Amsterdam restaurant near train station

There's a cafe right outside the station on the side of the harbour the tour boats leave from called Loetje. Nothing special but decent food.

Decent burgers, steaks, and fries at Loetje.

Just found out, due to train maintenance issues, there are no direct trains from Schipol airport to Amsterdam central train station on the weekend of October 5-7.
There are alternative transit options involving intercity trains with transfers to metros etc but the wasted time isn’t worth it for us,
Just a heads up for anyone in same situation

I'd just take a taxi directly to a charming on the canal restaurant in light of the situation. Just figure out how to get a taxi to return. Honestly, I was going to suggest getting on the tram from the train station anyway. Because really charming along a canal and the train station didn't exactly conjure up a quick short walk for me.

A better idea, perhaps, take the train to Haarlem, because it's very charming and the train station is right at the beginning of the town. The walk to the square is 10/15 minutes, and everything about it is cute. We really liked Haarlem. I think there is a direct bus as well. I know it's been mentioned on the forum.

“ There are alternative transit options involving intercity trains with transfers to metros etc but the wasted time isn’t worth it for us,
Just a heads up for anyone in same situation”

Normally the direct train from Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam Centraal train station takes 18 minutes. The alternative route you would need to take because of the track works takes a total of 21 to 23 minutes. That’s only a maximum of 5 minutes extra travel time each way. .
Since you arrive in the afternoon, that still leaves you with plenty of time to head into Amsterdam, walk around and have a nice dinner.

Another option would be to take the bus from the airport to near Vodelpark/Leidseplein (there is a Marriott you could use as a landmark) and then enjoy walking around Amsterdam from there. The bus is a bit longer (about 30 minutes) but very convenient. You might have more luck finding a charming canal side restaurant 15-20 mins. from there than from the central train station.

I didn't want to say anything further up the thread, but Dutch_traveler speaks sense. I wouldn't let a tiny wee delay on train service influence my decision, personally. If you've got the chance to go into one of the best cities in Europe for dinner, I'd take it over spending an evening at some bland, corporate airport hotel any day. Well worth doing.

Thank you all for your thoughtful recommendations—I will take all into account and decide soon… appreciate your input!

I think as a general rule in European cities that have good public transport, other routes and modes take up the slack if there's planned downtime in one. That sort of change of route you'd be dealing with is one loads of people will be working around. You'll be fine.

Looks like trains from the airport are going as far as Sloterdijk. To me, that's not a problem to complete a journey to Amsterdam Centraal from. If I were coming off a train at Centraal, I'd maybe walk across to Singel. I don't have any particular recommendations for dinner, but I'm sure you'd find somewhere on Singel or Brouwersgracht that might do the trick as a walk up.

Have a good one!

Thank you I will look into all suggestions! Many thanks!

Singel's definitely a better bet to head for off a train than the RLD or Damrak in my opinion. You get to see some canals with less tourist traffic and no (hardly any?) red lights.

That area is the Grachtengordel, the canal belt. All the little connecting streets have small independent businesses and you should be good for somewhere nice to eat around there, plus you get a canal fix without the sensory overload of other options. I don't have any up to date recommendations on specific places though others might.

I second the bus suggestion.

We took the bus from the airport to our hotel (Marriott) and it was super easy, inexpensive, and quick. Also, great stuff to see and do in the Leidseplein and Vondelpark area.

What's funny is, for our trip to Amsterdam last year, we took the train from the airport (our hotel was closer to Centraal). There was a "person on the tracks" when we boarded our train, and TWO HOURS LATER and multiple train cancelations & changes, we got to Centraal. A fluke, but darn, that was super tough after an overnight flight. The bus ride for this year's visit was as easy as could be.

Bus 397:

Most adventures start and end in Amsterdam, and this is a great way to start yours – the bus terminal is right outside Schiphol Plaza. The Amsterdam Airport Express (bus 397) has a fast and direct connection to Amsterdam. At night, take bus N97 (Niteliner). Please visit 9292.nl to learn more about bus lines and departure times.

I'm warming to the bus too, when you put it like that. Leidseplein is arguably an even better location to land at if you're in the mood for dinner.

You could also just skip Amsterdam and head into Leiden, only about 15 minutes, lovely canals and a windmill, decent restaurants.

I actually usually stay in Leiden anyway before flying out, much better than an airport hotel.

Leiden was a lovely place too.

We bussed into AMS from Schiphol and stayed there a few days. At the end of the vacation, we were in Leiden for a couple days, and took the super easy train to Schiphol for our flight home.

Hard to go wrong in that general vicinity. Things are all relatively close, and there is a ton of stuff to see and enjoy.