Good Food in Amsterdam, Prague and Budapest?

hi, ive only been to AMS so far. i ate at FEBO alot and the local grocery store. I did chow down in the Maritime musuem for lunch. good seafood soup there. i forgot that i did try some "dutch" food near Dam square but i forget the name. happy trails.

We were in Amsterdam, Paris, Nice, Barcelona and Tossa last summer, , one of our best "finds" was cheap pizza in Amsterdam..lol 5 euros and it was the size of a dinner plate and delish.. along a lovely little street gosh darn couldn't tell you the name, but we went there twice it was that good..The waiter was hilarious, we sat outside and enjoyed a bottle of wine, two pizzas and total was under 25 euros for dinner! Warning, almost directly across street was another place that also had a 5 euro pizza sign, but it wasn't as good.. So there, I have basically been no help at all other then to let you know that there is in fact great cheap food in Amsterdam for those who just wander about..

There are too many restaurants with good food in all three cities. I would ask at the reception of the hotel and visitor center for recommendation of the restaurant with typical local cuisine.

Amsterdam is famous for pancakes, fried potatoes in paper cones with mayonaise, Indonesian Ristoffel (great) and Argentinan steak houses (great). Their soft serve ice cream tasted like straight sweet cream. It's a city that's easy to deal with. I'll yield to others that have been to Prague and Budapest, which are totally different cities for food.

Yes, all three cities have a wide variety of restaurants. When you say "that don't cost too much," what does that mean, in actual currency? (everyone has a different interpretation of "not to expensive"). Have you looked at Rick's listings for these cities? They are a good start, and he includes prices, so you can see if these places are "reasonable" for you. For Budapest, I used Frommers in addition to Rick's guide, and got a few restaurant gems from them. One in particular was the all you can eat buffet, Trofea Grill Etterem. There are several in town, but here's the link to "the only one we recommend": http://www.frommers.com/destinations/budapest/D70921.html The price includes all you can eat AND drink, and the desserts include unlimited whipped cream and chocolate sauce! The food was really good, and since lots of local families go, you get to see people of all ages having fun there too. Here's how to get there: Take the metro line 1 (the yellow line) to the last stop, Mexikoi Ut. When you reach the top of the stairs of the metro station, turn right. You will see tram tracks: cross them, and turn left. At the end of the block you will see the restaurant. continued..

continued.. Another good recommendation from Frommers was this Chinese place: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/budapest/D70898.html It has a Japanese name and claims to be Japanese-Chinese fusion, but it's really Chinese (chicken with peanuts, shrimp with black bean sauce, and the like). It was good, and full of regulars - I was the only one who had to study the menu. Everyone else seemed to need only a glance, or to know what they wanted without even looking, just like my local Chinese places in New York. I remember that the evening I went, the street was deserted, but the restaurant itself was fine. For Amsterdam, be aware that Febo, mentioned above, is famous for its fried mystery food (like frikadel, of which it's famously said, "you don't want to know what's in it"). It's the place to go when you're hung over, and it's fun to try once (like at the old Automats in the US, you insert coins and open the window to get your food), but there's not a lot of "nutrition" in the stuff they serve.

hi again, w/re to FEBO, yes there is some food that i would call mystery meat, but they also had some chicken and beef burgers too. i tried them since they were fresh and kept the machines stocked up. if you didnt want one from the machine, then you could order from the counter. happy trails

FEBO - but there's not a lot of "nutrition" in the stuff they serve. Harold wins the Understatement of the Year Award....

FEBO is pure crap. Think of a salty version of Dunkin Donuts, but worse.

In Amsterdam check out La Place at the V&D department store near Muntsplein. It's got an upscale marketplace/cafeteria type format with most dishes prepared right in front of you. Also check out Vapiano near Rembrantplien and another location at the city library. It's a similar format as La Place but only does pizza and pasta. There is also a Vapiano in Budapest next to Nubu and the Kempinski Hotel.

Thanks everybody! That's a lot of information! My budget is about 10-15 EURO per meal.

Native Dutch food is not world famous for good reason, but if you want to try such a restaurant in Amsterdam...I can't find it on Google, and I'm not sure if I remember the name, but I think the name was something like "De Blauwe Tulp (the Blue Tulip)", and it sat near Leidseplein between several Argentinian steakhouses. I didn't expect much, with all the cheesy Dutch brick-a-brack on the walls. But surprisingly, the food was quite good, if rather simple. I had a delicious smoked sausage served with copious amounts of mashed potatoes. If you find the idea of eating fries smeared with mayonaise repulsive (as I do, despite the best efforts of my Belgian wife to convert me), rest assured that the frietuurs have other sauces available. My favorite is pindasaus, sort of a peanut satay sauce. Absolutely delicious.

I'm half Dutch / Half Indonesian and grew up with Indo food and while travelling we had a wonderful meal at Puri Mas in Leidseplein (Lange Leidsedwarsstraat 37-41, its upstairs) ($60, no drinks) We ordered Rijstaffel (assorted Indonesian dishes with rice) for 3 , and there was plenty for the 4 of us.I will be going back to Amsterdam and to this restaurant this summer!
French Fries - Called Frites, Met Fritessaus (mayo) or Pindasaus (spicy peanut sauce) is a personal taste thing. For me, on a cold morning or a rainy afternoon in Holland, a paper cone with Frites Met Fritessaus hits the spot like a Street Dog (hot dog) at a baseball game.