on its spacious terrace during the warmer months of the year.