If you want a more traditional Dutch pancake house Amsterdam experience outside the busy city center, Boerderij Meerzicht was one of my favorite food stops during our Netherlands trip. It sits inside Amsterdamse Bos, a huge forested park just south of Amsterdam, and the entire setting feels much quieter and more local compared to the usual canal-side brunch spots.
This is not a trendy aesthetic brunch café situation. It’s more of a classic Dutch pancake house surrounded by walking trails, bikes, trees, playgrounds, deer, and families spending the afternoon outside. It kind of feels like a little cottage hidden in the woods that also happens to serve giant pancakes.
And after eating there, I completely understood why people keep stopping here during bike rides through Amsterdamse Bos.
Boerderij Meerzicht is located inside Amsterdamse Bos near Amstelveen, just outside central Amsterdam.
Amsterdamse Bos is much bigger than a normal city park. It’s more like Amsterdam’s giant outdoor recreation area filled with biking paths, lakes, canals, picnic areas, cafés, farms, kayaking areas, playgrounds, and walking trails. A lot of locals come here to bike, walk, picnic, or spend the day outside.
If you’re planning multiple day trips around the Netherlands, my Best Day Trips from Amsterdam guide pairs really well with this area since Amsterdamse Bos is an easy escape from the city.
One thing worth knowing before you go is that the navigation can apparently get a little confused if you use the restaurant’s direct address.
If you’re driving, use:
Meerzicht Parking Lot, Amstelveen
instead of the restaurant’s actual address.
Using “Koenenkade 56” can sometimes send navigation systems to the wrong area, so the parking lot name works much better.
Parking itself was pretty straightforward once we used the correct navigation.
If you’re renting a car for tulip season or exploring smaller Dutch towns outside Amsterdam, I’d also recommend reading Driving in the Netherlands (What It’s Really Like for Tourists) because Dutch parking systems and road signs can feel a little different at first.
Walking up to the restaurant felt very storybook Dutch countryside in the best way. The building looks like a cozy little cottage tucked into the woods with outdoor seating, indoor seating, trees everywhere, and tons of open space around it.
There’s also a surprising amount to do nearby besides just eating.
You can feed deer, walk through the woods, let kids play on the playground, or go look for the singing tree nearby. People were biking all through the area while we were there, so the whole place had a very active outdoor atmosphere.
It felt a little touristy but still is much more local overall.
The ordering process confused me when we first walked in, mostly because it doesn’t work like a normal restaurant.
So here’s the easiest way to explain it.
When you walk inside, veer to the right and grab a menu. Drinks, salads, sandwiches, pastries, coffee, and basically anything that is not a pancake gets picked up or ordered through the indoor buffet area.
Then you order and pay for your pancakes separately at the register.
After paying, you take your receipt over to the pancake kitchen window. They’ll hand you a little electronic disk that lights up and vibrates when your pancakes are ready.
Once it starts flashing, you go pick up your pancakes at the pancake kitchen.
After watching a few other people do it, the system made much more sense.
If you’ve never had Dutch pancakes before, they’re very different from thick American pancakes.
They’re huge, thin, and somewhere between a crepe and an American pancake. The edges get slightly crisp while the middle stays softer, and the toppings cover basically the entire thing.
The portions here are massive too.
If you’re going with another person, I’d highly recommend splitting a couple different pancakes because it’s more fun trying both sweet and savory options.
The menu at Boerderij Meerzicht is enormous.
There were sweet pancakes with apples, cherries, pineapple, Nutella, whipped cream, chocolate, cinnamon, and powdered sugar, plus savory combinations with bacon, cheese, salami, Mediterranean spices, shoarma, and syrup.
One thing worth knowing: when the menu says “icing sugar,” they mean powdered sugar, not frosting. My American brain needed a second to process that.
We started with fresh strawberries and cream as a little “appetizer,” which felt like an excellent decision considering I’m always ready to eat sweets.
I also got a fresh squeezed orange juice that you get to watch being made fresh in front of you.
For the pancakes, I tried both sweet and savory.
The savory pancake had bacon, apple, and syrup, which sounds slightly crazy but worked together surprisingly well. The salty bacon with the sweet apple and syrup combination made more sense after about two bites.
I also got the classic apple pancake with cinnamon and powdered sugar, and that one ended up being my favorite. It felt closer to the traditional Dutch pancake experience and was simpler in the best way.
If strawberries had been fully in season while we were there, I probably would’ve ordered the strawberry pancake too.
Save this for later on Pinterest so you don’t forget it.
The pancakes here are huge enough that sharing works very well if you want to try multiple flavors.
Most pancakes were around €9–€18 depending on the toppings.
The simpler pancakes with powdered sugar, fruit, syrup, or cinnamon were mostly around €9–€12, while the larger savory combinations with multiple toppings, meats, or cheeses were closer to €14–€18.
The apple and cinnamon pancake was around €11.50, while the savory bacon, apple, cheese, and syrup pancake was closer to €16.50.
Considering the portion sizes, the pricing felt pretty reasonable.
There was no wait when we arrived, but the restaurant was already pretty full.
They do not take reservations.
Even without waiting for a table, it still took around 30 minutes for our pancakes to come out because the kitchen was busy.
So if you visit during a popular biking or weekend lunch time, I’d expect a bit of a wait for food.
Part of what makes Boerderij Meerzicht fun is that it’s surrounded by so many outdoor activities.
Amsterdamse Bos has bike rentals throughout the park (“fietsverhuur” means bike rental in Dutch), plus walking trails, lakes, canals, picnic spots, cafés, playgrounds, kayaking, rowing, and even small ferries for cyclists and pedestrians like Pont Ome Piet and Rederij Oeverloos.
The historic Electric Museum Tram Amsterdam also runs vintage streetcars through nearby parks and neighborhoods.
If you’re visiting during spring, combining this stop with the Best Tulip Fields Bike Route from Keukenhof or the Best Tulip Field Driving Route in the Netherlands would make a very fun Netherlands day.
There’s even a small shuttle service called the Bosmobiel that helps transport visitors around parts of the park.
I think this place works especially well for people looking for a more traditional Dutch pancake experience in a quieter setting outside central Amsterdam. It’s especially good for families with kids, bikers exploring Amsterdamse Bos, groups where everyone wants different toppings or flavor combinations, or anyone who enjoys sweet-and-savory comfort food.
The setting is a huge part of why people come here too, not just the pancakes themselves.
If you’re expecting fluffy American-style pancakes or a trendy city brunch atmosphere, this may not be your favorite stop.
Dutch pancakes are much thinner and larger, and some of the topping combinations can feel slightly unusual at first if you prefer more traditional breakfast flavors.
The experience also feels much more old-school and traditional rather than polished or modern.
During the winter season (November 1 through February 16), Boerderij Meerzicht is open Friday through Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM, with pancakes starting at 11 AM.
During the summer season (February 19 through October 31), they’re open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 AM to 7 PM, with pancakes starting at 11 AM.
If you end up booking anything for your trip, using my affiliate links helps support my blog at no extra cost to you. I spend a lot of time researching and writing these guides, so I really appreciate the support.
I would absolutely go back to Boerderij Meerzicht.
Part of the appeal is obviously the pancakes, but the bigger reason is the whole atmosphere around it. Sitting in the middle of Amsterdamse Bos eating giant Dutch pancakes after walking through the woods just felt very Netherlands.
The apple pancake alone would probably get me back there eventually anyway. Which feels pretty a-peel-ing. (Yep, I went there.)
@peacefulsidesocial is what happens when someone builds exactly the restaurant a mountain town deserves. Made-from-scratch food. Craft beer brewed on site. A kids’ play area outside, & mountain views from the patio. ⛰️
It’s casual in the best way, the kind of place where you sit down for lunch and suddenly it’s two hours later and you don’t care.
@cityoftownsend | 📍Townsend, TN
I walked through the gates and immediately understood why people fly back to Curaçao just for this place. 🌴
23 rooms. Private beach. A Balinese-inspired resort built stone by stone by the owners themselves. Buddha statues next to conch shells. Candles lit everywhere at night. Beachfront dining that eats like fine dining but feels like you’re just having dinner on the sand.
It’s currently the #1 resort in the Caribbean and after spending time there, I get it completely.
Full review linked in bio
#travelling #curaçao #visitcuraçao #luxuryresort #travelvlog
I walked down to the beach and immediately noticed how calm the water was. 🐚
It sits in a small cove, so there’s really no waves pushing in. You just walk right in without thinking about it. I grabbed my snorkel (they actually rent them for free at the resort, which I didn’t expect) and went out near the pier and stayed way longer than I planned, because the water was that clear.
Honest caveat: if you need a lot of energy and activity at a beach, this probably isn’t it. It’s quiet, it’s calm, and you’re mostly just... sitting there. Which for me was exactly the point.☀️
Full Baoase review linked in bio. 🔗
#curaçao #travel #luxuryresort #privatebeach #visitcuraçao
Dinner at Baoase in Curaçao isn’t just a restaurant, you’re walking into a full resort setting where everything feels intentional. The table is right by the water, the food is French-inspired with tropical and Asian flavors woven in, and the whole thing moves slowly in the best way. We sat there for hours and didn’t want it to end.
✨ Culinary Beach Restaurant, oceanside tables, candlelit ambiance
✨ French-inspired menu with tropical and Asian influences
✨ Service that’s attentive without being over the top
✨ The kind of dinner you’re still thinking about days later
Fair warning: this isn’t a casual grab-a-table kind of spot. You’re making a reservation, thinking through your outfit, and blocking off the whole evening and it’s worth every bit of that.
If you’re celebrating something or just want one dinner that feels a little extra, this is where to do it. Full Baoase resort review linked in bio. 🔗
Curaçao has the beaches everyone talks about, and then it has these. The spots that made this trip actually feel like mine weren’t on any resort map. I found them by renting a car, asking locals, and just following what looked good.
✨ Playa Lagun: a calm little cove where the water does all the work
✨ Playa Kalki: rocky entry, but the snorkeling right off shore is worth it
✨ Playa Jeremi: no rentals, no crowds, no setup. Just the beach
✨ Fort Nassau: watched the sun go down over Willemstad and stayed for dinner
✨ Hofi Cas Cora: breakfast on an actual farm and the freshest food of the whole trip
✨ Willemstad Street Party: I had no idea Thursday nights turned into that. Just followed the music.
✨ Playa Forti: cliff jumping and amazing food, talk about dinner and a show!
Honest caveat: if you need everything planned and structured, a few of these will feel a little too unpolished. But if you like the kind of trip where the best parts are the ones you stumble into, this is exactly that.
All 7 spots with full details are linked in bio. ☀️
#curaçao #hiddengems #travel #travelguide #whattodoincuracao
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