Warung Spang Makandra in Oude Pijp

A nice and popular Suriname restaurant in the middle of Amsterdam. It serves various authentic foods and beverages which reminds me of my home country-Indonesia. The satay was tender with nice sweet peanut sauce. The food portion were really big, that I think we can share for 2-3 people. The price is very reasonable.

The food was divine, and I'm not exaggerating. I've never eaten anything so delicious before. And the young team was very friendly and attentive.

The best Surinamese restaurant I've ever eaten at. The dishes were delicious and very generous. We had a wonderful meal! The waiter was very pleasant!

What's your favorite...❓ No matter how you finish this question, I'll have a hard time answering it. 🤔 Unless you're asking about a ⚽ soccer club, I don't think best or worst are realistic concepts. There's another exception (besides soccer): restaurants. I have a favorite restaurant in the world 🌍, and it's in Amsterdam 🇳🇱. I love it so much that for my b'day in 2020, my mom gave me a 🎟️ voucher for a meal there and my wife a voucher for ✈️ plane tickets to get there. 😍 Unfortunately, as you know because of the year I mentioned, that could not happen. 😭 And I never went back there until this year. At last! 🤩 It has changed a lot since my last visit, maybe 15 years ago. It's bigger now. It's fancier also. It was already a favorite of Ajax players' but it used to be more simple. Now it looks more like a 🍸 cocktail bar. But.. the menu hasn't changed. Or at least, what I used to love is still there. Spang Makandra is a restaurant specialised in 🇸🇷 Surinam cuisine. And I'm not a specialist in Surinam cuisine, as you can imagine. But that's not an issue because they offer a special combo of what's best in that cuisine. Well, I almost hope it's the best cause it's so good! 😅 OK, there's something missing in that plate: the plantain 🍌. But don't worry, I fixed that. That plantain is so, so amazing. 😋 The staff was as nice as usual and the price... Well, the first time I went there, I paid €10 for a full gargantuan meal (no wine, no dessert). This time I paid almost twice that price. But it was still worth it, and it's still affordable given nowadays standards. 👍 If I visited Spang Makandra for the first time today, would I think it's my favorite restaurant? If I'm honest, maybe not. But that's not the case: I've known this place for years, I always loved it and it remains, as of today, my favorite venue in the world. 👏 And I objectively believe it's a top-notch restaurant and a place you MUST visit when you're in Amsterdam. . . . Quality & taste: 10/10 Quantities: 10/10 Atmosphere: 7/10 Originality: 10/10 Ratio price / quality: 10/10 Service: 8/10 How I felt afterwards: 10/10

Food and service was so amazing but was ruined when we were asked “can I take your photo?” which seemed normal as the restaurant was filled with Polaroid pictures of people having dinner. This then turned into a man demanding we pay him €5 for this photo he asked to take - maybe this is a usual tourist trap we are not accustomed with but really ruined our intimate dining experience at this restaurant as he became very aggravated and argumentative towards us while we were eating.

The food is absolutely amazing, comes to your table a few seconds after you order and feeds your soul with all the flavours! The service was a bit cumbersome, but they made all that up with taste.

It would be great if the recipe and plate presentation were consistently consistent, but unfortunately, that doesn't happen consistently. That's disappointing. I agree with other reviews about the gentleman with the glasses; you can draw your own conclusions. Today I went again and ordered a Spang Makandra special. What was immediately noticeable: the plate wasn't entirely up to par with the Spang Makandra special. It contained at most one spoonful of nasi, which was completely covered with bami, making the plate appear full. Furthermore, parts were missing, and both the taste and composition deviated from what you would normally expect. The prawn crackers weren't whole, but broken into small pieces. At the same time, the plates around me were clearly different: deeper, neatly presented, and with whole prawn crackers, as usual. This difference was immediately noticeable. When I pointed this out to the man with the glasses, he said I'd already eaten some, but he immediately corrected himself. He said a plate of nasi would be brought later. Because this was taking some time, I mentioned it again to the Dutch waitress. She took the plate with her for assessment and returned with the same plate and a separate plate of nasi. Both the waitress and the owner had seen the plate beforehand. The situation can easily be verified, if desired, through internal documentation, including the camera footage from 7:45 PM, which shows that no bite had been taken before the report. The owner himself indicated that such a remark to a guest is inappropriate. The owner also indicated that new kitchen staff were being trained. This is understandable. At the same time, a busy period demands extra assurance of consistency and quality. An appropriate approach would have been to take the plate back, visually assess it with a colleague, recreate the dish according to the Spang Makandra special, and offer an apology. They indicated that they would "make it right," which I appreciate. However, that's not the intention. The point isn't to make it right afterward, but to systematically ensure quality and handling during busy periods, befitting a restaurant with years of demonstrable experience. The atmosphere is pleasant, but a clear long-term vision for customer retention is lacking. This is especially unfortunate, as I'm a regular customer. From that perspective, this experience feels like a clear no-go, not because it can't happen, but because this level of service needs to be better maintained at a business with this reputation.

My go to Surinamese restaurant . One of the best in AMS

Best food we had in Amsterdam. Very tasty and lovely service. We would come again if we had more time.

I was with Surinamese friends who didn't finish almost any of the dishes because they didn't like them. My saoto soup was bland, but a generous portion for the small version. The bara was dry and didn't have enough spinach (according to them). I loved the non-alcoholic coconut drink! I thought it was a cozy place, but I don't need to go back.

Delicious Food Like Home made. Big Size Plates. Nice Staff

They always make room for you. The food is delicious and the staff is friendly!

They took a long time to serve us and, on top of that, when it came time to pay they didn't let us check the bill and snatched it from our hands. Also, while we were eating, they rudely moved the table next to us, making our cell phone fall to the floor and without apologizing. Very rude.

I went in for an early lunch, and wow, what an amazing meal! My dish was delicious, and the hot sauces on the table went so well with it. My server was very friendly and nice.

Incredible food. Ate here from reading multiple online recommendations and it was well worth it. Plan ahead, get a reservation. As a party of four they worked us in, but this place was packed for a week night.

as an Asian with no spice tolerance(Southeast Asian too). this was kinda trippy. look I understand the need to cater tastes to the current population, and I also understand that Surinamese food is not Indonesian food, though they have some similarities BUT THIS?? was not satay 😭 this was like 3 nuggets on a stick im sorry. the sauce was good though. I also got a bara with rendang, which is kinda like a fried roti. the rendang tasted authentic though, which was a nice surprise. never paying $10 for a 3 satay sticks (it’s like 90 cents a stick back home) again though. AND they also charge for water 😭 staff were pretty friendly though!

Excellent Surinamese food! Get the platines - make sure it’s fresh.

It's really delicious. I'm not just saying this. It's really delicious. The portions are surprisingly large, so if you're coming alone, you can probably order just one!! The staff is also very friendly.

Really kind staff, and the food is just something else.. it’s the kind of place where you would just keep coming back. Very reasonably priced too :)

Our favorite restaurant in Amsterdam. Spang Makandra is definitely a must-visit when we're in Amsterdam! The food is simply incredibly delicious, and the guys are fantastic! Everything is prepared fresh daily, so it can happen that dishes like roti or teloh aren't available if you arrive right when the restaurant opens. But even then, there are plenty of other tasty options. The guys always take the time to advise you if you're not familiar with Surinamese cuisine. We give it a full 5 stars!

The food is really really good 10/10. Flavour is there, portion sizes are good. I see why Anthony Bourdain talked about this place so highly. The waiter was another story. Wearing all black with a black cap. As I do get it was lunch rush and really busy but he was really condescending and rude when I would ask questions. Plus gave me no time to check the menu when I sat down so I asked for more time and he came back an hour later even after calling him multiple times. Definitely wanted to rush me out of there as a solo diner. All the other staff there were there were amazing and kind and accommodating just not him lol.

Amazing food, fast service, and reasonable pricing. Highly recommended.

I went here recently with a friend. I got the vegetarian spang makandra special. The servers were incredibly friendly, though service was a little slow—it was very busy though, so that was likely why. Overall, they were very friendly though, and the food was delicious. It was very affordable too, prices were really good for a meal in Amsterdam. Would definitely recommend to others.

The food and service were both fantastic. I highly recommend checking it out.

This was our first Surinamese dining experience and we loved the level of spice. Service was super fast and attentive and they played a nice mix of old and contemporary RnB. The food was super tasty and A LOT- so come hungry, you won’t be disappointed.

I would have given 5, but the fact that they do not give tap water only to charge people an extra 3 euros for bottled water is unaccaptable and very unsustainable as well. Water is a human right. How can you say you do not have tap water when someone is asking for water? You do have a tap and it has water running. Everything is great other than that but i am not okay with this nonsense policy. The staff at the welcome desk was the kindest person with a sense of humor.

Cozy atmosphere, friendly service, and the food was delicious and reasonably priced. Great satay sauce 👌🏽 We'll definitely be back!

I saw Phil's dinner and wanted to try Surinamese cuisine, but the flavors might be a bit like peanut butter and soy sauce for East Asians. The noodles were a bit like Japanese yakisoba (not as sweet). The chicken was good, but I didn't quite understand the seasoning. Also, be careful of the wooden chairs; one of my companions (of normal weight) broke a leg sitting on one.

First time trying this cuisine. Very tasty

The Nasi Rames is in the top five dishes I’ve ever had in my life. I am a 4 star giver and I would give this 6 if I could. Why don’t we have Surinamese food in CA?! I could eat it three times a week easy. They would be under a waterfall of cash. I could taste why it’s considered some of the best cuisine in the world. If you’re American, abandon your ideas of what constitutes good service and learn local customs.

Excellent food, well organized, fair prices

Very tasty and quite spicy The soup was delicious

I loved it, fantastic food great atmosphere and service is excellent despite how busy it is

Delicious food at a great price. Nice big portions too. I've been coming here for 10 years and it never gets old.

Such incredibly good food. A lovely, relaxed atmosphere, relaxed service, everything is possible, and the prices are fair. It's such a shame it's so far away, but when we're in Amsterdam, this is our regular place to eat.

Great food, great service, and great atmosphere. Will definitely come back anytime I’m in Amsterdam.

It's not great. Dirty, dirty chicken. Not washed. Not cut. Chicken satay was okay, just the satay, but no chicken.

I had dinner reservations at Warung Spang Makandra in a Friday night for 7:30 PM and the restaurant was incredibly busy and crowded. After we checked in, I think we wait about 10 minutes before being seated. Bakabana (fried plantain) - I loved plantains and peanuts so a fried plantain with a savory peanut sauce was right up my alley and it was delicious. The plantain was crispy on the outside but soft in the inside. One thing to note is that one order is an entire plantain so just something to keep in mind. Teloah (fried cassava with salt cod) - this was also delicious. It's like a French fry but different. We got it with the salt cod but I ended up dipping it in the peanut sauce from the fried plantain Spang Makandra Special (fried rice - noodles, chicken filet, chickens satay, long beans, egg, potato sambal and perkedel (fried potato)) - a really good entree for someone who wants to try a little bit of everything. The chicken satay was great Mixed Meat (chicken & lamb) Roti - this entree was huge and full of meat. You can pick which cuts of meat you want (ex. chicken filet vs chicken on the bone). Lots of different things to try with the curry and roti. Very delicious and filling A really fun and new experience with Suriname food. Definitely recommend trying if you haven't had this cuisine before.

Super good food, I was so satisfied. Amazing prices too

The food was good enough. However the server was very forgetful and we had to ask multiple times for our drinks and our food. And when we got our food, one of the plates still had the allergen we informed the server a head of time about. He said he would remake it and we waited for a long time and it never came out. When we asked our server where it was he acted like he had never heard of it before. Honestly I don’t know how this kind of service is permit-able.

Awful service unfortunately. so much we waited for 45 min for seating and there's no room to wait. manager was unkind to those waiting. unorganized, we sat at bar finally even though we could have much earlier. we asked about gluten and they had no explanation but to say nothing was gluten free just because of "traces in the kitchen" which is fair but we wanted to know about wheat in the food. even if nothing was, the delivery by the manager was awfully rude and not helpful at all. no accomations made, just shaking their head and saying no. we left. they didn't need our service, it was extremely busy but doesn't matter. I bet food is delicious which is why I give 2 stars instead of 1, but treatment of even normal customers is not there. many others had to leave after waiting too.

It used to be great. Now, under new ownership, it's terrible. Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives nearby, like Albina.

I have no idea what happened to this place but I had no good experience in past two years. Every time I am thinking it was a bad luck, they were busy etc but no! It’s changed a lot. The staff is acting like they are doing you a favor with serving you (as if they can manage to do it properly anyway). They don’t accommodate any question or request. Also, last time when our order got ‘lost’ in the kitchen, we waited for an hour, there was no apology or anything. I accepted the fact that this place is no longer good to take friends and family. Out of my list now!!

Took 2 hours for the food to get to the table. In the end we asked for take away because it took so long. Really disappointing.

The best and must try place for Surinamese food in Amsterdam. You will never regret coming here. Food was delicious with so many different flavours of spice on a same plate. Do try their recommendations as it makes it easier to choose from the variety of options in the menu. Good service but was way too noisy in there.

Feel terrible for the fact that I’ve tried this place one more time. I strongly believe that they should stop calling it a restaurant. As a countryman I’m totally a shamed of the food presented. Absolutely disgusting. Shame on you. Feel sorry for people who go here to try Surinam food. Our kitchen is so much more than this disgusting microwave frozen food joint.

It was my first time trying Surinamese food, and it was delicious. The portions were generous and the atmosphere was great.

Can highly recommend both the soup and the pom!

I had a curry sandwich and some ramekins. They tasted average. I ordered the Bakanana, thinking it was fried bananas, but it tasted more like sweet potato fries. The peanut sauce that came with it was really tasty.

Great atmosphere and vibes. Staff are friendly and accommodating. We had the chicken satay and Spang Makandra special. Both dishes were really good. Peanuts were not as finely chopped but the texture was actually okay. The ginger and passionfruit juices were delicious. Servings were decent. All in all, great value for money. Lots of tables to accommodate groups of all sizes. We came during lunch without a reservation and did not have to wait long to be seated. We would happily eat here again and recommend this to others.

The food was delicious and I liked the vibe as well. Not providing tap water for free when you're already ordering a meal is a little ridiculous though.

We had a very tasty meal, saoto soup and the house special.

This is a great place to find yourself in. Reasonably priced food, busy and friendly, I always love coming here

Love this place! Great food and service :)

After a long day of walking this place hit the spot!!!

First time having surinamese food and was definitely not disappointed! Everything was delicious and we had to go back a second time during our trip! Highly recommend :)

Excellent food! Very impressed with how quickly food arrived and the flavours were delicious! Best value we had in the city.

The food was absolutely terrible! The noodles and nasi tasted stale. Saoto was outrageous!!! The food used to be delicious, what a huge disappointment!! My daughter only had stomach cramps and had to throw up... she only ate saoto. Never again!!!!

Today I bought noodles with roasted chicken and bakabana. The noodles had no flavor, and the roasted chicken was also flavorless and undercooked. The bakabana was greasy. The manager speaks English and is unresponsive. I used to be a regular at Spang Makandra, but from now on, no more Spang Makandra. The quality has deteriorated so much.

Two years ago, we were here, and it was also busy, but we received friendly service and the food was very good. That's why we decided to return, but the service was incredibly poor. A bespectacled man, probably a store manager, stood at the door and didn't exude a shred of friendliness. He showed us to our table, and we ordered our food. Then, we received all our food, except for the roti sheets themselves. We asked the same colleague (a bespectacled man) if they were still coming, and he didn't really answer (just a nod), because he was too busy running the busy store. We then asked another employee, who said she'd check, and then we waited at least another fifteen minutes. The food was cold by then, and we asked a third employee again about the roti sheets. This person (we think) actually asked, and after a minute, a fourth employee brought them to the table. There was no apology or apology, just: "Here are the roti sheets." If an apology had been offered, we wouldn't have left this review. It's become a gluttony, where customers are just numbers to be served as quickly as possible. There's a huge line out the door, which means it's popular, but I lived in Amsterdam for a few years and know that (if you pay less attention to the restaurant's appearance), there are much better Surinamese restaurants. Unfortunately, a nice concept, poorly executed due to the service.

Perfect price quality with delicious sandwiches

Too bad I had a bowl of nasi chicken satay and the chicken was literally dry

An unforgettable experience, picturesque place, exotic and delicious food and friendly staff.

Couldn’t tell you about the food, host never gave me a menu and I went up to the bar and he ignored me again

Yesterday, after a long time, I ordered roasted chicken, and it turned out to be raw inside. The owner said, "This is how we make our chicken!!!" It was raw.

They kept me waiting for a long time to order until I had to go. They took a long time to serve until I told them I could only wait five more minutes, so the dishes arrived after two minutes. When I finished, I wanted to order dessert, but they never served me despite me signaling them. Of course, I got up, paid the bill, and told the cashier I was going to order more, but they wouldn't serve me. Clearly, they didn't care much, just a "sorry" in a tone that seemed like they couldn't care less.

Very disappointed they had no moxi meti I did not have the idea that I was in a Surinamese business

Customer service was poor! My experience of service with wait staff was awful. We got in just when they opened and they had sold out of most things we ordered, the bathrooms had no toilet paper - when I asked I was just told they’d fix it, quite rudely actually and then never informed me when they knew a customer was waiting, then when I went in they forgot to put in hand towels. When I got back and ordered my food they forgot to serve me my order. The chicken sandwich really just tasted bland, I don’t understand the hype. The noodles were average. Im a tourist so either people in Amsterdam don’t know their spices - or the surinamese palate isn't for me though I love regular indonesian food a lot. I was really excited to try Surinamese cuisine here. What a massive let down - from bad service.

Opening hours are there for a reason

A wonderful restaurant. We were visiting the city and specifically wanted to try Surinamese and we weren't disappointed. Everything we ate was delicious. The staff were fantastic and we were laughing out the door as we left. Thank you for looking after us so well!

Really fantastic food for the price. Delicious and lots of flavor.

The place is buzzing, the food was nice and good variety of flavours. I enjoyed being seated at the bars to suck in the vibe of the place

Very nice, the food was great. This was recommended to me by a friend and its probably one of the best recommendations I've had Ina while. It was my first time trying this kind of food and it did not disappoint. Plates are big, I went with a small plate and a recommended main dish and it was a bit much.

My wife and I tried to dine at this restaurant tonight. We were seated and then proceeded to wait 45 minutes just to find out our meals were never placed with the kitchen. The waitress said there was a problem with the kitchen, but about 5 other diners that came after us received their meals within 5 minutes of being seated. No apology at all and we were only notified after we kept asking about our meals. We decided to leave - again, no apologies. Please do better as this service was grossly unacceptable.

My husband and I were excited about going here. It is a busy place and we were seated pretty quickly. The waiter took our order but that is where the good part ends. We waited more than 45 minutes and our food never came out. Other people who came long after us got their food and finished eating and the food still had not come out. We asked a few times and they said it was coming. It turns out the waitress said “I don’t know what happened, there was a mix up in the kitchen.” They clearly forgot to put in our order. No apology, nothing! We got up and walked out. We ended up eating at a great Nepalese place around the corner they did not lose our order.

We have ordered noodles which had a taste of spaghetti.

Excellent food, lovely place that gets busy so booking recommended.

Really delicious food with generous portions and decent prices. A dish and a glass of wine came to around €20 per person which is reasonable in central Amsterdam. It is worth noting how busy it can get so it is worth making a reservation.

Highly recommended. Surprising and authentic food, full of flavor in a friendly and lively atmosphere.

Good prices and decent food but it took a while for someone to take our order, and the meat was not so tender as I would expect.

First ever visit to Amsterdam and after learning so much it was nice to enjoy a historical meal from this famous and popular restaurant - tangi, a nyan switi!

Excellent food really good service would recommend. £62 for 2 cocktails 2 mains and a big spring roll each. Nice people and nice vibe

Food was great and service was top notch

Simply excellent! I have lived in culinary capitals like Las Vegas and had been disappointed with the options in Amsterdam. However this was a little gem! Well balanced flavors! Fresh and hot food! Loved it!!

Excellent Surinami Indonesian dinner. Abundant and well-seasoned dishes. Spicy recipes, often hot but flavorful. The atmosphere is lovely (a bit noisy, but bearable). Special mention for the "waiter"—super friendly, trendy, and kind! We found a seat even though it looked crowded (even outside waiting), but the service was actually fast!

One of the best halal option in the city.Very tasty food ,worth every penny!

We dined here with friends a few days ago. Unfortunately, while they were serving, they accidentally spilled sauce on my clothes. Because it was busy, I got Giancarlo's phone number. He was very understanding and accommodating, and yesterday the issue was resolved very well. Not only is the food delicious, but the service is truly top-notch.

Never had Surinamese food before. For a first experience, I would say that I’m somewhat spoiled now as the food was really really good. Full of flavour! I have marked down the service because it was really busy in there and that meant that the group of us got it meals at different times with some having to wait until most had nearly finished before being served. This could have been better, but again, the place was packed so there is some justification and the group was 14 people. The music was good, it’s in a decent location. The cost wasn’t bad either. If you want to experience good Surinamese food, this is definitely the place to come and do that.

Spang Makandra is an absolute treasure in the heart of Amsterdam! I had never even heard of Surinamese cuisine before – but it turned out to be an absolute dream. The food was simply outstanding – full of flavor, fresh, and unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before (see my photos). Every bite felt like a new culinary discovery, and the quality and price are truly excellent. What makes this place even more special is its story and atmosphere. Since 1978, Spang Makandra has been bringing people together through the rich and diverse Surinamese cuisine, blending flavors from Indigenous, Creole, Indian, Javanese, Chinese, and European traditions. You can really feel that sense of connection and hospitality the moment you sit down. The staff are incredibly warm and welcoming – their energy adds so much to the experience (just look at their smiles in my pictures). Eating here felt like being part of something bigger: not just a meal, but a celebration of cultures coming together. Honestly, I wish we had a restaurant like this back in Austria – it would instantly be one of my favorites. If you’re in Amsterdam, don’t miss this place. Highly recommended!

Made reservations based on Somebody feed phil glowing review. Arrived to find a long line out the door, confused staff and a wait. Eventually seated, menus forgotten, no drinks menu provided, cutlery dropped, ignored for 30 minutes. Attempted to flag a member of staff - to be told - I have only two hands you'll have to wait. Needlessly rude, inexperienced waitstaff, wont be revisiting. Note others were seated and served after we arrived.

My first meal in Amsterdam for 2025. Always good to have rice and dishes! Not much space to eat in, best to take away.

This place is the perfect cosy/busy/reminds you of home yet affordable place to eat! The food was amazing, staff were so friendly and it really felt like you were walking into a living room. I have noticed some other reviews complain about noise/attentiveness of staff and waiting times. You get what you pay for. This is a very down-to-earth restaurant and is a gem in Amsterdam so expect waiting times (that is a sign of a good local spot), take the time to connect to the WiFi and order a drink at the bar. I took some time reading up on Surinamese culture which was nice to then sit down and try some staple dishes. This place is exactly as advertised! Five stars all around. Special shout out to the lovely young black gentleman who hosted as well as all the staff that gave me food recommendations and brought it in timely manner and answered my questions about the culture and how to eat the food conveniently. Perfect for solo travellers like myself as it was very cosy.

Rude, I've never met such an unfriendly server. The owner was friendly, and we actually quite enjoyed the food, but the service was truly awful. No patience, and not a shred of friendliness. And that's coming from someone who rarely writes negative reviews. Such a shame...

Delicious food at a great price, excellent value for money. You can sit inside or outside. Service is fast, and the food arrives quickly.

The chicken satay and the Ayam pedis were fantastic, could eat this every meal for the rest of my time in Amsterdam

The overall atmosphere was lively. The food was delicious and generous. I chose the restaurant's recommended menu and was very satisfied.

Whatever this was, please don’t call it Surinamese food. Lacking taste and distinctive flavours, with dry chicken, peanut sauce clearly from a jar, and the famous baka bana (fried, battered plantain) made from unripe fruit — it was very disappointing. The service was genuinely friendly, which might almost have earned a positive note, if not for the fact that our take-out order was incomplete, despite us specifically asking them to double-check before we left...

The food was delicious! Highly recommended. It was very busy, though, and the service reflected that.

Excellent restaurant, friendly staff, and a welcoming atmosphere. Truly delicious! Highly recommended.

The sato soup and the warung spang special are incredible!