The
Food & dining
Dutch food culture is practical and largely unfussy, shaped historically by trade and thrift rather than elaborate technique. The frituur or snackbar — fries with mayonnaise, alongside fried snacks like the kroket and frikandel — is a genuine national institution, epitomised by FEBO's iconic vending-wall format in Amsterdam. Cheese is central to Dutch identity, with Gouda and Edam known worldwide. Herring, eaten whole and often by the tail, held by hand, is a real and still-practised national tradition, not a tourist gimmick. Indonesian cuisine is deeply embedded in mainstream Dutch dining as a legacy of colonial history — the rijsttafel ("rice table") spread of small dishes is arguably as integrated into everyday Dutch eating as curry is in the UK.
Restaurant chains