If you ask me where to dine for a good steak at a reasonable price in Amsterdam or a decent place for dinner in Amsterdam city Center, we would definitely say: Loetje!, without any hesitation.
Loetje is a famous steakhouse in Amsterdam, and recently, they’ve expanded to Rotterdam and The Hague. Read our post about why you cannot miss Loetje in Amsterdam.
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Loetje Story
Loetje started as a restaurant in the Amsterdam Zuid area more than 40 years ago, but originally it was just a bar providing beers and snacks.
The owner at the time was not satisfied with what he brought to his business and customers, so he tried to bring something different to the market. Later, he started to offer a steak menu with his working experience at the butcher shop and successfully transformed the bar into a steakhouse!
Nowadays, Loetje has more than 20 chain restaurants across Randstad (big cities in the Netherlands, Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam).
Loetje Steak is also recommended by Iamsterdam website.
Our experience with restaurants in the Netherlands
Always Google for good food in Amsterdam!
As an Asian food lover in the Netherlands, our experience tells us “check the good restaurants first on the internet or with the people around you before going into any restaurants in the Netherlands”.
Why? That’s simple: after we’ve enjoyed so much good food in Asia at a very affordable price, a normal restaurant (Euro 15-20 per main course) in Amsterdam always disappoints us. Not to mention if it’s in a tourist area.
However, Loetje did not let us down when we first walked in. We know this place via a Dutch friend. In fact, we have been there many times and even recommend it to our friends and readers on our blog.
What we like about Loetje and our exclusive tips
Always remember to make a reservation first before you go!
We visit Leotjes every year, and back in 2019, we visited it 5 times! That sounds crazy, but we like it a lot.
They have good food and a good dining environment. They have many restaurants in Amsterdam, but personally, we recommend Loetje Oost and Leotje Noord.
Which Loetje restaurant should you go?
Loetje Oost
offers the best steakhouse (many people would agree) among all Loetje restaurants, and it is very spacious. We hate it when it’s crowded in the restaurant. Moreover, it’s very close to Amsterdam City Center; you can enjoy the local vibe, not the tourist vibe, there.
Loetje Aan’t IJ
offers the same type of food, but what’s special about it is that: they try to make it like an underwater restaurant. If you want a different atmosphere, be sure to come here!
Tip: ask for a table next to the window to get the best view.
Central
has the best location in Amsterdam for tourists. Why? It’s right across Amsterdam Central Station! It’s easy to get to by any form of public transportation.
However, the restaurant is not big (we guess the rent is also not cheap) and is in the basement.
What to order at Loetje? Our recommendation!
Beef tenderloin steak “Bali” (Highly recommend!)
Highly recommend you order the “Bali” Steak! Did you notice? No vegetables at all!
We always order “Bali steak” without hesitation at Loetje, and all our friends love it as much as we do!
Unless you don’t like spicy food at all! They say Bali steak is spicy, but no worries, it is only a bit spicy to Asians, but it might be quite spicy for the locals.
If you order this one, ask for bread to dip in the steak sauce. That tastes good! The sauce is full of steak taste and very tasty.
Kindly note you only get steak, no vegetables included. Therefore, we also order a salad for sharing.
Chicken and Bacon Salad
Be sure to order Salad, unless you are a meat lover!
The salad also tasted good, with a lot of vegetables.
You can choose from a few salads; we went for this one because we did not like the other 2 options.
Dutch Pea Soup (Dutch: Erwtensoup)
Since you are in the Netherlands, why not try the famous Dutch soup?
Erwtensoup is a traditional Dutch winter soup. Be sure to like this one (kidding).
When we moved to the Netherlands, we did not like Erwtensoup; it is very different from Asia soup. It is very rich and a pea-based soup. However, we like it after 2 years living in Amsterdam (we are a little bit more Dutch now ;))
Freshly made Erwtensoup is much better than the ones from the packages at the supermarkets.
Now, you have our helpful advice, just reserve your table on time! Let us know about your experience!
