01French bakery / Oud-Zuid
Le Fournil de Sébastien the benchmark
Olympiaplein 119, Oud-Zuid · €€ · Tue-Sun from 08:00
Sébastien Courcoux trained in France and came to Amsterdam, and his croissants are the best in the city - properly laminated, with the right amount of butter, a genuine crunch on the outside and a tender interior. The pain au chocolat is also excellent. The shop is on the Olympiaplein, which is a beautiful square in Oud-Zuid that most visitors never find, and worth walking to for that reason alone. Get there before 10:00 on weekends or the best things will be gone. Also the best baguette in Amsterdam if that is what you need.
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02Viennoiserie / Zuid
Grammes South Amsterdam
Maasstraat 16, Zuid · €€ · Tue-Sun from 08:00
A newer patisserie on the Maasstraat in Zuid that has built a following quickly. The croissants and viennoiserie are technically very good - better than most of what you find in Amsterdam - and the seasonal tarts and small cakes are worth exploring. The room is light and minimal, the coffee is decent, and the queue on weekend mornings is the best endorsement we can give. Our second pick after Fournil for the overall croissant.
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03Bakery / West
Fort Negen West
Jan Evertsenstraat, West · €€ · Tue-Sun
A French-trained baker in West that does a good croissant and a solid rotating selection of small cakes and pastries. Not quite in the same league as Fournil or Grammes on the croissant, but the best option in West and worth knowing if you are in that part of the city. Also a good neighbourhood cafe setup for sitting with coffee.
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04Fine patisserie / Oud-Zuid
et CLAIRE the refined one
Beethovenstraat 38, Oud-Zuid · €€ · Tue-Sun from 08:00
The most ambitious of the four in terms of technique - et CLAIRE makes entremets and small cakes that are closer to fine-dining pastry than a neighbourhood bakery. The croissants are excellent and the window display usually has something worth pointing at. The Beethovenstraat location is in the calmer part of Oud-Zuid, away from the tourist pressure of the museum area. Worth knowing when you want to bring something that feels like a genuine gift.
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05Dutch patisserie / Centrum
Patisserie Holtkamp Dutch bonbons
Vijzelgracht 15, Centrum · €€ · Mon-Sat
A proper Dutch patisserie that has been on the Vijzelgracht for over a century. The shop itself is a listed 1930s interior with original fittings - worth visiting for that alone. The speciality is the Dutch bonbon style: firmer and less ganache-heavy than Belgian, with marzipan and praline fills. The gevulde koeken (filled almond pastry) and the kroketten are the other things to get. A different tradition from the French-trained patisseries above, and a useful one to know.
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