De Bolhoed (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

After spending six days in Paris, we took the Thalys train to that wild place up north called Amsterdam for the last three days of our honeymoon.  We stayed at an, um, interesting bed and breakfast, just a 10-minute walk from Amsterdam Centraal Station, where we would have breakfast every morning next to a larger-than-life-size wooden statue of a nursing mother with particularly prominent, um, female parts.  (Only in Amsterdam!)  In terms of food, while a plethora of dining guides are available for Paris, Amsterdam is not as well known for its cuisine, so our Rick Steves book was pretty much our only source of restaurant suggestions on this leg of our trip.

Luckily, Rick Steves had some strong recommendations.  On our first night, we took a short walk from our bed and breakfast to De Bolhoed, which means "Bowler's Hat" as it used to be a hat shop, but now serves as a health-centric vegetarian eatery.  The restaurant takes up the bottom floor of two adjacent buildings; a sign with a hat is visible above the storefront on the right.  Across the sidewalk is a small outdoor patio, which was occupied when we got there, but we scored a super cute window seat by the corner inside, so all was well.  The interior decor is bright, eclectic, with a lot of character; I tried not to be "that tourist" snapping photos of the diners there, so I was only able to get in a few interior shots.

De Bolhoed

Outdoor patio

Our cute corner table by the window

Inside De Bolhoed

Inside De Bolhoed

Some of the day's specials on a chalkboard

I had the "vegan dish of the day," which was an exquisite platter consisting of tofu in tomato white wine sauce with green peas and sweet corn; white beans with roasted mushrooms, capers, and fresh coriander; carrot and beetroot salad with tzatziki; roasted veggies with homemade aioli; couscous with roasted red bell peppers, and a side salad.

Vegan dish of the day

L.O.V.E.

R. had the platter called "North African," I think, which he enjoyed quite a bit also.

The "North African"

In short, it was a fabulous first meal in Amsterdam.  We loved De Bolhoed.  What a neat introduction to the city!

Restaurant info:
De Bolhoed
Prinsengracht 60, 1015 Binnenstad, The Netherlands
+31 020 626 1803


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Our honeymoon food adventures are archived here.