A good food tour in Amsterdam does something a restaurant cannot: it walks you through a neighbourhood and explains why the food there tastes the way it does.
This is a city where a single street can offer Indonesian rijsttafel, Surinamese roti, Turkish pide and a herring cart, and where the most Dutch thing on the menu might be a slice of apple pie in a brown café that has not changed since the 1970s.
The catch is that Amsterdam has a lot of food tours, and they are not remotely interchangeable.
Some are four and a half hours of serious eating across seven stops.
Some are a seated tasting where you never leave the room.
Prices run from around €55 to well over €200.
Below is what each of the main operators actually does, what it costs, and who it suits — researched from the operators themselves rather than from listing sites.
Before you book: five things that decide whether you enjoy it
Neighbourhood. This matters more than anything else.
De Pijp and the Albert Cuyp Market give you the multicultural city — Surinamese, Indonesian, Turkish, Moroccan.
The Jordaan gives you the postcard version: brown cafés, cheese, apple pie, herring, canal views.
Neither is better, but they are genuinely different days out.
Length. Two and a half hours is a tasting.
Four and a half hours is a meal, a history lesson and a long walk.
Be honest about which you want, especially with children or anyone who tires easily.
Walking or seated. Almost every tour is a walk.
One is not — which makes it the obvious choice in filthy weather or if walking for hours is not realistic for you.
Group size. Between 8 and 12 is normal.
Smaller groups mean the guide can actually answer your questions and small venues do not get overwhelmed.
Dietary needs. Every operator listed here will accommodate vegetarians if you tell them when booking.
Vegan, halal and gluten-free are usually possible but need more notice — a tour built around herring, cheese and apple pie has limited room to improvise.
Ask before you pay.
Hungry Birds
The long-running De Pijp specialist, and the one to pick if you want to eat properly rather than nibble.
The Original Street Food Tour runs four and a half hours across seven or eight stops for €110, working through De Pijp and beyond.
It is a lot of food and a lot of walking, and it leans into the multicultural side of the city rather than the tourist-brochure Dutch classics.
If that sounds like too much, the Short Flight covers similar ground in three hours for €79, including the Albert Cuyp Market.
There is also an Eastside tour through Amsterdam Oost at €110, and a self-guided cycling route from around €55 to €67 if you would rather do it at your own pace without a guide (bike hire is separate).
Best for: serious eaters, the multicultural city, anyone who thinks three hours is not enough.
Eating Europe
The most polished operation, and the one with the widest range.
Their Jordaan Food Tour is three hours, six stops, maximum twelve people, from €119 — cheese tasting and the traditional apple pie, in the prettiest part of the city.
Two variations are worth knowing about.
The Amsterdam Breakfast Tour is two and a half hours in De Pijp for €78, with a maximum of eight people, and includes making your own stroopwafel — the best option here for families.
And Food & Canals combines a walking tour with a canal cruise over three and a half hours from €149, which is a lot of money but does solve two sightseeing problems at once.
Best for: first-time visitors, classic Dutch food, and anyone who wants the canal trip out of the way at the same time.
Amsterdam Food Tours
A boutique operator working mostly in the Jordaan, with an unusually strong history component — this is the one where you learn why the Dutch eat what they eat, not just what to order.
The Grand Dutch Food & History Tour runs four hours for €119 with a maximum of eight guests, taking in fresh herring, apple pie, Indonesian satay, and Dutch wine with farmhouse cheeses.
Shorter and cheaper is Highlights of Dutch Food & History: two and a half hours, from €76, four Dutch bites and three local drinks.
At the other end, a walking-and-boat tour runs four and a half hours from €174, and a full countryside day to Zaanse Schans, Edam and Monnickendam runs six hours from €230 with hotel pick-up.
Best for: small groups, people who want context as much as calories, and anyone considering a day trip out of the city.
Secret Food Tours
An international brand with a solid Amsterdam edition: three hours in the Jordaan, five to six stops, maximum twelve people, €89.99.
Expect herring, kibbeling and poffertjes, plus one “secret” dish the guide does not reveal until you are standing in front of it.
It sits usefully in the middle of the market — cheaper than Eating Europe, shorter than Hungry Birds, and central enough to slot into a packed sightseeing day.
Best for: a decent tour at a mid-range price without committing half a day.
Girl with a Pearl Travel
The most personal option on this list.
It is run by Lauren Comiteau, a journalist who has lived in Amsterdam for decades, and the tours are as much about shopping as eating — where locals actually buy their cheese, fish and bread.
There are two tasting-and-shopping walks, one through the Jordaan and the Nine Streets (herring, apple pie, specialty food shops) and one through De Pijp and the Albert Cuyp Market.
A separate Dutch cheese and wine tasting runs two and a half hours, pairing organic Dutch cheeses with Dutch wine — which more people should know exists.
Prices are not published; you enquire directly.
That is worth knowing before you plan around it, but it also means the tours can be shaped around what you actually want.
Best for: repeat visitors, food shopping, anyone who has already done the standard walking tours.
Dutch Experiences
The odd one out, and genuinely useful for it.
This is not a walking tour at all — it is a seated tasting at a canal house on Keizersgracht, where twelve Dutch specialities, sweet and savoury, arrive at your table while a presenter takes you through Dutch history from the first settlements to the present day.
Jenever, beer, wine, soft drinks, tea and coffee are all included.
In a city where it rains a great deal and most food tours involve three hours on your feet, a heated room with tables and chairs is not a compromise.
It is the right answer for bad weather, mixed-age groups, and anyone for whom a long walk is not realistic.
Best for: rain, families, limited mobility, and cold January afternoons.
Dutch Food Tours
The budget entry, with tours running between one and a half and four hours and prices starting around €57 when their discount is applied.
Standard drinks — beer, soft drinks, tea and coffee — are included, and groups are kept small.
Best for: keeping the cost down, or a short taster if you only have a morning free.
One that is often listed as a food tour but is not
You will find Amsterdam and You recommended on food tour round-ups.
It is a well-reviewed three-hour walking tour of the old centre, the canals and the Jordaan, run by a guide called Jerry, and people enjoy it — but food is incidental to it rather than the point.
If you want history and highlights, book it.
If you want to eat, book something else on this page.
Practical advice
- Book ahead. The small-group tours cap at eight to twelve people and sell out in summer, often a week or more in advance.
- Do not eat first. This sounds obvious and people ignore it. A four-and-a-half-hour tour with seven stops is lunch and dinner combined.
- Wear real shoes. Amsterdam’s cobbles and bridges are unforgiving, and you will be on them for hours.
- Check what the price includes. Most tours here include all food and drink, but “from” prices are the cheapest date, not the price you will pay on a Saturday in July.
- Tipping. Not obligatory, but 10% for a guide who has fed and entertained you for four hours is normal and appreciated.
- Book direct. Every operator above links to its own site. We take no commission and there are no affiliate links on this page — booking direct is usually cheaper than going through a resale platform, and it is the operator, not a middleman, who answers if something goes wrong.
- Prices change. Everything above was checked directly with the operators in July 2026. Confirm on their own site before booking.
Prefer to explore on your own?
A tour is a good introduction, not a substitute for wandering.
Our own guides cover eating out across the city, the bakeries worth queueing at and where to find a proper brunch.
If you would rather build your own route, our directory covers restaurants across the city, including the kitchens that make Amsterdam worth eating in: Indonesian, Surinamese, Turkish and Middle Eastern.
You will also find every tour operator in the city listed there.
And if you want a starting point that costs nothing: walk the length of the Albert Cuyp Market on a weekday morning, buy a herring, a stroopwafel made in front of you, and a paper cone of Surinamese bara.
That is a food tour too.
Related guides
- Amsterdam Japanese and Sushi Restaurants: A Local Guide
- Where to Eat Chinese Food in Amsterdam
- Where to Eat Mexican and Latin American Food in Amsterdam
