Amsterdam Budget Eats

A lot of people hear the phrase "city break" and automatically assume that it's going to be very expensive and sometimes that thought wouldn't be wrong. City breaks can get extremely expensive if you don't budget properly and plan your trip carefully and one of the things that can end up costing you a small fortune is food. You could easily spend every penny you have on meals in the city so it's essential that you think carefully about what you plan to eat while you're there. If you have enough money to eat in posh restaurants for every meal then that's great (and lucky you!!) but for most of us, especially us students, we're travelling on a tight budget and need to find the best street food around that's quick, cheap and tasty. Luckily, Amsterdam is rife with this kind of food and these are just a few of my favourite places for cheap but tasty food! Plus, as I'm vegetarian and Jess and Karl who I've been to Amsterdam with are meat eaters, all of these places are suitable for both.

N E W  Y O R K   P I Z Z A

Pizza is always a good idea no matter where in the world you happen to be and New York Pizza is everywhere. We came across loads of these whilst walking around the city and they're perfect for grabbing a slice of pizza for lunch in between plans or on a night on your way back to the hotel. It's a couple of euros for quite a bit slice of pizza and they boast a huge variety of pizzas. I opted for a veggie with mushrooms, peppers and olives whilst Jess had a pepperoni and it only came to around €6 for both slices and a can of pop. Definitely a great option for keeping your purse a bit happier!

C R E P E S   A N D   W A F F L E S 

If you've been to Amsterdam then you'll already know that the streets are absolutely full of amazing cafes serving the best crepes and waffles you've ever tasted and the very aptly named Crepes and Waffles was one of our breakfast stops. Located on one of the streets just off Dam Square and serving homemade crepes and waffles with a mahooosive selection of toppings, it's the perfect place to fill your stomach before a long day exploring the city. I had the crepes with banana, toffee, cream and nuts whilst Jess had the Nutella and banana crepe and they were delicious and really cheap for the amount of food we got. The great thing about having a big breakfast like this is that it means you won't have to stop for lunch until late afternoon, giving you more time to explore and saving you money as a quick light bite will be quite sufficient after having this to start the day! 

L A   P I A Z Z A  P I Z Z E R I A 

If you're looking for a cheaper, sit down restaurant, La Piazza Pizzeria is located right on Dam Square and is a small but really tasty restaurant, perfect for an evening meal. The main courses start at around €8 and can get up to around €15 depending on what you order so if you order a pasta or pizza rather than a chicken dish you can keep the cost down. I had a vegetarian lasagne which was absolutely delicious and Jess had a tomato pasta with chicken. It's also really central with it being in Dam Square so it's easy access no matter where you're staying. 

D O L C E   &   G E L A T O

Yep this is the cafe with those Nutella chairs and it is amazing. Every time I upload a photo of the chairs people ask where they are so I knew I had to include this. There are a few Dolce & Gelato cafes around Amsterdam but the best one with the most of these wonderful chairs is located in a street just off the main street of the Red Light District so it's easy peasy to find. It costs around €8 for a gigantic Nutella crepe and a cup of tea so it's really cheap too and of course, the Nutella focus makes it a must.

T H E   P A N C A K E   B A K E R Y 

This one was a little gem that Jess came across and oh boy, am I glad she did as we ended up going back again the next day. The Pancake Bakery os located just up from Anne Frank's House. Leaving the main entrance, turn right and keep walking and it's a tiny little shop front on your right. This one is a little bit more pricey than the rest of the pancake cafes but it's worth the extra couple of euros for the amazinggg food. They offer sweet pancakes like the lemon and sugar ones that we opted for, but also offer savoury pancakes with cheeses, meat and veg and although I cannot ever get my head around savoury pancakes, they seemed to be extremely popular while we were in there. If you're a little bit tired of pancakes, they do offer other breakfasts too. I had scrambled eggs for my breakfast the second time we went and they were delishhhhh!

P A S T A   P A S T A 

This was one of the places that Karl and I visited last year in the summer and it was one of my favourite places for a cute little sit down meal. A little Italian restaurant, again just off Dam Square, Pasta Pasta offers a menu of pizza and pasta with a twist; you build your own pasta dishes. I'm a sucker for anything like that and love it when menus cater to different tastes, especially when it's at reasonable prices too! Of course this means that you can choose to have vegetarian dishes or meat dishes and completely alter the dish until it fits your needs. Perfect for couples like me and Karl who never agree on food!

Amy x