19 Best Restaurants in The Randstad, Netherlands

In a restored 18th-century building, Delft's classiest restaurant actually began as a humble pancake house, but owner and top chef Joris Peters now serves an ever-changing, but always innovative, array of exquisitely refined French-inspired dishes. Set a little outside town, but easily reached by cab, in fine weather it is worth trying to snag a table on the beautiful terrace, overlooking the Schie River.

As you walk down the narrow alleyway to this gem, it's easy to be misled by its unassuming exterior, but the interior is cozy, and the rear opens out into a breezy conservatory, with views of a beautiful walled garden dominated by a 200-year-old beech tree. Fashionable locals come here for generous portions of grilled meats, excellent salads, and an unusually large vegetarian range.

This café, with an excellent menu ranging from breakfast to a sirloin steak dinner, has the widest terrace and so catches the most sun (when there is any) of the cafés along Winkenburgstraat and Neude—large trees soften the view across the square. Inside, floor-to-ceiling framed magazine covers reflect the general news theme, and the long communal table inside is stocked with newspapers, including a few English-language titles.

Stepping into "The Laughing Javanese," off an old Haarlem street that hasn't changed in centuries, you are hit with a flash of color and pungent smells. You can sit upstairs at one of the window tables and look out over the sober gabled houses while eating kambing saté (skewers of lamb in soy sauce) and kipkarbonade met sambal djeroek (grilled chicken with a fiery Indonesian sauce), or cobble together a meal of 12 or more small dishes if you want.

This Delft staple has loyal regulars, drawn by a mean Indonesian satay, served at one of the many terrace tables on a small square overlooking a narrow canal. There's a smart restaurant on the first floor, but the bar and mezzanine have plenty to offer, with lunch snacks, a reasonable menu for dinner with the latest tracks on the speakers, and great fries and salads.

This place is on Ledig Erf, one of Utrecht's small squares, which becomes a hive of energy and is filled with huge shade umbrellas when the sun comes out. The café's tables spill over the bridge, so you can sit overlooking canalside gardens as you tuck into basic rolls and salads at lunch or steaks and homemade burgers in the evening.

The ancient brick-and-stone walls of this cavernous former weigh house are adorned with hulking 17th-century balance scales—happily, dishes such as Flemish asparagus with ham and egg, or parelhoen (guinea fowl) in a rich dark broth, are equal to the fabulous setting. Tables on the terrace in front nestle under the town's magnificent, looming clock tower, while a more intimate restaurant area upstairs, open evenings only (closed Sunday), offers a more upmarket menu.

The spacious and high-ceilinged Grand Café Brinkmann offers baguettes, pancakes, and other light snacks. Windows edged with stained glass overlook the Grote Markt and Sint Bavo's church across the square.

One of Haarlem's best eetlokaals (dining spots), which attracts locals with its long bar, cozy tables, and lovely sun trap of a garden, is also extremely popular—get here early or book ahead to snag a table. The menu offers standards but with a twist: try the Popeye Blues Salad—a wild spinach, blue cheese, and bacon number, with creamy mustard dressing for a lighter option—or, for dinner, lamb with ratatouille and rosemary jus.

The café/restaurant of the Jopen brewery enjoys a magnificent setting in the lovingly restored interior of the former Jacobskerk; the ecclesiastical feel has been maintained thanks to the high ceilings and stained-glass windows. The restaurant on the mezzanine (evenings only, Tuesday–Saturday) serves weekly stews and a variety of other meat and fish mains; a simpler lunch menu is available in the grand café below.

Kleyweg's Stads-Koffyhuis looks out over the oldest and one of the most beautiful canals in Delft. Inside, you'll find a stamtafel, a large table laid out with newspapers and magazines, where anyone may sit and chat, as well as smaller individual tables where you can enjoy good coffee, delicious pancakes, and terrific apple pie.

The tiny, family-run restaurant serves tasty meat-and-potatoes fare as well as good fish dishes such as kabeljauw (cod) with asparagus sauce. The adjoining Café de Oude Jean serves up somewhat cheaper fare.

This long-standing city favorite, housed in the hotel of the same name, is a showpiece for the combined talents of chefs Mark Gratema and Kevin Kion. The spacious, airy dining room is a seamless blend of modern and traditional, with wood-paneled walls, crisp linens, and chic furniture—the perfect backdrop for sampling an endlessly changing menu of cutting-edge and creative dishes that are as big a treat for the eye as they are for the palate.

Chic, modern decor forms a welcoming backdrop in this extensive café, which serves an inventive range of salads, rolls, and burgers, but a bigger draw awaits outside. Sunny skies will have you heading for the tables, set under leafy lime trees out front on the picturesque square.

You might normally be wary of any large establishment on a main tourist crossroads, with a menu in six languages, but what redeems this place, besides its to-die-for view between the Stadhuis and the Nieuwe Kerk, is the wide selection of good-value Dutch and international dishes. Fill up at lunchtime with all the usual Dutch café standards, including omelets, rolls, and salads, or enjoy a juicy steak from the more sophisticated dinner menu.

This sprawling Neoclassical "palace" started out in the 18th century as Holland's first department store and is fronted with columns and cast-iron statues of women that conjure images of Grecian abundance. You can dine either on the terrace overlooking the canal or in the high-ceilinged Grote Zaal, and select from an international menu of pasta, steaks, salads, and more that is designed to satisfy all tastes.

A very funky restaurant-bar, XO has chunky silver graphics, purple-and-gray walls, and fun touches like "king" chairs, complete with claw feet and red cushions—an alluring setting for lunch and evening edibles. The menu contains a wide array of mouthwatering and exquisitely presented burgers and sandwiches, joined by a few more substantial mains available evenings only.