The Best Pancakes In Amsterdam?
Mere leaving with pancake happiness!
Today’s absurdly cold weather in New York - 17 degrees fahrenheit anyone? - makes us crave warm comfort food like nobody’s business. Hot oatmeal, a Bauernfrühstück, heck, even the thought of a full English helps fuel us up and persevere through winter’s bite.
One treat that we never, ever, turn down as a matter of company policy, are pancakes. And during last month’s trip to Amsterdam, we asked around for pancake recommendations from a mix of students, locals and hotel staff, given Amsterdam’s reputation as the center of the pancake universe.
International houses of pancakes
The two most frequent recommendations we received were The Pancake Bakery located in a 17th century warehouse on Prinsengracht, and Upstairs Pannenkoekenhuis located up a steep set of stairs on Grimburgwal. We randomly picked The Pancake Bakery and headed in on a similarly frigid morning to see what all the fuss was about.
We were pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming menu of pancakes of all types: traditional pancakes, dessert pancakes, pancakes with chicken and pineapple (who would’ve thought!), and diplomatic pancakes representing Greenland, Egypt, and other countries from around the globe! Hello pancake heaven, we’ve arrived!
Ham and cheese, please!
I ordered the pancakes with ham and cheese, and watched in bewilderment as a monstrous stack was laid before me. I picked up my fork and then didn’t speak for the next 45 minutes. Mere, ever the sweet-tooth, ordered a stack with nutella, bananas, and whipped cream, and - perhaps inexplicably - a cup of coffee. She then proceeded to go into a deep sugar coma that lasted through the bulk of the afternoon.
Needless to say, we left The Pancake Bakery with a thoroughly satisfied craving.
Stacked against the competition?
The jury is still out on whether these were the the best pancakes we’ve ever had, especially in consideration of my mother’s exquisitely crafted Ohio short stack. But they were mighty good and we’d recommend them to other Cheapos looking to sample the wonder that is Dutch pancakes.
If you go, plan to spend about €10 for your ‘jacks. Not bad, considering how large they are. Oh, and don’t forget, the tip is usually included at these places.
Do you have any other suggestions for pancakes in Amsterdam? Add a comment below and let us know!
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January 14th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
A lot of the places on Nieuw Markt square have good pancakes. I can’t think of names, but most of them are pretty decent.
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:58 am
[...] the Cheapos do love us some far-flung city character. So, when last in the city of Rembrandt and pancake houses, we opted to stay in Plantagebuurt, where today university buildings and historic remnants reign [...]
August 25th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I’m confused as to why the review talks about “stacks,” and think this is quite misleading, especially for Americans.
Dutch pancakes are larger around but much thinner than American ones - more like French crepes though a bit thicker.
And they are always served ONE at a time - never in “stacks” or piles like Americans eat them.
A Dutch pancake is a single, flat, slightly stretchy disk that can have nothing on it, or tons of stuff piled on top, much like a pizza. You then eat it with fork and knife either by cutting sections, or by rolling the thing into a cigar shape and cutting slices from that.
I know the Pancake Bakery, the Upstairs pancake house, and Dutch pancakes in general, and you certainly did NOT get a “stack” of pancakes in either places, and neither will anyone else.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Hi cereal,
Our eyes must have been larger than our stomachs that day. You are correct - we were not given “stacks,” but rather one giant, whopping mother of a pancake.
Thanks for writing.