Autumn is not just a prelude to winter, but a symphony of rich flavours that mark the start of a tasteful season. From plump pumpkins and tart apples, to earthy root vegetables and beautiful game. Time to pull out your coziest sweaters and get ready to dive into a season that promises comfort, joy and an abundance of delicious produce. But where to find all this good stuff? We’ve asked some of our team members to suggest some of their favorite places.
First on the list should definitely be the Noordermarkt, a market in the Jordaan neighbourhood, next to the Prinsengracht canal at the Noorderkerk (North Church). Its roots date back to the seventeenth century and the market has been of great importance for the development and flourishing of Amsterdam in the Golden Age. Each Saturday and Monday morning, you’ll find many locals here, sourcing the best seasonal produce such as fruits, mushrooms, nuts and many other delicacies. A very lively sight. Warm up with a hot chocolate or coffee at the closeby Winkel 43 where you can find the best apple pie in town.
Say the words ‘Holland’ and ‘food’ in one sentence one immediately thinks of cheese. Just around the corner of The Dylan you’ll find cheeseroom De Kaaskamer, with whom we have a long standing partnership as our main cheese supplier. In January last year, they joined forces with their neighbours across the street at De Doffer, a brown café where you can often find someone from our team enjoying
a well-deserved beer and a bitterbal after their shift. Together they’ve opened Smelt, pairing the best cheese from De Kaaskamer with the famous Dutch ”gezelligheid” (the warm and cosy atmosphere) of café De Doffer in a fondue restaurant. A lovely spot to enjoy a hearthwarming cheese fondue after a long day of sightseeing: a great Dutch take on the Swiss tradition.
Talking about brown cafés, the start of fall also marks the start of a new season of bock beer, a tradition that originated in the fourteenth century. These rich, dark beers with tones of chocolate, caramel and coffee are the perfect afternoon treat on a cold day. The best cafés to sample a bock beer from draft would be Cafe Gollem, which has six cafés all over Amsterdam, In de Wildeman, located in a former distillery, Café ‘t Papeneiland, a cosy corner-pub with a rich history dating back to 1642, and Proeflokaal ‘t Arendsnest, which offers a large beer selection, sourced exclusively from Dutch brewers.
After taking in the cities’ vibrant brown cafés, and potentially an afternoon nap, its time to head out for dinner. Most of the Amsterdam restaurants feature seasonal menus, of which many now reflect the rich
taste of autumn. Our favorites include Beulings, Verlan, Sinck, Brasserie van Baerle or RIJKS – the restaurant of the Rijksmuseum.
For an introduction to some of our colonial traditions, our recommendation would be to indulge yourself in an authenic Indonesian ricetable, a staple of the Dutch food scene. This rich tradition serves a wide array of dishes in one seating and is even officially classified to be immaterial heritage. Our concierges would be delighted to make reservations at Restaurant MAX in the closeby Herenstraat, Blue Pepper, or at Restaurant Blauw just off Vondelpark, which in our opinion offer the best ones in town.
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