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Dutch Food — What to Eat and What It Costs

Cheese, stroopwafels, fries, and herring — what to eat and what it costs.

Dutch food is unpretentious and cheap: a stroopwafel or a cone of fries costs $3–5, a casual meal $12–20, and Amsterdam also happens to hold more Michelin stars than most people expect. Don't leave without trying raw herring (yes, really), aged Gouda straight from a cheese market, and bitterballen with a beer. Most cafés and food stalls are card-only — carry a contactless card, not cash.

Dutch food has a reputation problem — 'boiled potatoes and not much else' — that it doesn't entirely deserve. Yes, the classics are hearty and unfussy, but there's real craft in the cheese, genuine street-food culture around fries and herring, and a fine-dining scene in Amsterdam that quietly punches above its weight. Here's what to actually order.

Dutch Food: What to Eat and What It Costs
Food

Dutch Food: What to Eat and What It Costs

Cheese, stroopwafels, fries, herring — and what a coffeeshop actually is.

Questions people actually ask

Is Dutch food expensive?
Not really — street food and casual meals are cheap by Western European standards ($3–20), it's mainly restaurant dining in central Amsterdam that gets pricey. Supermarket picnics (cheese, bread, stroopwafels) are one of the best-value ways to eat well on a budget.
What's the most 'Dutch' thing I should try?
Raw herring (haring), eaten the traditional way — held by the tail, dipped in chopped onion, tipped back — from a street stall or fish market. It's the dish locals actually eat, not a tourist invention.
Can vegetarians and vegans eat well in the Netherlands?
Yes — Amsterdam in particular has a strong plant-based scene, and most menus mark vegetarian and vegan options clearly. Halal food is widely available in most cities. The trickier item is bitterballen, which is meat-based by default, though vegetarian versions exist at many bars.