HOW TO EAT INEXPENSIVELY IN AMSTERDAM AND THE HAGUE

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I’m telling you why there’s such an inexpensive meal in Holland. Instructions on where, how and what you can eat in Amsterdam and The Hague, so as not to ruin your stomach and not gut your wallet too much.

I recommend all readers to read my instructions "How to get to Amsterdam cheap" - a complete overview of all the ways.

The Netherlands is a country dear to the hearts of many. But, alas, it is no less expensive for our stomachs. However, even in one of the most expensive countries in Europe, you can be able to eat inexpensively. The main thing is not to rush to the first food that comes along, but to take a wait-and-see attitude and apply the correct strategy.

Remember the classic and always valid rule - the more touristy the place, the higher the prices for everything here, including food. Finding a place in the heart of Amsterdam where you can eat inexpensively is difficult.

As a rule, you will not be able to dine for less than 8-10 euros. Therefore, there are two options here: either to live somewhere outside the center and eat there (for example, we lived in the suburbs, in Zaandam, and dined in local establishments), or while walking around the center of Amsterdam, to look at the catering establishments and, if you come across an inexpensive place, remember its location (it is quite possible to find places where you can eat for 3-5 €).

The Hague does not have such a pronounced tourist center as in Amsterdam, so the prices in cafes and restaurants there are more even.

Fast food

Obviously, this is the word behind the secret of inexpensive travel food.

Personally, I did not eat in the fast food chain in Holland, but my companions did not miss a single skirt of any McDuck on their way. Their average check for lunch was 4-7 euros. Big Macs, potatoes, cheeseburgers - well, you yourself know what the red-haired clown will feed you.

However, in Holland, as in other European countries, fast food of another type is also popular - all kinds of oriental things wrapped in pita bread and other types of bread, which have a cousin relationship with the familiar to us from childhood and beloved by Mrs. Shawarma and shawarma.

Turks or Arabs will gladly feed you something like that for only 2-4 euros. But remember that drinks in these cafes and street stands will sell for double or even triple markups. To get around this blatant capitalist injustice, it makes sense to buy yourself a bottle of tea / water / juice in advance at the supermarket.

Most often, I took myself some kind of Turkish pizza, which in fact is a shawarma (filling wrapped in thin pita bread). The price for a Turkish pizza without meat is only 2 euros! It can be very good to eat, and it tastes very good. A pizza with meat will cost 3 euros.

In addition to Turkish pizza, such places have a decent selection of other dishes of a similar theme. For example, my friend Magister fell in love with the mysterious capsule (you see, it sounds like the name of a Greek island): this dish is layered with French fries, salad, meat and sauce. Costs 3-5 €. You eat up to tears and taste good, they say.

Herring sandwich

Many are looking where to eat herring in Amsterdam... Oddly enough, finding places that serve the main national dish is not easy. We only once saw a street stall where they sell herring, but at that moment we were already full and did not buy the famous Dutch herring sandwich. It cost, it seems, about 3 euros.

We never had a chance to try this dish in Amsterdam, but we met again with herring in The Hague, and this time she did not manage to leave. The meeting took place on the very shore of the North Sea, in one of the restaurants where they feed with seafood. Each of us ordered a different sandwich (I took the classic one: a roll, herring and onion).

My partners and I unanimously came to the conclusion that we had never eaten tastier fish before. Dutch herring is divine! It just melts in your mouth like butter - incredible! So I sincerely recommend that you make every effort to get yourself a herring sandwich and fly to gourmet paradise for a couple of minutes. The price tag for this case was 2.5 €.

Speaking of fish, Colombia ate sushi and rolls in the same restaurant in The Hague, which also turned out to be great. Keep in mind.

Other

In The Hague, we lived in Chinatown and really wanted to try something Chinese. We didn't succeed. But during our tour of Rotterdam, we hung out in the same restaurant, where they cook Chinese and Indian woks. You can take a wok with chicken or beef, noodles or rice, Indian or Shanghai, and so on. The price for an excellent portion is 4-7 €. Very tasty and very satisfying!

We never tried traditional Dutch cheeses, but we bought a couple of blue cheese with mold and mozzarella - exactly the same ones that are sold in Russia.

If possible, I advise you to book a hotel with breakfast included. For example, we stayed for one night at the Manofa hotel in the very center of Amsterdam (two minutes walk from the main railway station) and breakfast was provided for us. He was great! Buffet: juices, coffee, sausages, cheese, toast, jam, butter, eggs - just a self-assembled tablecloth. I found hotels on the Roomguru.ru service - the descriptions contain all the information about the hotel, including breakfast.

Beer costs about the same as in Russia - 30-60 rubles per bottle. It tastes the same. There are better and more expensive varieties - for example, the Belgian one.

Supermarkets

Theoretically, the most economical food option in the Netherlands (as well as in any other country) is to buy food in a supermarket and then prepare it. However, this is only true in theory. But in reality, not everything is so simple! The bottom line is that in grocery stores, it is not very easy to control yourself. And the point is not even that our brother is constantly getting nishtyaki, but that when you see single-digit numbers on the price tag, it seems that everything is cheap. And only at the checkout comes the understanding that this is where you screwed up.

In general, food prices in Dutch supermarkets are almost the same as in Russia. But there is one catch. More precisely, even two. First, finding a grocery store in Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam is not so easy, there are very few of them (this is not Russia with its consumerist scale, when there are three Pyaterochki and a dozen other stores on one street). Secondly, supermarkets in Holland are different: the price of the same product in two different stores can differ almost threefold! Therefore, finding a supermarket is still half the battle, you still need to be able to find one in which the price will not be broken.

But if you do your shopping wisely, you will spend about the same money on food as we spend living in Russia.

Of course, for the scheme to work, you need to have a place for cooking, that is, a kitchen or at least a microwave with a refrigerator. When you live in a hotel, it is difficult, but you can rent a house or an apartment. In The Hague, my team and I lived in an apartment - it is much more convenient and economical than living in hotels.