HOME > Chowhound > International Archive >


Need help with dinner in Rotterdam ASAP!

  • 3

Hi. I'm a New Yorker stranded in Rotterdam for the rest of this week with my husband who's here on business. I'm having fun spending my days in Amsterdam and other towns, but my husband's working 12-hour days and we've been stuck eating dinner every night near our hotel which is in the pedestrian shopping area near the train station. The food so far has been horrible. Mostly bad faux American bars with bad American food. Is there anything good in walking distance? This is a big European city, so it seems like there should be some good places to eat. I actually like Dutch food, so that would be fine. Any kind of European or Indonesian would be great too. It doesn't have to be fine dining. We're mainly looking for something casual and reasonably priced. Thanks so much!

  1. Click to Upload a photo (10 MB limit)
  1. Just picked up my Let's Go, which is not usually known for fine dining, but often has some decent picks. Here are two of theirs for nicer places:

    Zin - Metro Stadhuis, or a short walk from the station (Lijbaan 40; www.zinrotterdam.nl). Tapas place, main courses from 12 Euros. Sounds "cool".

    Bagel Bakery (don't let the name fool you; it's apparently nice): Schilderstraat 57A. Mezze, middle eastern dishes, and such

    1 Reply
    1. re: kshankar

      I was in Rotterdam yesterday and had lunch at the Bagel Bakery (which is actually on Witte de With). I had a wonderful mezze platter with carrot salad, couscous, marinated mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and best of all, a delicious bread they called "Liefdesbrood" (true love bread) with cumin, orange peel, and onion baked in (!!) and a really great hummus.

    2. One very important resource is www.iens.nl, an online restaurant guide whose basic information is in english and dutch. Choose the british flag for english, then Rotterdam, then the area you're in (likely Centrum, near the top). Then you can choose from a variety of kitchens... many restaurants included, with average prices, and most have a few reviews from patrons. If your dutch isn't good, they usually have a numeric-rating (1-10) too.

      The American kitchen section: