Cannibale Royale

Charcoal-grilled thick-patty burgers and a canal-side terrace, the long-running De Pijp brasserie serious carnivores keep coming back to.

Cannibale Royale has run the charcoal grill for years, starting at Handboogstraat in the centre before spreading to six branches citywide plus Rotterdam. The format hasn't needed fixing: a boisterous brasserie built around burgers, ribs and steaks, with one of the longer craft beer lists in the city. The house burger, Le Cannibale Royale, piles pulled pork, sauerkraut, cheddar and bbq sauce onto a 170-gram grass-fed patty, the version a recent reviewer called the best burger they'd ever eaten. Staff quietly prefer Le Magnifique instead, feta and harissa mayo cutting through the char. Ruysdaelkade isn't the original branch, but it's the one locals actually return to, praised across thousands of reviews on TheFork and Google with almost no complaint beyond the noise on a packed Friday. Six branches means the format is proven rather than precious, and this is the one to pick: canal light through the windows, a terrace that fills fast, and a kitchen running until midnight most nights. Book ahead or take your chances at the bar.

Kitchen runs 17:00-23:00 Monday to Thursday, later Friday and Saturday, and only Saturday and Sunday add a 12:00-17:00 lunch sitting.

Photo: Cannibale Royale