By Vicky Hampton
If I were to pick one region’s cuisine to eat for the rest of my life, it would likely be the Middle East. Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Iran, Israel, Lebanon – all these countries were once part of the Ottoman Empire and all have similar climates, which probably explains the similarities in their cuisine. It’s varied, full of herbs and spices, and with a great balance of sharing dishes (meze, mezze, mazzeh, mazze, spell it how you will) and grilled meats and fish. Plus, due to immigration from these parts of the world to the Netherlands, it’s a cuisine that’s well represented here. There are literally hundreds of Middle Eastern restaurants in Amsterdam, but these are 10 of my favourites.
Parts of this post are taken from my Amsterdam Restaurant Guide. Want to find out more about Middle Eastern restaurants plus all the other cuisine Amsterdam has to offer? Download the guide here:
Makom
Opening in De Pijp only a few weeks ago, this newcomer is serving some of the best Israeli food I’ve come across. Nothing fussy or complicated – just very good quality, well executed. Both Makom’s interior and their terrace have a relaxed neighbourhood vibe, and the bar is well stocked. But it’s the kitchen that really excels. From the cold dishes on the menu, I particularly enjoyed the beetroot with tahini, and the silky sweet roasted peppers with feta and oregano. But really everything was good. From the hot dishes, you must try Makom’s kebabs: fragrant minced lamb, cooked pink in the middle, with homemade zhoug and labneh, served on flatbread. Finish your meal with a negroni or a mint tea (depending on which type of digestif you prefer!) and you’ll have yourself the perfect evening.
Fenicie
Don’t be put off by Fenicie’s Leidseplein location – its Lebanese mazza is definitely catering to a local crowd. Fenicie is a slick-looking establishment with a lounge atmosphere, great for a night out. Food-wise, the mazza sharing platter is plenty for two people and comes in at €32.50 per person, including plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. Think: silky hummus, smoky aubergine with pomegranate seeds, crunchy fatoush salad and creamy labneh. I particularly enjoyed their spicy muhammara (red pepper and walnut paste) contrasting with the cooling chicken salad. Wash it all down with a bottle of Lebanese Syrah for the perfect accompaniment. Editor’s note: the staff were also exceedingly tolerant of our little dog!
Disclaimer: I was invited to both Makom and Fenicie – which means they knew who I was and they didn’t let me pay the bill. But I’ll be going back to both of them as a regular paying customer!
Bar Mitts
Mitts is a cosy little place on the Javastraat, with natural fabrics covering cushioned benches and greenery adorning the walls. The mezze-style menu is designed to be shared, and the fact that no single dish costs more than €10 makes it highly affordable, too. Dishes are split into a longer list of veggie options and a shorter list of meat ones, of which we tried what felt like a representative sample. Roasted beetroot with burrata and pistachio nuts was creamy and wintry, while grilled broccolini with tahini and za’atar tasted fresh and healthy. Meanwhile in the meat department, two small kofte-style lamb kebabs were possibly my favourite dish: served with a spicy tomato and herb salsa and more tahini. Pulled chicken with hummus, pecan nuts, pomegranate seeds and herbs was also delicious, especially when piled onto pillowy pitas. If you can resist the cocktail list, Mitts is a good option for those on a budget.
BARDAK
Speaking of cocktails, BARDAK is a fantastic little bar/restaurant in de Pijp to drink them! As well as the tasty yet unpronounceable Oaxaca Delight (a tequila, lime and pineapple concoction that was, indeed, delightful), we tried several dishes off the “street food” menu. Aubergine was pleasantly smoky, with crunchy nuts and seeds, creamy yoghurt, and fragrant dill – a good combination of tastes and textures. The arais were flavour pockets of minced-beef pita, served with three contrasting dipping sauces – tahini, green chilli and herb sauce, and amba (a sort of pickled mango condiment). Fried cauliflower with lemon and tahini was about as moreish as it sounds (definitely one for the Ottolenghi generation), while chicken thighs with freekeh came with more tahini and had a similarly lemony flavour profile. It was all lovely in its own right, but a little more contrast between the dishes would’ve been welcome.
Bar Fisk
Bar Fisk is a combination of Middle Eastern flavours, ultra-fresh fish, and killer cocktails. The food is designed to be shared but is larger than tapas-sized portions. Highlights for me were the corvina tartar, which was essentially a cross between ceviche, tabbouleh and smoky aubergine: literally three of my favourite things on one plate. Mackerel (cured rather than cooked) was served with roasted cauliflower, chilli and tahini sauce: again, there were so many of my best-loved ingredients here that I couldn’t fail to love the dish. Squid came with earthy beetroot salad and crunchy roasted pecan nuts. Golden fried sardines arrived swimming in a peppery dressing atop a marine blue plate. And pan-fried bream fillets were served simply with some roasted garlic, toasted almonds and yoghurt. For me, it’s the combination of Middle Eastern flavours and fresh Mediterranean ingredients that really sets Bar Fisk apart.
De Aardige Pers
Warning: do not eat for at least four hours (more if you can manage it – I can’t) before stepping foot inside De Aardige Pers. There’s no way you’re getting out of there anything other than food-baby full. With the fasting out of the way, start by ordering the trio of starters – the chef’s selection – all top notch. Then move onto the grilled meats: simple but perfectly cooked kofte kebabs, chicken thighs, lamb loin and so on – all served with fragrant saffron rice and grilled tomatoes. De Aardige Pers isn’t fancy looking, but the food is more than decent and the prices extremely reasonable (we paid €30 each for everything I described above plus plenty of wine).
Ali Ocakbaşı
With a gorgeously decorated interior and excellent service, Ali Ocakbaşı is a classy establishment for a night out. Their selection of starters is brought around in a giant basket from which to make your choice. My favourite was the çiğ köfte: finely minced raw beef with bulgur wheat and chilli, hand moulded into sort of knobbly cylinders. Eat them wrapped in lettuce leaves with a squeeze of lemon. Delicious. But the rest is great, too!
Orontes (West)
With two locations in Amsterdam, Orontes on the Albert Cuypstraat and Orontes West on the Hugo de Grootplein pay homage to the Antakya region of Turkey. They import hard-to-find products from the area and cook them up into excellent dishes, including succulent lamb skewers, aromatic aubergine, and mixed grills cooked over charcoal. Nesip Can’s wine selection is wonderful, too.
Hummus Bistro d&a
Now with two locations, Hummus Bistro d&a serves officially the best hummus in Amsterdam – in variations involving falafel, chicken, siniya (minced lamb) and many more. In addition to the hummus, I also loved their shakshuka, stuffed aubergine, and a plethora of little side dishes that were either spicy or pickled or both. The service was friendly, the prices reasonable, and the wine flowing.
Beyrouth
Its name a riff on the Lebanese capital, Beyrouth has been a favourite Amsterdam restaurant for as long as I can remember (owner Kamal Estephan opened it in 1990 when I was just 10). The range of mezza here is huge – you can pick from separate dishes or order a selection of as many as 10 or 15 – so I usually fill up on those alone. Their tabbouleh was perfect: green and grassy with oodles of fresh herbs.
Also worth a mention…
For excellent, affordable manouche (stuffed and rolled flatbreads), try the Lebanese Sajeria in the Jordaan and on Utrechtsestraat. For Turkish mezze and grilled meats, try Maydanoz, and for its Kurdish equivalent, try Zagros – both in de Pijp. For Syrian food, try Sham in the Red Light District and now with a second location in West. And for high-quality group dining (the venue is huge!) check out NENI on Stadionplein. You can also search for Middle Eastern restaurants by location and price via my restaurant finder.
Looking for more than just Middle Eastern restaurants in Amsterdam? Download my comprehensive Amsterdam restaurant guidebook here.
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