The last post here on Dutchgrub is about six years old. We had two little foodies and didnt dine out as much as before, or have time to post about what we discovered. But luckily the little foodies are getting bigger, and more interested in good food.

And while eating out has been limited due to the pandemic, we have done a fair bit of take-away, for which lots of interesting options have popped up.

Christmas 2020 will be no different with most restaurants closed, but there are some great take-away options. The best chefs in Amsterdam have been super creative to let you pick up and prepare an great Christmas dinner in no time.

Here are our favorites:

Baut is a serial pop-up restaurant and has appeared in some amazing locations. The initial one was on Wibautstraat, at the time the East of Amsterdam was just starting to be trendy. They also spent some time in the former Citroën garage next to the Olympic stadium.

Now they are on Stadionweg in a place that used to house one of the best night shops in Amsterdam. And have put together a great five-course Christmas dinner take away box.

Bistrot Neuf has been on our list of trendiest Amsterdam restaurants for years. Although you wont be able to benefit from its great location on hip shopping street Haarlemmerstraat, you will still be able to enjoy its solid French cuisine and wines.

For Christmas they have put together a great five course Menu Noël, which lets you pick and choose for each course.

Choux is a more recent addition to the Amsterdam restaurant scene, with a very modern kitchen that is not afraid to experiment and bring out unusual flavors.

Theyve been doing great take-away menus during the pandemic and have a fairly priced Christmas menu for take-away also.

While the previous options are restaurants that do not usually do take-away, Franks Smokehouse is a deli that is always to walk in and get food to go.

As the name suggests, Frank is all about smoked food, having started out with amazing smoked salmon that is now available for sale all across town. Frank added other smoked food, a shop, restaurant, event space and now also a Christmas menu for take-away.

Marleenkookt, or Marleen cooks, is a family friendly and sustainable food delivery service with fair prices, delivery by cargo bikes and all food in porcelain dishes.

The dishes are always great for dinner on a school night. And for Christmas Marleen has put together a special luxury dinner.

Scheepskameel is another more recently opened restaurant in Amsterdam and one of the cornerstones of the constantly improving food scene. Their Christmas dinner is one of the fanciest.

Two Chefs is a craft brewery that also runs a restaurant and bar. They brew great IPAs and other specialty beers, and run a high-end restaurant, Bar Alt, with great food and beer pairings.

During the holiday season, they have branched out into turkey dinners that pick up or have delivered.

Wilde Zwijnen – or wild boars – is one of the highlights of bustling Amsterdam Oost, and has been on our list of best Amsterdam restaurants for years.

They have great daily take-away options now that restaurants cant serve guests, and added a special Christmas dinner to their options.

The number of Michelin stars in Amsterdam keeps growing. The number has now gone up six years in a row. And rather fast recently, from 11 stars in 2012, to 15 last year and a total of 20 this year!

The biggest contribution to the total this year came from Librijes Zusje which as its name suggest is the sister restaurant of three star Librije, located outside of Amsterdam. BordEau, after entering the list last year, climbed to two stars, while Ron Gastrobar gladly sacrificed one of its stars to change to a more informal style.

Then there were three restaurants that received their first star, Bridges, also affiliated with Ron Blaauw, Sinne, one of the few cozier Michelin restaurants not based in a hotel, and Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant Sazanka.

CNN has this great show called CNNGo. Its a travel show where a number of locals show TV viewers their favorite part of a city.

This months show is about Amsterdam and we got to be co-hosts and tell the audience all about Amsterdam street food.

The video is great fun so watch it below and let us take you to Pancakes, Vleminckx French fries and Brouwerij t IJ.

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/international/2014/06/11/spc-cnngo-amsterdam-netherlands-c.cnn.html

http://travel.cnn.com/cnngo-amsterdam-056986

Our Best Amsterdam Brunch List has been immensely popular and also due for an update.

When we started the list in 2012, good brunches were much harder to find, and we were thankful for Lovefood to open doors, first as a pop-up and later as a daily brunch. Well, Lovefood has come and gone, but today there are quite a few good brunch options.

We are delighted to have added Kiwi-run Bakers Roasters as well as Aussies Little Collins to our list. With Dutch brunch and lunch favorites Gartine and Brits Greenwoods still going strong both original list members the list is just as international as Amsterdam itself.

Craving for many varieties of eggs and great coffee? Check out our Best Amsterdam Brunch List and head over to one of our favorites!

Restaurant Fier as in French for proud rather than Dutch for four is uncomplicated dining Belgian style.

The menu is simple. There are six choices on the menu, all tried and true comfort food favorites: Burger, chicken, hangar steak, pot roast and a daily fish and vegan special. Each is accompanied by a choice of different style of French fries, veggies or salad, and four sauces.

Most of the food is cooked in the Big Green Egg an ever more popular combined grill, oven and smoker. It turned out lovely smokey chicken, juicy burger with lots of truffle sauce, and succulent rare, almost blue hangar steak.

The opening hours are convenient. Every day from 10am to 10pm for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner and drinks at the bar until late.

The service is quick and friendly, the tap water put on your table right away without having to ask for it, the wine list short but adequate, with all wines available per bottle or by the glass, and the beer options vast.

The decor is simple with bare brick walls, a semi-open kitchen, a long bar and also ample seating outside.

And prices are quite affordable at € 16,- for any of the main courses.

We dined quite comfortably and without any complications!

www.fieramsterdam.nl/
De Clercqstraat 79
1053 AG Amsterdam
Tel.: +31 (0)20 22 17 449
Open every day from 10am to 10pm
Public transport: Tram 3, 12, 13, or 14 to De Clercqstraat
Cuisine: Belgian
Neighborhood: Oud West
Vibe: Uncomplicated
Price: €30 to €40 per person

Like in many other cities around the world, numerous food events have been popping up in and around Amsterdam. They are fun especially in the summer, when the weather is nice. So heres our selection for summer 2014:

The NeighbourFood Market

The NeighbourFood Market is kind of a flea market of caterers, all making different kinds of food from all around the world to be consumed right then and there. It takes place once a month on a Sunday at the Westergasfabriek.

Dates: Sunday 18 May, Sunday 15 June, Sunday 27 July, and Sunday 17 August
Website: neighbourfoodmarket.nl

Pure Markt

The Pure Markt takes place every last Sunday from 11am to 6pm of the month Park Frankendael. Its focused on producers of organic and regional food products.

Dates: Sunday 25 May, Saturday 29 June, Sunday 27 July, and Sunday 31 August
Website: puremarkt.nl

Rollende Keukens

The rolling kitchens festival brings all sorts of food carts to the Westergasfabriek for a weekend of yummy street food.

Dates: Wednesday 28 May Sunday 1 June
Website: rollendekeukens.nl (Dutch only)

Taste Amsterdam

Taste brings together some of the best chefs of the city for a weekend of cooking and sampling. Admission is € 9,50 and a taste of a signature dish of restaurants like Michelin stars samhoud places or Aan de Poel as well as many others is between € 5 and € 7,50.

Dates: Thursday 15 May Sunday 18 May
Website: tasteofamsterdam.com