If you’re looking for traditional Dutch food in Amsterdam, Moeders is the place for you! Located off the beaten tourist track, this quirky place will make you feel right at home.
Moeders is Dutch for “mothers”, but I’m sure you’d figure that out in no time. Covering every nook and cranny are photos of real life grannies and mamas. At this point, almost every inch of the room is covered, but Moeders still encourages diners to bring photographs of their moms to dinner. My mom would kill me, but yours mom may love it!
Much the same, on opening day back in 1990, the diners came to the restaurant with their own sets of plates, glasses and utensils. The idea was to make Moeders really feel like mom’s house.
To continue with that homey feel, they’ve got a simple menu filled with classic dishes grandma would love. You can go a la carte or you can choose a Dutch grandma – Betty, Annie or Corry and make your own 3-course menu. I chose Annie – the most stingy of the three grandmas and started with the onion soup. Very flavorful and super comforting.
Now for the main dish, I was excited to try the Netherlands national dish, stamppot. I’ve been living here for over a year and for some reason this is the first time I ordered it. A traditional stamppot is a big bowl of meatballs, bacon and sausage served over mashed potatoes, cabbage and leeks with a side of gravy. Talk about death by meat…
Luckily at Moeders they have two variations – one vegetarian and one for meat lovers. I went for the vegetarian served with roasted vegetables, a goat cheese croquette, feta and mashed potatoes.
Unfortunately, I found the stamppot flavorless and disappointing. There were at least 20 mashed potatoes in that bowl with minimal vegetables on top. The whole dish lacked pizzazz. The best thing on the plate was the lonely goat cheese croquette – give me a plate of those any day and I’ll be a happy chica. I did see some delicious looking spare ribs float by, I’d recommend you go for those instead.
Lucky for grandma, the Dutch apple pie saved the meal. Served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a dollop of whipped cream – that pie was exactly how I imagine a Dutch grandma would make it. Possibly the best Dutch apple pie I’ve tasted in the city. Way to go, Grandma Annie.
Nothing was light about this meal, but if you want a gezellig atmosphere and a classically Dutch menu, head to Moeders.
Moeders, Rozensgracht 251, Amsterdam
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My vote if you are feeling traditional Dutch in an informal setting is to give hap-hmm - not normal dining hours as closes early and only weekdays but the porkchop and grandmas meatballs are on point and has some of my favorite French fries in Amsterdam