Amsterdam: Dutch Food & Canal Walk with Wine Tasting

Amsterdam food tour highlights: dishes sampled and guide-led stops

You walk through Jordaan and along the canals in a group of eight or fewer, stopping at six local spots to taste Dutch apple pie, cheese, sausage, herring, and bitterballen. A guide with deep Amsterdam roots handles the route and the introductions at each stop, so you're welcomed rather than rushed. Plan for three hours of walking and standing, with reserved seating at three of the stops and a private wine tasting included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Dutch food tasting and history tour

• Taste homemade Dutch apple pie
• Try Indonesian satay at Lindengracht market
• Pick three farmhouse Dutch cheeses
• Enjoy Dutch wine tasting with cheeses
• Sample Dutch herring, fried cod, smoked eel
• Conclude with traditional bitterballen at historic site

The experience

So you're standing in a brown café with a plate of homemade Dutch apple pie in front of you, and the guide is already laughing about how tourists always expect it to be sweet. It's not, not really, it's more about the butter and the apples and the fact that someone made it that morning. That's how this tour starts, and it sets the tone for everything after. You're in the Jordaan, which is the neighborhood where actual Amsterdammers live, not where the tour buses go, and the group is small enough, eight people max, that you're not shuffling along behind a flag or a raised umbrella.

The stops change depending on the day you book. Saturday mornings hit the Lindengracht market for Indonesian satay (the Dutch connection runs deep, former colony, still on the plate), then a boutique deli for three farmhouse cheeses, then a private speakeasy room for wine pairings. Tuesday through Friday you get smoked beef sausage from a 130-year-old family butcher, the same cheese stop, the wine room, and then the fish shop where you try herring, fried cod, and smoked eel. The tour ends at the old Dutch West India Company headquarters (the building that basically founded New York) now serving traditional bitterballen and Dutch beer. It's the kind of detail that sticks with you, the way history is just sitting there in the architecture, and the guide mentions it while you're eating something fried.

The guides have been in Amsterdam for at least 15 years, most of them longer. They're not reading from a script. They've got relationships with the shop owners and the café staff, which means you get seated without waiting and the owner sometimes comes out to talk about what you're eating. One stop has reserved seating and a bathroom, then another, then another: they've thought about the logistics. The walking between stops is maybe 20 minutes total, spread across three hours, so it's not a march. If the weather turns bad, everything moves inside and the route tightens up. You get soda, coffee, tea, and whatever alcohol is part of the tasting: beer or wine or nothing, depending on what you want.

The catch is dietary restrictions. They can work with most things if you tell them when you book, but vegan doesn't work here. This is a tour built around Dutch cheese, sausage, fish, and pastry. If that's your situation, it's worth asking, but go in knowing the menu is meat and dairy forward. For anyone else, the tour is three hours of walking through neighborhoods where you'd actually want to spend time, eating things you wouldn't find on your own, and hearing stories from people who actually live here.

What’s included

• Your three hours include six food tastings at local specialty shops, cafés, and restaurants: Dutch apple pie, cheese, sausage or fish (depending on the day), a private wine tasting with cheese pairings, and bitterballen at the final stop.
• Coffee, tea, soda, and alcoholic beverages are included.
• The guide handles all the introductions and route planning, so you just show up and eat.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day5 departure times: the first at 10:15, the last at 13:45

Book up toStart time

AgesAdult (18 and older) · Youth (12 to 17 years) · Child (6 to 11 years) · Infant (under 6)

GroupUp to 8

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends at a different place from where it starts.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather or if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Low physical effortPets welcomePublic transport nearbyNot recommended with heart problems

Operated by Amsterdam Food Tours

Is this one for you?Right for travelers who want to eat like a local without figuring out which shops to visit or how to order. The guide and the relationships do that work. Expect three hours of walking and standing with breaks built in. That's what makes six quality tastings fit into one morning or afternoon.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (12 to 17 years); Child (6 to 11 years); Infant (under 6).

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What's included in the price?

All six food tastings, drinks (coffee, tea, soda, and wine or beer at the tasting), and the guide. You don't pay separately at each stop.

How long is the tour?

Three hours total, with about 20 minutes of walking spread across the stops.

What if I have a dietary restriction?

Most restrictions can be accommodated if you mention them when booking. Vegan diets are not suitable for this tour, as the menu centers on cheese, sausage, fish, and pastry.

Is the group always the same size?

Maximum 8 guests, so it stays small and unhurried.

What's different about Saturday, Sunday, and weekday tours?

Saturday includes the Lindengracht market and herring; Sunday and Monday feature Indonesian spekkoek and shrimp croquettes; Tuesday–Friday have sausage from the butcher and the fish shop.

Do I need to be fit for this?

You need to be able to walk and stand for up to 20 minutes at a time. It's not recommended for people with poor cardiovascular health, but it's suitable for most fitness levels.

What happens if the weather is bad?

All tastings move inside, and the walking distances between stops are shortened.

Are there bathrooms?

Three of the six stops have reserved seating and bathrooms available.