As I wrote before, Stephanie and I moved to the Hague in June. Now I know that the Hague has plenty of good options to go eating out. The Hague is home to a large number of people with Indonesian, Indo and Surinamese heritage, which gives us a lot of choice in restaurants which serve these good cuisines. But I don’t think Rotterdam is inferior to the Hague in this regard.
Now that I’ve left Rotterdam, I want to document for others what my restaurant recommendations are for this city. I’ve become dissatisfied lately with restaurant review websites, such as Iens in the Netherlands. That’s why I give you a summary of good restaurants in this post, with metro stops in parentheses behind the names of the restaurants.
First the Indonesian restaurants. My favorites are Anugerah (Blaak), Ap Halen (Delfshaven) en Toko Toorop (Blijdorp). Toko Heezen (Slinge) is good too, but only offers take out. Ap Halen and to a lesser degree Toko Toorop have a limited menu which changes daily. Difficult if you want to eat vegan, but quite good for a reasonable price. Ap Halen has just two or three tables, Toko Toorop has more, but both businesses are cozy. Anugerah offers a more completele menu with more choice, but they could do with a better interior design.
The Surinamese restaurants which I like are Toko Asha (Rotterdam Centraal) en Warung Mirosso (Dijkzigt). Toko Ashes is more focused on Hindustani Surinamese dishes and makes great roti, I always take the vegetarian one. If people say they make the best roti in Rotterdam, I believe them immediately. The interior of this business looks very plain and uninspired, but I’ve been told that Surinamese people don’t care as long as the food is good. I can’t disagree with that. Warung Mirosso is a Javanese Surinamese restaurant, which is quite different. Logically the dishes are quite similar to Indonesian dishes, but often with a Surinamese twist. I would have liked to add Warung Sidodadi (Rotterdam Centraal) here, but they have apparently closed recently.
The Italian restaurants in Rotterdam are better than those in the Hague, as far as I can judge now. In the Hague I see too much Italian restaurants with unimaginative menus. When I see vitello tonnato on a menu, I usually take that as a sign that the restaurant is no good. In Rotterdam however, you have Da Adriano (Coolhaven) en L’Arancino (Stadhuis). Both mainly serve pizza, but they also have some extra Sicilian dishes which make these restaurants special. You won’t see dishes like caponata, arancini and pasta alla Norma on the menus of other restaurants often. Da Adriano has the best looking business of the two, L’Arancino caters more to take out and is slightly cheaper. La Pizza (Leuvehaven) misses the special dishes but has a larger establisment with a more well decorated interior. De Pizzabakkerij (far outside the centre in Overschie) is good too, but has little else but pizza on the menu. Finally, there is Burro e Salvia (Maashaven), remarkable for their home made pasta, even if their business hours are a bit restrictive and their prices a bit higher than the other three.
For vegans and vegetarians Gare du Nord (Rotterdam Centraal) en Spirit (Blaak) are recommendations. Gare du Nord has a changing menu with often original vegan dishes. The restaurant is located in a train wagon, which is very original. It’s not really practical and not so easy to heat in the winter. Spirit is a buffet restaurant and also serves vegetarian dishes. Its food might not be as good as Gare dy Nord, but it does have a lot more space and has a more modern interior.
Then the other cuisines. La Taqueria (Oostplein) is the best Mexican restaurant of Rotterdam because it has a more authentic menu than the other Mexican restaurants in the center. These have a more vulgar interpretation of the Mexican cuisine. For Spanish cuisine I can recommend Camarón (Delfshaven), it has a strong menu, even if choice for vegans is limited. Burgertrut (Beurs) is a nice hamburger joint which will please both the carnivores and the vegans. If you want something more exotic, you can try the Ethiopian restaurant Sallina’s (Coolhaven). Their restaurant’s interior looks dated, but the menu is good and has plenty of choice for vegans. The Ethiopian cuisine is reminiscent of the Indian cuisine. Indian cuisine is my greatest favorite, for which I haven’t been able to discover a remarkable restaurants in Rotterdam.
What I miss most from Rotterdam is the bread of Jordy’s Bakery (Eendrachtsplein). Without blinking I can say that their bread is the best I’ve ever eaten. They only make sourdough bread, which is a bit more expensive than the best bread from the Albert Heijn supermarket, but it’s worth the extra without a doubt. I used to go there at least once in a week on the day when I worked from home to get a fresh bread. It’s also possible to eat in their establishment instead of just buying bread. SUE (Beurs) doesn’t bake bread, but does sell sugar free sweets. Completely responsible, if not somewhat pricey.
Finally, I must mention what is perhaps the most fun and unique place to eat in Rotterdam: Fenix Food Factory (Rijnhaven). This is a food court filled with local entrepreneurs selling all kinds of things to eat, directly or for take out. There’s just about everything: bread (Jordy’s Bakery is here too!), Moroccan food, good cheeses, locally brewn beer and applecider. All of it is located in a big, cozy warehouse near the water in Katendrecht. Every food lover will feel like a kid in a candy store here. It’s a shame the Hague doesn’t have such a food court.