8 romantic restaurants in Amsterdam for the best date night

Amsterdam is a great place to celebrate a special occasion or even go on a first date with someone you've met there while staying in a backpacker's hostel. There's no arguing that Amsterdam is a romantic city. Its canals, its tree-lined streets, its colorful architecture, and its cafe culture combine to make it a fascinating place to be, but is that enough when you want to go on a date night? No, it's not. 

You don't need to be stuck for date night ideas in the capital of the Netherlands, as there are almost as many romantic restaurants in Amsterdam as there are bicycles. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but there's one thing that's certain, and that is you won't need to resort to staring at still-life paintings of food in the Van Gogh Museum to entertain your date.

What you do need to know is where the most romantic restaurants in Amsterdam are and what they serve. There's such an amazing choice of restaurants for a romantic dinner that you'll be hard-pressed to decide which one to go to. Whether you want a fine dining restaurant that serves classic French cuisine or has an a la carte menu, an authentic Italian restaurant, a peaceful restaurant hidden away down a back alley, or one where the menu features produce grown locally, you'll find it. You'll even come across a greenhouse-style summer restaurant with a beautifully lit glass conservatory for a dining room that is truly ultra-romantic.

When you arrive at your selected rendezvous, whichever of the following restaurants it may be, you'll want to be greeted with a smile, not your date's face grimacing because you've made a clumsy entrance loaded down with bags. That's hardly romantic enough to make anyone scowl. Keep the romance fresh by dropping your excess belongings at one of the Bounce luggage locker facilities in Amsterdam. Your bags will be safe, and so will you - safe from ruining your date.

Moeders

If you're hoping to take your date somewhere with romantic and intimate décor, then you should take a look at Moeders. This restaurant is unique, although it might not initially appear so from the outside, wait until you walk through the door.

At Moeders, the walls of the spacious dining room are completely covered with poems, photographs, and ceramic tiles with quotes all about mothers. If your date turns out to be short on conversation, at least you'll have something to look at and read.

This restaurant serves classic Dutch dishes made just the way Dutch mothers have been making them for years, so think casual dining restaurant rather than a fine dining restaurant. It won't be just a meal, though, because what better food of love is there than something made from a mother's recipe?

Our recommendation

Go totally traditional and start with a bowl of Dutch green pea soup that's topped with bacon and sausage. Follow the soup with Dolly's beef stew, and even if your date doesn't go as planned, you'll have been well-fed.

Location

Rozengracht 251

Price level

$$

Restaurant de Kas

If the idea of taking your date to eat in a greenhouse piqued your interest, don't worry, you don't need to go out to the tulip fields of Amsterdam to do it. All you need to do is book a table at the Restaurant de Kas.

The enormous and beautifully lit glass conservatory of this delightful establishment promises airy surroundings and an equally awe-inspiring meal. It's one of Amsterdam's most romantic restaurants not just because it's beautifully lit at night but because, as long as it's not cloudy, you can see the star-studded sky through the glass roof.

This restaurant offers a menu created under the farm-to-table ethos that has garnered it several premium accolades. They don't serve a la carte here but offer a five-course dinner paired with either wine, organic beer, or kombucha. The tasting menu at Restaurant de Kas is prepared with modern cooking techniques and is a seasonal one, so it's fixed. Whatever is on it is what you get.

Our recommendation

Go here if you like vegetables. They do serve dishes with meat and fish, but it's their fresh homegrown produce that star in the dishes.

Location

Kamerlingh Onneslaan, 3

Price level

$$$

Moon

For romantic dining in Amsterdam, Moon is hard to beat. This restaurant, located on the 19th floor of the A'DAM Tower, will take your date night to an entirely new dimension in more ways than one. The sleek décor of this restaurant is particularly smart, but you probably won't even notice it, and not just because your gaze will be fixed on your date either.

Not only are there incredible views of Amsterdam from the glass-walled dining room, this restaurant slowly rotates through 360 degrees so they're panoramic, and you get views of the historical and monumental area too.

You'll definitely have a fancy dinner here as this is a restaurant serving three, four, five, six, and even seven-course seasonal tasting menus created by a top chef. Vegetarians are well catered for here, too, as this restaurant offers a full-tasting Green Moon menu consisting of six thoughtfully created vegan dishes.

Our recommendation

Book a table well in advance of your date night, or you won't get one. Make sure your credit card has a healthy balance. You'll need it when it's time to pay the bill.

Location

Overhoeksplein 3

Price level

$$$$

Incanto

When you're considering which of the romantic restaurants in Amsterdams to take your date to, you shouldn't overlook Incanto. It's perfect for a summer date night because, while the interior dining is ultra-modern and lacks a romantic atmosphere, this restaurant has a second-floor terrace overlooking a canal near Amsterdam's famous flower market which can be quite handy if you want to buy some flowers. That terrace is the perfect place for a romantic dinner.

The southern Italian cuisine this restaurant serves isn't your typical spaghetti carbonara, lasagna, or even pizza you'll come across in many Italian restaurants. At Incanto, they offer a seasonally changing menu of exquisite dishes with Italian-inspired flavours that would tempt the most refined gourmet palate. What is traditional Italian is the offering on an a la carte menu with four individual courses, although you don't need to eat them all.

Our recommendation

The four-course chef's menu is excellent value for money and consists of delightful dishes worth enjoying with a good bottle of wine. There is an additional charge for wine pairing, but you won't regret paying for it.

Location

Amstel 2

Price level

$$$

Ciel Bleu

The Ciel Bleu at the Hotel Okura Amsterdam is a beautiful place for a romantic dinner. This restaurant located on the 23rd floor is beyond elegant, so make sure to dress right for the occasion if you plan on eating here.

The dining room has floor-to-ceiling windows, so to say the views of the Amsterdam skyline at night are terrific would be an understatement. It's almost, but not quite as breathtaking as the food. Ciel Bleu has been awarded two Michelin stars, so don't expect to be served hearty plates of Dutch cuisine because you're not going to get them. Ciel Bleu's menu is not a menu. This restaurant creates a sublime food experience based on international cuisine, so be prepared for a flavor sensation as well as an evening of romantic dining.

Our recommendation

If you can't get a table at Ciel Bleu, then try its sister restaurant Yamazato, which offers elevated Japanese cuisine. It's also in the Hotel Okura and is a Michelin-star restaurant so you won't be disappointed with the substitution.

Location

Ferdinand Bolstraat 333

Price level

$$$$

The White Room

One of the best romantic restaurants in Amsterdam is The White Room. If you weren't able to see Dam Square from this restaurant's dining room windows, you could be forgiven that you'd died and gone to heaven. The ultra-white walls, columns, tablecloths, and curtains all decked with gold, plus the chandeliers certainly give this place with its opulent art nouveau décor a celestial look.

At The White Room, they only serve an a la carte menu two days of the week, usually Wednesdays and Thursdays. The rest of the dinner services are a set tasting menu created by a three-Michelin star chef that covers just about every culinary possibility imaginable. You can expect to be presented with dishes like razor clams in lemon balm, kingfish in smoked dashi, and red mullet with smoked eel. There's also a vegetarian version of the tasting menu that lacks absolutely nothing either.

Our recommendation

You can make your date at The White Room even more special by turning it into a private dining experience and having your meal in a Dam View Suite.

Location

Dam 9

Price level

$$$$

Je T'aime Brasserie

Love will definitely be in the air if you take your date to the Je T'aime Brasserie, an atmospheric winter restaurant tucked away down a side street in Amsterdam's city centre. It's an intimate restaurant, not one of your run-of-the-mill neighborhood restaurants, with a dining room, decked out with plush red furnishings inspired by the Moulin Rouge that also has a sidewalk terrace ideal for outdoor summertime dining.

Everyone is welcomed with open arms at Je T'aime Brasserie, as it is one of the gay-friendly restaurants in Amsterdam. Here they offer a French international menu featuring classic French food like lobster or beef fillet prepared in a variety of ways as well as plenty of other tried and tested dishes that make for a delicious meal. They also serve a special Valentine's menu, which goes really well with the deep red décor that's perfect for the most romantic evening of the year.

Our recommendation

Book a table for two, go early, drink cocktails, enjoy your meal, and stay late listening to the romantic French music they play. It's the perfect end to a romantic night.

Location

Reguliersdwarsstraat 49

Price level

$$

Pasta e Basta

Pasta e Pasta might not be a Michelin-star restaurant, but it gets the big thumbs up for providing romantic dining with a difference. This Italian restaurant not only serves up quality Italian cuisine at a very reasonable price, but the serving staff also put on a show while they do it too.

It's the place to book a table if you're worried your date conversations might be a little awkward because conversation won't matter too much here. Every so often, the waiters, who are professional singers, burst into song. It could be a pop ballad, a jazz song, or even an operatic aria, but sing, they do and very well too.

The dinner service might be a show in its own right, but that doesn't mean the food takes second place. At Pasta e Basta the menu is second to none and created from fresh seasonal produce. The emphasis is on shared dining at this restaurant, and the three and four-course menus start with antipasti and are followed by a superb selection of meat, fish, and pasta dishes.

Our recommendation

If you have any musical talent at all, forget stuffing yourself with Italian food. Grab the mike, get up, and serenade your date. It'll be the perfect end to a perfectly romantic night.

Location

Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 8

Price level

$$

Conclusion

If you have no singing talent and no money for an expensive date, skip romantic dining and go for these options instead. Have a couple of drinks in one of the rooftop bars in Amsterdam city centre, then treat your date to some of the city's best street food. One word of advice, though. Skip pickled herrings, they make your breath smell and go for something like kibbeling, which are fish nuggets, or a pork-stuffed broodje instead.