Café Kadijk

A cozy café serving meals inspired by the food of Indonesia. They also offer a selection of beer from the nearby IJ Brewery. Café Kadijk is perfect place to eat after spending the afternoon at the National Maritime Museum.

Great Indonesian in AMS. Casual neighborhood spot/​friendly staff and solid food.
Short menu with specials rounding things out,

We went here on a recommendation from other renters at the place we were staying. On first glance we didn’t expect much, but we were pleasantly surprised. I had the tofu/​tempe sate and my husband had the spicy beef dish. Both of us totally enjoyed our dinner. Both dinners came with a side of rice and a vegetable mix with some of the best peanut sauce I’ve ever had. The prices are very reasonable too. The place is small inside and it gets very crowded so it might take some time to get your order, but it’s definitely worth the wait. There are plenty of tables outside but the night we visited it was too cold to sit out.

Decided to try some non-​local (Dutch) but historically localised food so went to Café Kadijk in the hope that it had good food and was not too touristy (a bit of a selfish request as we are tourists anyway).
We scored very high on the good food and good service but the non touristy thing is a bit of a loss — and we suspect that is the case for anywhere that, deservedly, scores as well as this place does on Unilocal.
Nice ambiance — albeit quite a small place — cosy and welcoming from the second we stepped thru the door. The service throughout was very prompt and attentive without being smothering so a nice balance.
The food is truly authentic Indonesian staples. Spicy, flavorful and nicely presented. Just remember those chillis are REAL and not some fake based on chopped up bell peppers.
We started by sharing the Tofu and Tempeh skewers … PLENTY for two as an appetiser. Very tasty, great sauce and nice tender, moist Tempeh. Great job.
Then the Beef Rendang and the Indonesian Mackerel. Both very tasty and generous portions when you take into account the sides and rice.
Ohh and a nice selection of beers so most people inclined to drink beer will find something to suit.
A grump free experience so a well deserved 5 stars!
We’d definitely revisit when back in Amsterdam.

Perhaps my dish was catering to simple taste but I found this place average after quite a few positive reviews. Unfortunately I found it bland and unremarkable. However, the atmosphere was quite cozy and my friends enjoyed their dishes so perhaps mine was an unlucky dish! I would be willing to try it again

Good food, nice atmosphere. The meat was a bit overdone for my taste, but the spices and sauces were great.

Honestly one of the best meals I’ve ever had. My girlfriend and I talk about this meal constantly and how badly we want to go back some day. Too bad we live in kentucky.

They have really nice Indonesian food for a really good prize! The terrace is great, especially in summer. This place never disappoints :)

On sunday afternoon we wanted to have some good asian food, so found this restaurant in the internet and decided to try out some indonesian food. It is a small venue, typical dutch one with the hight ceiling, but very cozy, sitting upstairs with a good view to the bar. They also have a pub garden, but it was a little bit to cold this day to be seated outside. At the beginning I was a little bit confused, because there didn’t work any indonesian looking guy, but the food was really good. I liked the peanut sauce very much. There also arrived a lot of people to take there food out, so this restaurant seems to be very popular.

Café Kadijk features in every trip to Amsterdam for me. They serve an Indonesian menu and great for snacks and full meals. My favourite is the Gado-​Gado. You must now leave without trying a slice of spekkoek for dessert. If you are going for dinner, beware, they get very busy, and there is reason for it.

Talk about keeping secrets from the tourists… If you like Indonesian food, this place is IT!
My sweetheart found Café Kadijk in the Lonely Planet Guide, and we decided to have a go at it — especially since we’re both turned off by the typical tourist places, whether for food, lodging or whatever. We much prefer to go to the local favorites. I tried Unilocaling them, but… I don’t speak Dutch! Bummer. Hopefully by the next time I get out here, I’ll do better in that regard. But for those of you that are in a similar situation, know that they do have some «English» menus, and most of the wait staff are also conversant and very willing to help.
Café Kadijk has a decent selection of beers. I had a La Chouffe, and later a Palm. While both were good, they are not the focus of this review… the FOOD is! I had the saté ajam (a kabob of chicken with a peanut sauce — both spicy and sweet) — and it rocked! It came with gato-​gato (al dente Indonesian vegetables with crunchy noodles), shrimp cracker and rice. I won’t say it set my world on fire, but it was one of my top two meals in Amsterdam! My sweetheart had the Indisch Bordje (mini-​rijsttafel) which featured three different selections (out of perhaps eight or nine items to choose from), along with gato-​gato and rice. She chose two different styles of beef and another of spicy chicken. As always we shared our food, and I really, really enjoyed it all.
This restaurant is on the commuter path on the way to the exurbs, and so it is frequented mainly by the locals. As such, we enjoyed sharing a table and spirited conversation with same, well into the evening. (…and since it didn’t get dark until almost 11 pm, evening really snuck up on us!) If there was any down side to this place, it was the seating — which is almost exclusively outdoors, so if the weather doesn’t cooperate, well… you get the idea. Also, the cigarette smoke is ubiquitous. Not a fault of this place, mind you, it’s just a fact of life on this side of the pond.
Bottom line: Café Kadijk is high on our «must do» places next time we come to Amsterdam!