Amsterdam has hundreds of restaurants, but a wine restaurant is something else than a restaurant with wine on the menu. The difference shows in the selection, the glassware, and how well the staff can describe the vineyard behind the bottle. Below six addresses I recommend weekly, with one critical note per restaurant.
Testamatta: Italian wine passion in Amsterdam-Zuid
Testamatta is an Italian wine restaurant on the southern side of Amsterdam that takes the name seriously. The list features producers who rarely leave their village wine bar at home, alongside classics from Tuscany, Piedmont and Sicily. The staff know the winemakers personally, which comes through in every conversation about a bottle.
Price range: €45-€70 per person without wine. The wine pairing is worth the upgrade; the transitions between glasses track the dishes more closely than at most Amsterdam addresses.
Critical: the food is sometimes too straightforward in its simplicity, which can leave guests who prefer complex flavour layering feeling under-served. For wine lovers that is not a problem, more like a feature.
Café Jansen Bajeskwartier: vegetable-led with a Burgundy heart
In the former Bijlmerbajes prison complex sits Café Jansen, part of a short-stay hotel in the Bajeskwartier district. The kitchen is vegetable-led with seasonal ingredients and international accents. The wine list leans on Burgundy, Loire and interesting German Rieslings, with glasses that match the kitchen style.
Price range: €40-€60 per person. Walking distance from metro Spaklerweg or Van der Madeweg.
Critical: the location on the eastern edge of the city makes it awkward for a spontaneous drop-in; you have to commit to the trip. The building has character, not warmth in the classic sense.
Bar Centraal: natural wine as house style
Bar Centraal in Eerste Hugo de Grootstraat has been on the short list for Amsterdammers who take natural wine seriously for years. The list changes often and leans heavily on Loire, Jura, Germany and Eastern European producers you barely find elsewhere. Food is secondary, only small sharing plates, and that is by design.
Price range: €25-€45 per person for snacks plus two glasses.
Critical: it is a bar, not a restaurant. Anyone wanting a full dinner is in the wrong place. For a first or last glass of the evening it is a reliable pick.
Morris & Bella: plant-based fine dining with sherry on the pairing
Morris & Bella on Nova Zemblastraat in the Spaarndammerbuurt is a small plant-based restaurant running a slow fine dining format. Sommelier and co-owner Annebel “Bella” van Meegen builds the pairings herself. The list leans organic and as locally sourced as possible, and what sets the address apart in the city is that sherry shows up inside the pairing rather than as an afterthought next to coffee.
Price range: €51-€71 per person for 4 to 6 courses, food only.
Critical: it is tasting-menu only and plant-based, so anyone wanting an à la carte evening or a piece of meat is in the wrong place. The room is small, booking well ahead is not a luxury but a requirement.
Restaurant Watergang: French backbone with Eastern European detours
Restaurant Watergang on Weteringstraat, two minutes from the Rijksmuseum, looks small and informal but carries a wine list awarded a White Star by Star Wine List. Chef Tim van Grootheest cooks a rotating surprise menu, host Mo Schuttel runs the floor. The list’s backbone is French, with Burgundy, Loire and Rhône as the foundation. Italy, Austria, Hungary, Romania and Georgia get space alongside as tension bottles you rarely encounter on other Amsterdam lists. Belgian and Dutch wines pass through as well, and direct lines with importers mean bottles pour here that do not come through the standard wholesalers.
Price range: 5-course surprise dinner €69 per person, 4-course lunch €58 (Friday to Sunday).
Critical: the surprise format means allergies and dislikes need to be flagged in advance, or something will land on the table you do not want. The space is intimate; a group larger than six gets tight.
Choux: Figo van Onna and pairings built on contrast
Choux on De Ruijterkade is the home of sommelier and co-owner Figo van Onna, who also imports the bottles he pours through his own importer Zuiver Wijnen. The kitchen is plant-forward, roughly 90 percent vegetables and fruit with sparing game or shellfish alongside. Figo’s pairings run on contrast: an unfiltered Gut Oggau against roasted celeriac, a foaming pet-nat against something sweet, a saline bottle against a creamy base. When the contrast axis lands, the pairings are golden, sharp and genuinely wakeful.
Price range: €52.50-€80 per person for 3 to 5 courses, wine pairing optional.
Critical: a whole evening on contrast is not for everyone. Figo sometimes searches for balance while the pairing unfolds, and guests who prefer a flat consistent wine arc are in the wrong place. Ask whether he can drop in one classic pairing in the menu if that is your preference.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Amsterdam restaurant has the best Italian wine list?
Testamatta in Amsterdam-Zuid is the strongest pick for Italian wine. The list focuses on smaller producers from Tuscany, Piedmont and Sicily, with personal contact between staff and winemakers.
Which Amsterdam wine restaurant fits within €50 per person?
Café Jansen Bajeskwartier (€40-€60 per person) and Bar Centraal (€25-€45 per person) sit within or around that budget. Testamatta runs a bit higher, especially when you add the wine pairing.
Where in Amsterdam can I find natural wine on the list?
Bar Centraal and Choux are the best-known addresses for low-intervention and natural wine. Bar Centraal is informal with small sharing plates; Choux is fine dining with tasting menu and pairing.
Which Amsterdam restaurant has the best French wine list?
Café Jansen Bajeskwartier and Restaurant Watergang both lean heavily on Burgundy, Loire and Rhône. For classic Bordeaux and Champagne you need to look in other parts of the city; this guide focuses on restaurants where the wine list is the main reason to visit.
Is there a wine bar in Amsterdam without a full menu?
Bar Centraal works as a wine bar with snacks and small sharing plates. Suitable for a first or last glass of the evening, not for a full dinner.
Which Amsterdam restaurant has Eastern European wines on the list?
Restaurant Watergang on Weteringstraat pours bottles from Hungary, Romania and Georgia as tension elements next to a French base list. Bar Centraal offers Eastern European natural wine more broadly, with rotating Czech, Slovenian and Hungarian bottles by the glass.
Which Amsterdam restaurant puts sherry inside the pairing?
Morris & Bella in the Spaarndammerbuurt. Sommelier Annebel builds menus where sherry sits inside the pairing itself, not as a digestif at the end.
Does Café Jansen Amsterdam have a wine list?
Yes. The Café Jansen wine list changes with the seasons and focuses on Burgundy, Loire and German Rieslings. The pairing tracks the vegetable-led kitchen of the restaurant.
Practical tips
Reserve well ahead for Testamatta, Morris & Bella and Choux, especially weekends. Café Jansen, Bar Centraal and Restaurant Watergang are more flexible, though Friday and Saturday nights fill up there too. For an evening with multiple bottles: ask the sommelier in advance for recommendations, and stay open to bottles you do not see elsewhere. Restaurants who want to land on this list: see the open call below.
Run a restaurant with a strong wine list?
Run an Amsterdam restaurant with a wine list that is more than an afterthought? I drop in unannounced for a review, no paid format and no pre-agreed questions. Email [email protected] with your address, a short description of the list and the name of your sommelier. Also welcome if you carry a specific importer line or regional focus not yet represented here.
Sources
- Testamatta Amsterdam (official)
- Café Jansen Bajeskwartier (official)
- Bar Centraal Amsterdam (official)
- Morris & Bella Amsterdam (official)
- Restaurant Watergang (official)
- Restaurant Choux Amsterdam (official)