Amsterdam Food Tour: +10 Tastes, Culture and Canals with Sherpa
Description
Experience the best of Amsterdam through its food, canals, and culture on this immersive Amsterdam Food Tour. Taste Dutch classics and reinventions, Surinamese street food, and artisanal cheeses — all while exploring the city’s most charming neighborhoods and iconic waterways. This is a Sherpa Food Tour, part of our global collection of High-Fidelity Local Experiences for curious travelers and passionate food lovers. You’ll start with bold Surinamese flavors, enjoy creamy veal croquettes, and stop at a trendy brown café where classics meet new wave. Walk the iconic canals, explore the Jordaan, and hear how migration and trade shaped one of the world’s most multicultural food scenes. You’ll sample a Dutch cheese tasting, enjoy modern comfort food, and end with dessert and jenever — a spirited goodbye shared with fellow food lovers. This isn’t just a food tour — it’s a cultural deep dive into the heart of the Netherlands. Join us and leave full, inspired, and just a little bit tipsy.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We meet outside a cozy café in Waterlooplein, once a canal and the heart of the Jewish quarter. Now a bustling market, it reflects Amsterdam’s layered, imperfect charm.
We start underground — literally — with bold, bright Surinamese bites that hit hard with flavor and history. Born from migration, loved by locals, and hiding in plain sight.
Bite into a hot, creamy veal croquette sandwich in a no-frills local favorite. Born after WWII, this iconic snack is pure Dutch comfort food, served with old-school character.
Just off the canal, a cozy spot channels the real spirit of Amsterdam—a new take on the classic brown café where tradition and trend meet. We stop here for classic Dutch snacks: pickled herring, grilled sausage, and a crisp local beer
Stroll Amsterdam’s iconic canal belt and uncover how 17th-century ingenuity shaped a floating city. From timber foundations to merchant houses, every view holds a story.
Sample a four-cheese tasting board in one of Amsterdam’s top cheese shops. Every bite is rich with tradition, terroir, and the deep pride of Dutch artisanal dairy craft.
Step into the Jordaan, once home to workers and dreamers. Its cobbled streets now house artists, cafés, and locals — the perfect bridge between past and present Amsterdam.
Savor modern Dutch cuisine with a soulful stamppot, made from seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients. Comforting, creative, and a glimpse into where Dutch food is headed. Next, we end the tour with a cozy Dutch dessert and a sip of jenever. It’s a sweet, spiced, and spirited goodbye in a warm setting that captures everything you’ve tasted and explored today.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(335)
We had a great afternoon exploring a few hidden gems in Amsterdam. Our guide Abby was excellent. The tour was a nice blend of food, history, culture and conversation. Thanks Abby!!
Lots of confusion over the meet up location was. Then the places we stopped were not expecting us so there was often no place to sit and enjoy the food. The walk was unnecessarily long. We did not go to the places noted in the original itinerary. Disappointing! We wished we had left before the last stop. We have been on food tours around the world-cannot recommend this one :(
Dear Denise, Thank you for sharing your feedback. We are sorry to hear that your experience didn't quite meet your expectations, we understand how important it is that the value feels consistent and satisfying. We understand your concern about the tour design; this is not the standard we set. We are already reviewing the issue to ensure better consistency across our experiences. Our partners should always be expecting you and ready to welcome you in, and since your tour on 30 May we have already changed one of them over quality control concerns. Thank you for pointing this out. We are sorry about the meeting point issue. We are adding measures to make our guides easier to spot, and most guests find us without any trouble. To all future guests, it is really simple: today we meet outside the Screaming Beans in Waterlooplein 129. The last stop is a Dutch classic and genuinely delicious, so we will defend it a little, but we take your note on board and are heading back to the drawing board on the route and the walk. Thank you again for helping us improve. We look forward to welcoming you back. Warm regards, The Sherpa Food Tours team
Without a doubt, Sherpa will always be the kind of tour I recommend if you want to explore local cuisine. In Amsterdam in particular, it was one of my favorites due to the variety of cuisines from different places. It was also wonderful to learn part of Amsterdam’s history from such friendly guides.
Thank you so much for your kind comments Laura, we are glad you enjoy our tours and the friendly personalities from our guides!!
Very intimate experience. Only 4 of us and our guide, Abby. Perfect!
Thank you so much for your review!
Great way to explore the city bite by bite. Flora took us to a handful of restaurants, she shared information about the foods & history. Amazing tour!
Thank you so much for this. "Bite by bite" is exactly how we like people to experience Amsterdam, and we're thrilled Flora made it such a good one for you. She loves weaving in the history behind the food, so it means a lot to hear that landed. We'll be sure to pass your kind words along to her. Come hungry again anytime.
5/5! We had Sharon take us through the 3.5+ hours tour! She was super interactive with everyone and was full of interesting facts. Very attentive and personable. Highly recommend this tour for anyone looking to get a great background into Dutch food and some cultural information about the Netherlands!
Thanks so much for the kind words, Julie. Sharon has a real knack for keeping a group engaged across three and a half hours, which is no small thing, and she'll be glad to hear the local food and backstory stuck with you. Hope to host you again next time you're in town.
We had a great experience with Sharon with stories of buildings, culture and history. Loved every minute! Thank you!
What a lovely thing to read. The stories behind Amsterdam's buildings and history are some of Sharon's favorite things to share, so we're happy they made the tour for you. Thanks for spending the afternoon with us.
Loved my tour with Sharon! Informative, yummy, super wonderful way to learn about Amsterdam and its unique food scene.
Yummy and informative is exactly the balance we go for, so this made our day. Sharon knows the city's food scene inside out and loves showing people the corners they'd never find alone. Thank you for the recommendation.
Sharon was awesome! Really enjoyed the whole tour. Getting to experience the local cuisine was so fun!
Glad you had such a good time. There's something special about tasting a city the way locals actually eat, and Sharon is the perfect person to guide that. Come back hungry whenever you're next in Amsterdam.
We enjoyed our tour with Sharon. She is very versed in all things Amsterdam and we ate many traditional foods.
Thank you for this. Sharon does know her way around everything Amsterdam, and we love that you got to try so many of the traditional dishes. Hope to see you on another tour soon.
