Private dining in Amsterdam can mean a chef’s table for four inside a two-star kitchen or a shipyard warehouse in Noord that takes a thousand guests.
The gap between those two bookings is settled by group size long before it is settled by taste.
Below are dinner venues with genuine private rooms, sorted by the size of the party, with the capacities each venue publishes and a link to its own private dining page.
What To Establish Before You Book
Start with the headcount and whether anyone has to speak.
A room set for a seated dinner and a room set for a presentation are usually the same room turned round, and turning it round mid-evening is a request you make in advance.
Ask whether the private room is genuinely separate.
Several rooms on this page are described by the venues themselves as semi-private, which is fine for a birthday and less so for a confidential conversation.
Ask how the price is built.
Many rooms are let against a minimum food and drink spend rather than a flat hire fee, so ask for the menu price, the drinks arrangement and the minimum as three separate numbers.
Location decides how the night ends.
Anything at NDSM in Amsterdam-Noord is reached by ferry from behind Centraal, so check the last crossing before you book rather than after.
Private Rooms For Up To 20 Guests
Restaurant 212 on the Amstel holds two Michelin stars and has a private dining room in its wine cellar for groups of up to ten.
The room serves a five-course chef’s menu and can be booked online up to seven days ahead; see Restaurant 212 in our directory.
Ciel Bleu is on the 23rd floor of Hotel Okura at Ferdinand Bolstraat 333 and has held two Michelin stars since 2007.
Its Chef’s Table sits inside the kitchen for groups of four to nine, and The Starlight, a private room with panoramic views on the same floor, takes eleven to eighteen; it is also in our directory.
Vinkeles at The Dylan on the Keizersgracht cooks modern French and has been Michelin-starred since 2009.
The Barbou room seats up to fourteen, a patio table takes eight for semi-private dining, and the whole restaurant can be booked on request; read more about Vinkeles in our directory.
De L’Europe on Nieuwe Doelenstraat has an intimate private dining room for up to twelve, styled on a nineteenth-century canal house dining room.
Its gilded Prince’s Room takes 24, and every event room is on the ground floor; the hotel is also in our directory.
De Kas cooks inside a greenhouse in Park Frankendael, and its Garden Room seats thirteen to twenty with a view over the garden.
The restaurant says plainly that the glass walls are not soundproof, so you will hear the dining room, which makes it a celebration room rather than a boardroom; see De Kas in our directory.
Jansz. at the Pulitzer has three Copper Rooms up a winding staircase above the restaurant, plus a semi-private area overlooking the Keizersgracht for up to seven.
The same hotel’s Saxenburg Room, behind a private entrance on the Keizersgracht, has a hand-painted ceiling and a garden view; find Jansz in our directory.
Cecconi’s at Spuistraat 210 cooks Northern Italian and has a compact private dining room next to the main restaurant that seats 14.
Beside the restaurant, The Allis Rooms take 80 seated or 200 standing, and their two rooms can be hired singly or together; see Cecconi’s in our directory.
Grachten Restaurant turns a classic saloon boat into a private dining room that glides through the historic centre.
Its Undine takes eight, and the Ritz and the Tzar take twelve each; see Grachten Restaurant in our directory.
Aemstelland also runs private dinner cruises on classic salon boats, with its crew welcoming the guests and setting the route through the canals.
It is listed as Rederij Aemstelland in our directory.
Private Dining For 20 To 80 Guests
Jaap’s Private Dining takes over a historic ballroom on the Herengracht’s Gouden Bocht for one group at a time, from six to forty guests.
It is the one venue here that publishes a price: €200 per cover for five courses, wine pairings, service and the table setting, with the exact address given on booking.
Brasserie Ambassade at Herengracht 341 serves private dinners for up to 32 in the Wolvecamp Lounge or up to 20 in the Alechinsky Lounge, both with canal views.
The hotel holds a provisional request for up to five business days, which is useful while you collect replies; it is in our directory.
Secret Garden on Reguliersdwarsstraat has a Garden Room for 40 seated or 60 standing, with its own bar and cocktail station.
That makes it the pick on this page for a dinner that turns into a party without changing rooms; see Secret Garden in our directory.
Kaagman & Kortekaas on Sint Nicolaasstraat runs its Private Dining as a separate restaurant for up to 32 guests, with its own open kitchen.
A dedicated brigade of chefs and its own waiters work only for that room; see Kaagman & Kortekaas in our directory.
The Lobby Fizeaustraat at Hotel V in Amsterdam-Oost has two event rooms, The Private and The Palm, for a dinner, a board meeting or a cocktail party.
The Private is 96 square metres with conservatory doors looking onto the restaurant, and The Palm is 116 with its own bar; find The Lobby Fizeaustraat in our directory.
The Hoxton at Herengracht 255 runs its private hire as The Apartment, four rooms of different sizes with an open kitchen and an open-air courtyard.
The rooms take six, six, fourteen and 36 people, the largest opening onto the courtyard, and a semi-private spot above Lotti’s holds 30; the hotel is in our directory.
Pillows Maurits at the Park occupies a 1908 university building at Mauritskade 61, between the canals and the Oosterpark.
Its salons take a reception of 60 or a dinner of 44, the restaurant seats 70, and a rooftop terrace handles drinks, so a whole evening can stay in one building; see Pillows in our directory.
Blue Pepper at Nassaukade 366 cooks Indonesian rijsttafel in a fine dining style and runs city-centre private dining venues for twelve to 75 guests.
Its art gallery-style room suits 20 to 36, and larger groups move to two other central venues; find Blue Pepper in our directory.
Restaurant Vermeer has been in the NH Collection Barbizon Palace at Prins Hendrikkade 59-72 since 1988, opposite Centraal, under chef Sebastian Baquero Garces.
The restaurant takes group reservations and private event enquiries directly, and its wine room, Vermeers Wijnkamer, sits in the same building for drinks before or after.
The Dylan on the Keizersgracht opens its Regents and Ariana rooms for up to 80 at a seated dinner, with a Vinkeles-inspired menu or the chef’s menu.
The former Regents’ office overlooks the canal, and there is more on The Dylan in our directory.
Large Groups And Whole-Venue Hire
IJver fills a 100-year-old ship shed at the NDSM shipyard and has separate spaces for parties of five to a thousand.
De Boeg holds up to 60 with its own bar, or 34 at a sit-down dinner, and combined with Het Achtersteven it seats 120; parking outside is free from 7pm.
Hotel Okura brings the two-star Ciel Bleu team into its Grand Ballroom for dinners of 120 to 400 guests; the hotel is in our directory.
Blue Pepper also runs dinner cruises on antique sailing boats for eight to more than 250 guests, with exclusive use of the boat for your group.
The Dylan’s Regents and Ariana rooms take up to 250 for an informal walking dinner, and the Pulitzer’s light-filled Garden Room takes up to 120.
De Kas can be hired exclusively for up to 140 people, which turns the whole greenhouse into your dining room.
The Waldorf Astoria on the Herengracht has seven event rooms, the largest being the canal-view Hooft Ballroom at 80 for a banquet or 120 for a reception.
Its restaurant is now Goldfinch Brasserie, and the Vault Bar in the building’s historic vault works for drinks afterwards; see the Waldorf Astoria in our directory.
More Ways To Plan The Evening
For a work dinner without a room of its own, our business dinner restaurants guide sorts tables by what each one solves.
Planning a birthday or a party for thirty rather than a seated dinner, the small celebration venues guide names spaces that take small groups.
For a conference that ends with a group dinner, start with how to book an event venue in Amsterdam.
If the private dinner is only part of the night, our wine bars guide covers where to go before or after.
And for a wider search, browse our guide to eating out in Amsterdam, the French restaurants guide, or the directory of Amsterdam restaurants, French restaurants and hotels.
Eating out instead?
Our guide to Christmas dinner in Amsterdam lists menus, prices and how to book.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Amsterdam restaurants have a private dining room?
For small groups, Restaurant 212 has a wine cellar room for ten, Vinkeles has the Barbou room for fourteen, Cecconi’s has a room for 14, De L’Europe has a room for twelve, and Ciel Bleu’s Starlight takes eleven to eighteen.
For twenty to forty, look at Brasserie Ambassade, Secret Garden, Kaagman & Kortekaas, The Hoxton’s Apartment and Jaap’s Private Dining.
Which venues take a private dinner for a large group?
IJver at NDSM takes up to a thousand across its spaces, Hotel Okura’s Ciel Bleu dinners in the Grand Ballroom run to 400, and Blue Pepper’s dinner cruises go beyond 250.
The Dylan takes 250 at a walking dinner, De Kas can be hired whole for 140, and the Pulitzer’s Garden Room takes 120.
Which Michelin-starred restaurants offer private dining?
Ciel Bleu and Restaurant 212 both hold two stars and both have private rooms, and Vinkeles at The Dylan has been starred since 2009 with its own private room.
How much does a private dinner in Amsterdam cost?
Most venues quote on request, often with a minimum spend, so the price depends on the day and the menu.
Jaap’s Private Dining is the exception that publishes a figure: €200 per cover, including five courses, wine pairings and service.
Is a private dining room always fully private?
No, and the venues say so themselves.
De Kas’s Garden Room is behind glass walls that are not soundproof, the Jansz. area overlooking the canal is semi-private, and The Hoxton’s spot above Lotti’s is described as semi-private, so ask for a closed room if the conversation is confidential.
How far ahead should I book?
Book as early as you can for December and spring weekends, when the single-room venues go first.
Restaurant 212 opens its cellar room for online booking up to seven days ahead, and Brasserie Ambassade will hold a provisional request for five business days while you decide.
