De Ballenbar in Kinkerbuurt

Hard to judge the food when the staff doesn't show up. I was told by the staff that it's not open, even though it said it would be open. The business account they link to on FB goes to a private person with a picture of the family. Feels frivolous.

Says it is open until 10pm but was closed when we got here at 8. This was the only food stall not open.

Came here to try some Bitterballen, place was closed and no notice or anything

We came here well within opening hours and waited for them to open. Staff is a no-show. Is it good? Dont know. But don’t walk here to try bitterballen, there are other places!

12:17pm Saturday, dark , no one inside , not open, no information given. Is it my fault?

Terrible! We came here on purpose and waited two hours for someone to show up - without success. Several people passed by with the same intention and ended up leaving. The machines were on - apparently operational and without an employee. Anyway.

Got the sampler and it was the right choice. Each one had a noticeably different flavor profile, I’d say the truffle was my favorite but they were all very tasty

First bitterballen experience. Tried the classic beef.

I usually don’t leave bad reviews but the service at this establishment was criminal. I don’t think the person working behind the counter could have been more miserable if she tried. We waited 20 minutes for our Bitterballen - would not recommend

A great place to try bitterballen, a traditional Dutch dish. They come in various flavors, and are also suitable for vegetarians. They look like meatballs, but don't expect them to be like Italian ones, as their interior is creamy.

The food was average compared to its price but the service was amazing mashAllah fatima خليك كده 👍👍 it was very busy but still she give us time

Got the best service from Fatema the young lady thank you for suggesting the best balls and make my experience best ♥️

Got the service today from fatima she was very humble . See you next time

The service is bad and I think she gave me vegan and said its chicken

Terrible service waited 10 minutes to order, fine it's busy. Then only employees leaves for 15 minute break?

The hygiene is not great in this place. Aldo overpriced..

The service was poor and the croquettes were frozen inside.

Good bitterballen but 40 minutes to finish an order? Unbelievable.

Overall rating: 4 Visiting from NYC As a tourist, I naturally looked up popular eats & this came up. Wish it wasn’t so far from everything. Since it was a food hall, service was very spotty. The guy took breaks very frequently. The food was delicious when it finally came but not sure if the trip was worth it to me.

The wait time was very average. The service was not great because they didn’t have enough people working. They also aren’t that good

We went to this place convinced that we would find large meatballs on the recommendation of chat gpt, but we found about twenty places where you could eat various "specialties" typical of places around the world but absolutely to be avoided by us Italians, especially Neapolitans, who want to eat well... lots of chaotic music, university party style... vanilla ice cream with cereals, nothing special, but just enough to calm the mouth that was burning from the spicy taste of a sandwich eaten before with meatballs with onion and dry herbs that easily fall off the "bun", strange Indian style so to speak, this too to be avoided

Our first trip to Foodhallen, had to taste the Bitterballen. We went for the tasting menu, tasted five different bitterballen. Delicious flavors on all of them. Absolutely delicious with mustard. The service was nice and fast. Recommended!

The most unfriendly staff I have ever experienced. 10-15min waiting time until I could order and then 35min waiting time for 12 bitterballen plus: I even got the wrong order then. Hygienical conditions extremely problematic: first employee cleans table with her gloves directly and the with the same gloves grabs the bitterballen to put them into the fryer. After I complaint she was yelling at me.

We ordered five different types of cheese to try, but unfortunately received the same type three times. The server was very unmotivated and slow.

Food 🍛: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Served straight out of the fryer, piping hot. Bouillabaisse Bitterballen tasted excellent. It's soft and melting in my mouth. I will definitely like to try it again. Beef Bitterballen also tasted good. Price 💸: ⭐⭐⭐ They are expensive, for sure. But considering the taste, it's worth a try. Location 📍: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Inside Foodhallen, it can be a little tricky to find. The restaurant sits in a dark corner Atmosphere: ⭐⭐⭐ No dining place to seat. And at times, no place to stand to take your order. It can get a little warm because of no proper ventilation. Service 🛎️: ⭐⭐ Needs a smile. The nonchalant and slow service made me and nearby customers restless. It took them around 10 minutes to take my order, and another 15 minutes to serve my order. Not happy.

EXCELLENT. This place is located in a complex of small restaurants where you can try traditional dishes and more. I tried the bitterballs, and I have to say, they're really good. The outside of the meatball is crispy breaded, while the inside is more like boiled meat. They're served with the typical hollandaise sauce. If you're in the area, try them—you won't regret it.

I mean, the food itself is okay. It was served too hot, but the real issue was that the cook dropped my food and then said, “We clean our counter very often.” I had to insist that it be cooked again. That is not acceptable. For the owners: this happened today between 14:00 and 16:00.

Inside the Hallen market, we find these typical fried meatballs, each filled with a different flavor. Honestly, I found them okay, nothing special; they must be typical of the area. They're definitely worth a try for anyone who comes here.

First time trying bitterballen and De Ballenbar's tasting platter gave me a good idea of the dish. The inside of each bitterballen is similar to that of a paste. The bitterballen sauce is reminiscent of a honey mustard. Love the little flags they put on the toothpicks :) also reasonably priced for a tasting platter. Overalll the meal was decent for tasting but it was a "once and done" kind of meal. I don't think I would get it a second time.

Too expensive and bored Service

good bitterballen inside the market. service can be definitely improved, but overall great experience.

Mostly for tourists, yet the bitterballen were interesting and something I’d never tried before. A snack worth tasting.

Must taste good if you like pureed beef.

Unfortunately, our vegetarian balls were fried together with meat balls and then swapped. As vegetarians, we ended up with meat balls in our order, which is truly disgusting.

Top quality bitterballen with friendly, efficient service.

It was a very interesting experience. The presentation was nice! I enjoyed the beef and truffle flavor

Meatballs not really to my taste

We were recommended to try the bitterballen – and it was a good recommendation! Here you could taste several varieties, and they were really good. The prices were around 3-6 euros for 3 pieces, which felt fair. A small but delicious experience 😋

Great bitterballen selection. I enjoyed the tasting platter. Nathan is friendly and professional .Excellent customers service.

Good bitterballen served fresh.

Delicious bitterballen! Fresh and crispy!

Nice and the halls are basically great. But the bales themselves are not my thing. The taste of the individual varieties was only very weakly developed. The roux swallows up all the flavors.

Great ways to try Dutch food, I got the platter which was great for €15. Well, at least it was the roast beef one with my favorite being the truffles and others. I would come back.

I would have liked more flavor intensity. But it's just a matter of taste.

Surprisingly good. Tried old cheese with spinach and cashew together with a really good sauce. It tasted really good.

Located inside the Foodhallen, at the bottom left. Delicious meatballs.

The employee did his job so much that in the absence of people we waited more than 25 minutes for our order

Realmente sabroso y auténtico, los mejores que hemos probado en Amsterdam todavía! Genial que tengan opciones vegetarianas / veganas también! Vale la pena el precio, la trufa es deliciosa.

It's fine. Some of the flavors hit and some of them miss. I don't like that the beef is pureed rather than minced or an actual meatball.

If you want to try some local food, this is the place to do it. Very delicious. I wish we had more of the butter ballens rather than trying some of the overrated places in the Foodhallen.

Took the tasting menu, the next time I would order just a set of Thom KAH Kai, that bitterballen was absolutely the best one of them, and by a big margin. Yummy! But if you are a first timer there, try the regular tasting menu though, it is a must try in Amsterdam.

Tasty bitterballen, but they are on the pricey side.

On our first trip to Amsterdam, we knew we had to try bitterballen, and De BallenBar was the perfect place to experience them for the first time. These little bites absolutely lived up to the hype! The flavors were fantastic, with each ball perfectly crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside. While all the options were great, the truffle bitterballen stole the show—it was rich, flavorful, and incredibly satisfying. They came with one sauce, but we opted to add the truffle mayo as well, which was the perfect pairing. The pricing felt reasonable and the ambiance was great considering it is inside a food hall so there were lots of drink options around us. Must try!

Try the famous Dutch croquettes from there 😋 The atmosphere inside the food hall is nice The best ones were truffle balls and the spinach 👌

Bitterballen okay but the male waitress was extremely passive aggressive, overwhelmed with his life for no reason.

Wonderful to taste special balls. Very busy on weekends and difficult to find a place to sit.

I mean the Foodhalle place is awesome but this food truck in particular has an very unfriendly employee and... the food what kind of sheeet is this? I believe that this is traditional food, but it tastes like trashh. I need to be honest and say that it doesn’t taste rotten but you don’t enjoy eating this so called “balls”.

No hay mucho en este lugar, haces cola (me imagino que el tamaño de la cola debe ser mucho más largo los fines de semana) , haces un pedido en el menú limitado, eliges si quieres salsa/chapuzón y qué, pagas, te dan un recibo con un número y luego te haces a un lado y esperas varios minutos a que se prepare tu pedido. En realidad, lo mismo es cierto para casi cualquier otro restaurante en Foodhallen, pero tal vez con De Ballenbar probablemente no tendría el tiempo para, por ejemplo, comprar una bebida en otro lugar mientras espera a que su número sea llamado. El verdadero desafío aquí es encontrar un lugar para sentarse, incluso en una noche de media semana Foodhallen está ardiendo... y realmente casi incómodamente cálido en el interior, incluso en las noches más frías. Dado que estos son esencialmente bocados fritos muy pequeños, simplemente se puede comer de pie en una esquina en algún lugar. Pedí tres de la variedad Trufa y aunque se deslizaron bien con el encendedor de los dips acompañantes (hay que pagar un poco más por el dip pero bien valen la pena) debo admitir que no pude probar la trufa. Dudo que cualquier visita a Foodhallen pueda considerarse completa sin una orden de al menos un poco de Bitterballen, pero siendo realistas, solo van a ser un aperitivo antes de pasar a uno de los otros puntos de venta para algo más sustancial.

The waiter has an attitude problem.

Terrible, don’t waste your money. You get fried disgusting food in old oil for 15 euros. 5 meatballs the worst that i have ever tried. We couldn’t finish the portion

Food court inside a shopping mall.

We were in Foodhallen and had to try the bitter ballen. To try as many flavours as possible, we got the tasting platter, which comes with 5 preselected items (beef, bouillabaisse, thom kah kai, old cheese-spinach-cashew and truffle), and got both the mustard and the truffle mayonnaise as sauces. We loved thom kah kai (a really original combination with chicken), and also truffle and the one with cheese and spinach. The beef one, which is supposed to be traditional, wasn’t as good, and neither was the one with fish, but they were okay. If we were to order again we would try the one with goat cheese, and repeat the chicken one for sure!

The best bitterballen I've ever had

El plato de degustación fue agradable, probando los diferentes sabores. Bueno para un aperitivo mientras se detiene para una bebida en el Foodhallen!

Does what it says on the tin: gourmet bitterballen expertly done.

The boss is super invincible! ! ! Follow the recommendations on the Internet to taste traditional Dutch snacks~ I ordered the tasting platter and it was delicious beyond imagination😋 Definitely worth a visit! If there are more than two people visiting, it is recommended that each person order one flavor and share it with each other (beef flavor is highly recommended!)

Got the 3 fish balls for about €6.50, in my opinion it’s not really worth it, but I think it’s ok to just try it as a tourist.

Tasty deep fried meatballs, lots of different varieties to try.

All interno del food Hallen si trova questo spazio che fa queste polpette tipiche...niente di eccelso però comunque sono da provare...prezzo comunque nella media visto che sono prodotti tipici. A proposito nel food hallen probabilmente questo è il prodotto più tipico.. il resto non ha niente a che fare con L Olanda... comunque da provare

One of the best parts of travelling is experiencing foods in other cultures! Bitterballen are a thick meat based stew type ball, and I thought they were pretty tasty! I tried five different kinds, and all had such unique flavour profiles. I would absolutely stop here on your visit to Amsterdam.

Das Sortiment mit 5 Bitterballen und die Senfsauce waren sehr lecker. Mein persönlicher Favorit war Spinazie-Oude Kaas.

Delicious bitterballen! I had some of the beef ones and some of the goats cheese and LOVED them both. Fresh out the fryer. The truffle mayonnaise was a perfect addition.

We wanted some Amsterdam Balls and we got some Amsterdam Balls. It was nice to have a little selection of different ones to sample. The bitterballen were delicious, hot and crispy. Service wasn't the fastest, but for fresh out of thr fryer, you can't complain. De Ballenbar should be on your itinerary to try some great Bitterballen.

Excellent bitterballs, take the mix ones. Prices higher than those found elsewhere!

Great little snack to share while walking around! Waited around 5mins, fresh, warm and tasty! Highly recommend trying bitterballen while in Amsterdam

Loads of flavin and good with a beer.

Worst butterballs ever. No taste, zero meat.

Service was rather unmotivated and unfriendly. 10min wait is fine for lunchtime. Food was warm and tasty. The consistency of the balls with meat was rather strange - the ones with cheese were very cool! You can try it out altogether :)

Tasty well fried bitterballen. Tasted the original beef, fresh off the frier. Had to wait a bit but it's worth the freshness as they cook it as u order. I couldn't taste the meat that well but happy w the texture

Delicious. You can't go to Amsterdam without trying this!

Typical Dutch dish, it depends on taste, some very good, others a little less, but obviously it depends on everyone's taste.

Incredible discovery! It's super good and not as greasy as we might think, I discovered the BallenBar with friends and we will come back when we return to Amsterdam with great pleasure :) A little extra for the rather fast service even during busy periods

Was quite slow considering only got 3 and people after had theirs before but good hot freshly fried food. Wide variety of flavors got the goat cheese and tasted ok. Good for a try but would not specifically come again just for this

Netter Service, drei vegetarische Varianten zur Auswahl. Preisleistungsverhältnis noch okay.

Great Bitterballen! Very tasty, and quite reasonable too. The service is a tiny bit slow, but we were told to go away and come back in a certain amount of time, and the order would be ready. It was! De BallenBar is within the De Foodhallen and is a great 'indoor market' style venue. Great atmosphere around, and some other great vendors too! Sad I didn't get time to sample the rest but 100% when I come again.

Locale all’interno del FoodHallen. Bitterballen niente di particolare ma da provare essendo tipiche olandesi. Noi abbiamo preso quelle al manzo ma ce ne sono vari gusti e un “menu” dove ti permette di provarne una di ogni gusto. Prezzo 7.75€ per 6 bitterballen.

I saw the recommendations on Instagram. They are located in Foodhallen. We tried their sampler offer. Loved it. I would definitely go there again.

Tipiche palline di carne (e non solo) fritte. Abbiamo provato la classica, al formaggio e con spinaci. Buone e cotte al momento. Suggerisco anche il mix da 5, da provare. Foodhallen poi è posto vivo, dinamico e perfetto per una serata ad Amsterdam

Basic fried garbage, hey amsterdam learn to deep fry

This was absolutely amazing and a complete must-do if you are in Amsterdam. The Bitterballen are fantastic! Truly the best I have ever had and the mustard that it comes with is also phenomenal and ties together so well with the Bitterballen. The service is great too! There was only one person there, but the wait time was reasonable and very much worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit there and might visit again before I leave. The foodhall in which it is located is also great, not too busy that you can't find seats, but busy enough that there is a good vibe. Also has a lot of options.

Klassiker geht immer. Gibt auch andere Varianten der Beliebten bällchen hier

لذييييييذ جداً وطعم مميز حار ومقرمش 👌🏻 جربت اللحم و الجبن بالسبانخ كانت لذيذه ومميزه

The food was really tasty. The girl served us was alone and really busy but worked hard.

If you want to try something local and you are a tourist is a great option. First try to find a table and order!

Definitely do the sampler! I was surprised by which flavors I liked the most- the vegetarian ones! The food hall is fun, and this is a unique food option to try here. Nothing life changing, but the cashew ones are pretty tasty.

Creative interpretation of the bitterballen. Really recommend the truffle one and the cheese and spinach one. The others pretty standard. Just saw one ball dropping on the floor and was put back by the cook and served to a customer (not to me) instead of being trashed, if it was mine I would have complained directly. Apart from that it's the most dutch experience to have in the Food hall.

Picked up 5 balls to try (all different flavors). We enjoyed them all. The crunchiness is wonderful, but be careful with the filling.. it’s really hot (I know, we should’ve been more careful), so we both got a burn. Was worth it tho! Only disliking the hall itself. It was very difficult to find a place to sit to eat.

Langweilige fritiertes "Etwas". Ballen sind vorgefertigt und werden nur noch fritiert. Das hat nichts mit hochwertigen Essen zutun. Da haben die food hallen mot Abstand mehr zu bieten.

Es gibt ein Propierpaket mit 5 verschiedenen Bällchen, das ist sehr gut um die verschiedenen Füllungen zu probieren. Die Zubereitung dauerte 5 Minuten. Geschmacklich waren die Bällchen gut aber mit 7,95 € doch relativ teuer.

A resounding meh. We were really hoping for something special, but the traditional bitterballen were just so bland. Not completely flavourless, but not far off. Indifferent, standoffish service that we would have forgiven had the food been any good.