Please note I am gluten intolerant, meaning these tips are based on my dietary restrictions. If you are coeliac, always make sure to call ahead to make sure your food is cooked in a safe environment.
Somehow, being gluten intolerant makes you crave carbs. Whether it is eating salad every time you go out for lunch or dinner, or the tiny piece of bread you get when you order a sandwich: it just does not fill the comfort food void. But what does? Good. Gluten free. Pizza. Lucky for me, my hometown of Amsterdam has plenty of GF pizza options to go around. After living here for almost six years, I tried a lot of them, but keep finding myself at the top three I have gathered below. Located in Amsterdam Oost, Zuid, and West, you will be able to have pizza, wherever you find yourself.
1. Loulou Pizzabar
Located on the Weesperzijde at the edge of the Amstel River, Loulou Pizzabar is always packed. Although they recently closed their location in the Maasstraat, they expanded this venue, creating a large eclectic space for probably the best pizza in Amsterdam to be enjoyed. Once every couple of months (when we are not ordering their pizza on UberEats), Wessel and I strike down at the wooden tables and lean back against the exposed brick and plastered walls to enjoy a good glass of wine and my favorite comfort food. With wildflowers on the table, a green-tiled bar, restored old Dutch doorways and an open kitchen where you can watch the chefs fire up the oven, it is no surprise everyone wants to eat here: from families celebrating the end of the week and girlfriends celebrating graduation together.
The best part is not the interior of course, but the pizza.* They have an extensive list of choices, from your simple margarita to the elaborate primavera with edible flowers and asparagus, I think anyone would find something to eat here. For my master’s graduation, we shared an antipasto misto with juicy grilled eggplant, olives, charcuterie and more, and ordered enough pinot grigio and primitive to go around. My personal favorite pizzas are the vegetarian, spicy arabica, the tartufo bianco, and recently added the don giovanni to my list, which has the hottest nduja and creamiest burrata. Coffee gives me insomnia, but if I have plans after dinner, I like to wash it down with an espresso martini, and I am good to go dance through the night. If you wish to eat here, make sure to reserve a table well in advance, or take a pizza to go and have a little picnic in the grass besides the Amstel River, one of the best places to watch the sunset in Amsterdam.
*For €3,40 you can get the gluten-free base.
2. De Pizzakamer
With Craft Coffee and Pastry and the Albert Cuyp Market within walking distance, De Pizzakamer (the Pizza Chamber) is the perfect end to your day exploring De Pijp, one of my favorite neighborhoods in Amsterdam. The restaurant also neighbors two favorites of mine, namely natural wine bar GlouGlou and ice-cream shop Massimo Gelato, which make the perfect trifecta for filling the hours between five and ten PM. You can recognize the place by their blue-tiled exterior and Birra Moretti sign, and in summer, a jam-packed terrace.
The inside is just as blue as the outside and has just a handful of tables, surrounded by an open kitchen and bar area. Dripping candles decorate the tables and on a chalk-board next to the bar the pizza of the week is written. Because it is so small, the vibe is more intimate than Loulou’s. Furthermore, the entire staff speaks Italian, making me think the food is more authentic here.
We usually order a carafe of white wine to share, and my favorite pizza here was a white pizza with artichoke, san daniele, but it unfortunately has been taken off the menu. The last two times we went, the pizza of the week was amazing, with the picture below showing the one with nduja, eggplant and burrata. Very similar to the don Giovanni by Loulou’s, but so good! The gluten-free crust here used to be thicker than Loulou’s, but right now it is thin and crunchy, and I am completely in love with it. It is also just as big as the regular pizza, which is often not the case. The only downside is, just like at the Weesperzijde, a gluten-free base costs an additional €3,50, but this quality is worth it.
3. De Italiaan
De Italiaan (the Italian), is a cozy restaurant located on the Bosboom Toussaintstraat in Oud-West, with the city center a few steps away. Divided into two floors by a mezzanine and decorated with dark wood, red paint and red chairs, the restaurant feels like a charming old Parisian restaurant hidden in a tiny alleyway somewhere. I went here with my mom a couple of weeks ago, and we sat on the mezzanine next to the most romantic dinner table I had ever seen: hidden in an alcove was a tiny table with three red seats and soft lighting. This table is just one of the regular tables, but you could specially request it beforehand if you wanted to.
Now, De Italiaan is not just a pizzeria, it is a complete Italian restaurant with pasta’s, great antipasto, bruschette, and dolce. All pastas and bruschetta can be made gluten free, but we decided to get some pizza, of course. My mom and I shared the baccalà with spinach, fior di latte, lemon oil, artichokes, and olives, and the calabrese with nduja (can you tell I love nduja?), salsiccia fresca (fresh sausage), bomba Calabrese (spicy vegetable spread), broccoletti, and smoked burrata. Although the pizza bases were a little smaller and admittedly not as good as those from my first two pizzeria picks, the toppings were more interesting and the base only cost €3,25. But if I am honest, the pizza was not the highlight: the tiramisu was. Creamy and not too sweet: this tasteful gluten free tiramisu truly made me feel like I was in Italy, it was that perfect.
Final Verdict
Ranking these three was a tough nut to crack, and I absolutely urge you not to let this ranking determine your decision too much. I put Loulou’s first as their gluten free base is ten cents cheaper than De Pizzakamer’s, but I think I like the vibe at the latter better. Putting De Italiaan third solely because of their base is also not fair considering their tiramisu is heaven and they serve much more than just pizza. The best advice I could give you is to go to all three when you are in Amsterdam or come back a couple of times to tick them off your list. Whichever one you chose, there is only one thing left to say: buon appetito!
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