If you’re having trouble scoring a dinner invite to a local home but you still wanna meet some locals (isn’t that why we travel?) try to head for one of the city’s growing number of “huiskamer” restaurants. Huiskamer means “livingroom” in English and huiskamer restaurants recreate the cozy-friendly vibe of a Dutch dinner party by hosting meals in actual living rooms or street level mock-ups. My favorite, Saskia’s Huiskamer, dishes out very affordable three-course meals that are delicious as the reservations are tough to come by, and you can’t help but make some locals friends as all 24 guests sit shoulder to shoulder at a single communal table. Perhaps best of all, Saskia is a well connected foodie who’s always willing to dish out the goods on Amsterdam’s newest–and yummiest–destinations.

Albert Cuypstraat 203 C (street level)
Reservations: +31 6 28629839