Staycation #3: on holiday in Amsterdam Noord
Whether it’s from a street food market in Vietnam or straight from the French hypermarché: food always tastes extra delicious when you’re on holiday. This summer I’m staying home in Amsterdam, but luckily there are plenty of places where you can briefly imagine yourself abroad. I’m taking you along on my staycation, and this week we’re going to Amsterdam Noord.
‘Noord is the new Oost’, ‘Noord is going to be the next big thing’, many an Amsterdammer has been saying for years. I didn’t believe a word of it, but it really does seem that these people can now claim they were right. Pretty much all the hip places can be found in Noord these days, which is why I love going there ‘on holiday’. A boat trip with the sun shining on your head is actually enough to get you into the holiday spirit. Thanks to the industrial vibe, you could even imagine yourself in Berlin or Brooklyn once you’ve reached the other side of the IJ.
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At the beach
Okay, you’ve arrived. Where do you settle down first? Pllek feels like a French beach on a warm summer’s day, but on the IJ. Sand everywhere, beach chairs, parasols, and food that’s even more delicious than you’d expect at a place like this. A wild boar burger with apricot chutney; salad with thinly sliced organic veal and mackerel, lemon and tarragon mayonnaise; roasted oyster mushrooms with gremolata and Korean falafel. Everything here is genuinely delicious. Once it has actually reached your table, that is—the service can be agonisingly slow here, even on a quiet day. But hey, why should you care? You’re sitting on a beach in France.
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Warehouse in Williamsburg
Noorderlicht is located in a greenhouse, and you can sit wonderfully indoors as well as outside; it feels like a garden party in a warehouse in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. As soon as the sun comes out, the ultimate relaxed holiday feeling takes over here. The menu features classic dishes such as Caesar salad, as well as Noorderlicht specials like a kapsalon with pulled pork, cheddar-jalapeño sauce, coleslaw and barbecue sauce. Order a few beers and you could easily spend the entire day here.
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Secret hideout in Berlin
Another industrial gem is Kebec. This pizza place in the middle of a group of containers feels like a secret hideout in Berlin. The pizzas are very reasonably priced, and children can order a bambino. You should definitely also order the salad with tuna and white beans; to me, that dish screams holiday in Italy.
Il Pecorino
From a mix of Berlin and Italy to completely Italian: at Il Pecorino, you feel as though you’re sitting on an Italian terrace. Here too, you can enjoy fantastic pizzas, prepared Neapolitan-style in the wood-fired oven. The menu has been expanded slightly with a few simple primi (pasta) and secondi (meat or fish), but remains easy to navigate. Exactly what we like.
