With their authentic Middle Eastern stuffed pitas and soups
having gained a huge fanbase via their food truck, pop-ups and a
stand at Market 33, in Amsterdam South, Pita Queen’s founders,
Rutger Stout and Mohamed Mahraoui, have now set up shop in two
bricks-and-mortar spaces: one in the Zuidas district and the other
here. All the menu iterations, from charmoula tiger prawns and
falafel specials to tasty tagines and warming bowls, are homemade,
organic and halal, with a dedicated app making ordering takeaway a
cinch.

Taking a grand space and then installing an eatery that feels
fancy but whose remit is sending out perfectly executed comfort
classics has become something of a Hoxton trademark, and the
high-ceilinged, parquet-floored Breman Brasserie in the brand’s
latest Amsterdam opening is no exception. Named after the
building’s original architect, the restaurant’s breakfast, lunch
and dinner menus take their inspiration from turn-of-the-century
European and South American cuisine, while the soaring, shimmering
back bar wouldn’t look out of place in Buenos Aires’ Casa Rosada.
If weather permits, grab a seat on the large al fresco terrace and
graze on the likes of tuna ceviche, mussels escabeche and spiced
aubergine croquettes, moving on to mains that include vodka
pomodoro rigatoni, and beef merguez sausage, before rounding things
off nicely with a wedge of Dutch apple pie or selection of native
cheeses.

Cat lovers may take a while getting to the pared-back menu in
this vast, concrete- and pine-clad former shipyard workers’
canteen, with Ruben, the resident black-and-white moggy who prowls
the attached bakehouse, proving quite the distraction, but when
they do, Ruben is unlikely to get another look-in. Helmed by Sandar
Overeinder, who worked alongside Alice Waters at Chez Panisse in
Berkeley, California, beautifully presented plates such as toast
with porcini mushrooms and yolk, and borlotti beans with North Sea
crab and fennel make the most of the local larder, while the
swoon-worthy sweets – don’t leave without trying the Advocaat VRR,
which goes into this happy customer’s top-three desserts of all
time – and gorgeous list of natural wines are the icing on the
(in-house-baked) cake.

Opening last year on Javastraat, one of east Amsterdam’s coolest
streets, Soil East serves up the same kind of joy-inspiring,
plant-based plates that put sibling café Soil West, a stone’s throw
from Vondel Park, on Amsterdam’s foodie map. Dreamed up by chef
Gustavo Bottino, a former hardcore carnivore who now creates
delicious vegan food for everyone, dishes, which are designed to be
shared, include miso salad, kimchi fried rice, laksa and a “pulled
pork” made with jackfruit. Drinks range from kombuchas and
seriously good coffees to local craft beers and a tight list of
noteworthy wines and ports.