De Pijp, Albert Cuyp Market and What to Eat in Amsterdam

A ten-minute walk east of Museumplein takes you into De Pijp ("The Pipe"), built in the late 19th century with long, narrow brick streets to house workers during Amsterdam's industrial expansion. Later home to students, artists and Surinamese, Moroccan and Indonesian families, it is now the city's best daytime market district and evening restaurant neighbourhood.

Walking the Albert Cuyp Market

Running along Albert Cuypstraat from Monday to Saturday, the Albert Cuyp Market is the largest daytime street market in the Netherlands. Come between late morning and mid-afternoon and graze your way from west to east:

• Freshly pressed stroopwafels: forget supermarket packets; buy one made in front of you on a hot iron press, split horizontally and filled with warm caramel syrup while the wafer is still crisp.
• Poffertjes: tiny, fluffy buckwheat pancakes cooked in a dimpled cast-iron pan and served hot with a curl of butter and powdered sugar.
• Aged Gouda and sheep's cheeses: Dutch cheese stalls let you taste difference between young creamy jonge kaas and crystalline 36-month-aged oude kaas before vacuum-packing wedges for your flight.
• Surinamese roti and sandwiches: step off the market strip into the side streets around Ferdinand Bolstraat and Gerard Douplein for spicy chicken roti rolls, speciality coffee bars and peaceful greenery in compact Sarphatipark.

Five Amsterdam food traditions not to miss

1. Hollandse Nieuwe herring (haring): lightly cured raw North Sea herring served with chopped onions and gherkins at street kiosks (haringhandels) near bridges such as Singel and Vijzelgracht. The new catch season starts in June; ask for it cut into bite-sized pieces with a little flag (in stukjes) or in a soft white roll (broodje haring).
2. Bitterballen and mustard: crisp, deep-fried beef ragout croquettes served piping hot alongside cold beer in every traditional brown café in the Jordaan. Bite a small hole to let the steam out before dipping in coarse mustard.
3. Indonesian rijsttafel ("rice table"): a Dutch-Indonesian feast of 12 to 20 small sharing dishes (beef rendang, peanut satay skewers, coconut vegetables, sambals and pickled cucumbers) served around steamed rice. Book dinner a few days ahead in De Pijp, Oud-West or near Leidseplein.
4. Kibbeling: chunks of battered, deep-fried white fish dusted with herb spice and served hot with garlic or remoulade sauce at market fish stalls.
5. Twice-fried Dutch friet: thick-cut chips served in a paper cone with mayonnaise, peanut satay sauce and raw onions (patatje oorlog).