Café Restaurant Hoogendam Amsterdam

Café Restaurant Hoogendam is a French-leaning café-restaurant at Westerdoksplein 10, a short walk west of Amsterdam Centraal. It is known for a large, sunny terrace on the Westerdok, an interior packed with plants, and a sustainability programme the owners have been building since opening in 2015. Go for a long lunch, a borrel on the water, a chef’s menu dinner, or a group event of up to 200 people.

Hoogendam at a glance

Detail	Information
Address	Westerdoksplein 10, 1013 AZ Amsterdam
Phone	+31 20 370 76 86
Email	[email protected]
Opening hours	Tuesday–Saturday 11:00–late; Sunday 12:00–20:30; Monday not listed (treat as closed)
Cuisine	French dishes with a modern twist, with an organic and local focus
Good for	Terrace lunch, drinks, dinner, remote work, groups up to 200
Booking	Online booking widget, phone or contact form on the official website
Official website	hoogendam.nl

Hours come from the restaurant’s contact page at the time of writing. The homepage says the doors open “from midday,” so check the official contact page before an early visit or a holiday.

The terrace and the urban jungle

Hoogendam sits on the corner where the Westerdok meets the end of the Prinsengracht, so the terrace looks straight out over the water. The restaurant says the terrace gets sun all day, is covered when it rains, and is heated in autumn and winter. That makes it one of the more reliable waterside terraces near Centraal outside peak summer.

Inside, the owners call the space an “urban jungle.” Cuttings go on the tables and climbing plants grow up the walls, and the owners say the greenery is meant to remind guests how important it is to live alongside nature. Hoogendam also describes itself as a workspace from midday, so you can come for coffee and a laptop session before the lunch crowd arrives.

Food, cocktails and coffee

The kitchen cooks French dishes with a modern twist, focusing on organic and local produce. Dinner covers appetizers, meat and fish dishes and a good range of vegetarian options. You can order à la carte or take a three- or four-course chef’s menu with optional wine pairing.

Lunch runs roughly from 12:00 to 15:30. At the time of checking, the menu included French café staples such as croque monsieur and croque madame, eggs Benedict and eggs Florentine, bouillabaisse, steak tartare on sourdough, and Holtkamp croquettes, with vegetarian and vegan versions of several dishes. The menus change, so treat these as examples rather than a guarantee.

The bar mixes classics like a Margarita, Pornstar Martini and whiskey sour, alongside a list of signature cocktails. In the afternoon, the espresso bar serves cappuccino and premium tea. On the drinks list you’ll also find Hoogendam’s own locally brewed beer and house-made lemonades.

How sustainable is Hoogendam?

Owners Frank and Romie Hoogendam are parents of three. They say they have tried to run the business as sustainably as possible since opening in 2015, and that the work is ongoing rather than finished. The measures they list publicly are concrete and operational:

• Plastic-free terrace: the restaurant says it is one of the few terraces in Amsterdam that is completely plastic-free.
• House-filtered water: drinking water is chilled and filtered on site rather than delivered by truck, and part of the proceeds funds water projects in developing countries.
• Energy and facilities: LED lighting only, and waterless urinals.
• Waste streams: organic waste is collected and processed separately, and used frying oil goes to biofuel.
• Local and homemade: coffee roasted in Amsterdam, locally brewed Hoogendam beer, and house-made lemonades, cookies and cakes.
• Food waste and plant-based demand: reducing waste is a company-wide theme, and the owners report that vegetarian and vegan dishes make up a growing share of orders.

These are the restaurant’s own claims. We did not find an independent sustainability certification for Hoogendam. If you want certified or award-recognised green dining, see our sustainable travel guide to Amsterdam.

Groups and events

Hoogendam takes lunches, dinners, drinks and parties for groups of up to 200 people, indoors or on the terrace. Groups of 25 or more are served a set group menu. Contact the restaurant with your date and headcount to arrange it.

The events calendar includes Valentine’s dinners, oyster parties, King’s Day (Koningsdag) and the Canal Parade. According to the restaurant, the Pride Amsterdam boat parade finishes right outside its door, and it marks the day with a DJ, an outside bar and a barbecue. Expect a crowd, not a quiet lunch, on those days.

Getting to Hoogendam

• On foot: walk west from Amsterdam Centraal along the water to Westerdoksplein; the restaurant is close enough that most visitors simply walk.
• By bus: GVB bus 48 runs from Centraal Station to the Westerdoksdijk stop, the first stop on its route toward the Houthavens.
• By bike: a short ride from Centraal; use the public bike racks around Westerdoksplein.
• By car: the restaurant offers a discounted evening parking deal through its contact page; check the current rate there before you go.

Tips for your visit

• Book ahead on sunny days if you want a waterside terrace table.
• Come after midday on a weekday if you plan to work; lunch service starts at noon.
• Plan Sunday dinner early, because the kitchen closes at 20:30 on Sundays.
• Don’t plan a Monday visit unless the restaurant confirms it is open.
• Check the events page before King’s Day or the Canal Parade, when the terrace turns into a party.

Looking for more places to eat? Browse our best places to eat and dine in Amsterdam, find more Amsterdam spots with outdoor seating, or continue into the nearby Jordaan neighbourhood.

Frequently asked questions