Amsterdam Food Tour: Top 10 Tastings & Canal Walk

Summary

Sample Dutch favorites on foot through Jordaan & canal ring

You’ll walk Amsterdam’s winding streets with a local guide, tasting poffertjes dusted in sugar, spicy chicken saté in a brown bar, and classic Dutch snacks like bitterballen and herring along the canal belt. Expect laughter over mispronounced words and new flavors that surprise you—this tour is as much about sharing stories as it is about eating your way through the city.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Amsterdam food and canal walking tour

• Taste authentic Dutch poffertjes
• Enjoy chicken satay in brown bar
• Try Dutch herbal bitter shot
• Cycle along UNESCO canal belt
• Taste herring and battered cod bites
• Enjoy artisan Dutch chocolate cookies
• Experience Kopstoot jenever and beer
• Eat Dutch bitterballen with drinks

Top questions

How long does the Amsterdam food tour last?

The tour lasts approximately 3 hours as you walk between tastings.

Is there vegetarian food available on this Amsterdam walking food tour?

The main tastings focus on traditional Dutch foods which include meat and fish; vegetarian options may be limited.

Are drinks included during the Amsterdam food tour?

Yes, three drinks are included—alcoholic or non-alcoholic options are available at each stop.

What neighborhoods do you visit during this food tour?

You’ll explore areas like Rokin, Jordaan, De Bijenkorf surroundings, and the UNESCO-listed canal ring.

Can children join this Amsterdam food tasting tour?

This tour is suitable for travelers aged 12 and older; infants can ride in prams or strollers if needed.

Is hotel pickup included in this Amsterdam food tour?

No hotel pickup; you meet at the starting point near Rokin in central Amsterdam.

What are some foods sampled during this walking tour?

You’ll try poffertjes (mini pancakes), chicken saté, herring, battered cod bites, cookies, bitterballen, stroopwafel and more.

Are there bathroom breaks during the tour?

The guide will help find restroom stops along the route if needed; most venues have facilities available.

What’s included

Your day includes all ten top Dutch tastings—from poffertjes to bitterballen—plus three drinks (with non-alcoholic choices), fresh stroopwafel as a bonus treat, and an expert English-speaking guide leading you between each delicious stop across central Amsterdam’s canals and neighborhoods.

What’s the experience like?

I almost missed the start of this Amsterdam food tour because I got distracted by a stroopwafel stand outside Rokin. Our guide, Sander, found me mid-bite and just grinned—apparently, that’s not the worst way to kick off a day of eating. We set off with the group, shoes squeaking a little from last night’s rain. The city was waking up: bikes everywhere, the smell of coffee drifting out of brown bars (those cozy old pubs), and Sander already teasing us about who’d be brave enough to try herring.

The first real stop was these poffertjes—tiny pancakes that somehow manage to be both fluffy and dense at once. Powdered sugar stuck to my fingers and I didn’t care. Someone in our group tried to pronounce “poffertjes” properly; Sander laughed so hard he nearly dropped his plate. We wandered through Jordaan after that, past crooked houses and windows filled with tulips. At one bar we squeezed into a corner for chicken saté with peanut sauce—Indonesian roots but totally Dutch now. There was this herbal liqueur too (kruidenbitter?), sharp and spicy in a way I didn’t expect. My throat burned but in a good way.

I’ll admit: I hesitated with the raw herring. It looked…slippery. But Sander showed us how locals do it—with onions, head back—and honestly? Not bad at all. The battered cod bites were more my speed though, hot and crispy straight from the fryer. By then the canal ring was busy; boats gliding past, someone playing accordion somewhere nearby. We stopped for cookies (chocolatey, soft) before trying this thing called a kopstoot—a shot of jenever chased with beer—which is apparently tradition here if you want to feel like an Amsterdammer for five minutes.

Bitterballen came last: crunchy outside, molten inside, perfect with another sip of beer while we all compared notes on our favorite bites. I still think about those little pancakes though—maybe because they felt like pure comfort on a chilly morning when my shoes were still damp.