Lion's Head Restaurant & Brewery — Restaurant in Amsterdam

Scrumptious food, fabulous beer and even better service! The perfect dinner experience!!

Location: (5/5) Located in the pijp area. A stones throw away from the Amstel. This place occupies one of the corners. Has both outdoor and indoor seating. The space is large and really well laid out. As you enter you see the sprawling bar towards the back and as you turn right it opens up to more seating.

Vibe: (5/5) Super laid back vibe. The seating offers multiple options from smaller to large tables. The walls are lined with photos and cricket jerseys. There is even a cricket bat! Loved it! It’s got a really welcoming vibe that will want you coming back for more.

Food & Drink: (5/5) Wow! Now this has got to be among the top places I have eaten at in Amsterdam. Great portion sizes and a really great selection. (1) We had the biltong and jalapeño popper for starters. Both were really good. The flavours were great and loved that the jalapeño poppers really did leave an impression with its spice level. (2) The beers here are incredible, had a watermelon one. I never thought that would be a good combination, but boy was I wrong. The freshness of the flavour couple with its refreshing feel made for an excellent summer beer. The mugs as well add to the whole feel. (3) the star of the night was the Bunny Chow! (First time I have eaten it) This incredible dish is an emptied out bread loaf filled with a spicy curry. We tried both the lamb one as well as the vegetarian. The flavours were amazing. Being from India, my spice threshold is quite high, but this really gets quite a kick. The texture was excellent as was the softness of the lamb. The bread and curry combination is to die for. The portion sizes are large and will fill you up well. Ensure you order this here!! (4) To wrap up the dinner we had Dom Pedro! Never thought I would have a liquid dessert, but always a first. The vanilla balanced the Kaluha perfectly and wrapped up the food experience well.

Service: (5/5) Excellent! The owner as well as the staff were super friendly and provided really great advice on what to try! They also kept checking up on us to ensure everything was great. This is so rare in our city.

Summary: (5/5) Dare I say, one of the best food options in the city! The combination of the wonderful atmosphere with the scrumptious food and refreshing beer make this one of the best well rounded food experiences you can have in the city. This place is a MUST TRY for anyone! You will not regret it! I’m going to...

This place isn’t just a bar/restaurant — it’s a sanctuary. A temple. A holy ground where I’ve witnessed not one, but two glorious Springbok World Cup victories (2019/2023), surrounded by cheering strangers who somehow felt like lifelong teammates. It holds more memories (and probably more dropped biltong) than any other spot in the Netherlands.

Now, don’t be fooled — the Lion’s Head isn’t a full-blown South African bar, but let’s just say if you walk in wearing green and gold on game day, you’ll feel very much at home. It’s got that unmistakable South African heartbeat pulsing through the crowd, the screens, and the gees. And when the rugby’s on? It turns into something electric — part pub, part stadium, part family braai.

The self-brewed beers? Absolutely lethal — dangerously drinkable and brewed with the kind of love that makes you want to name your children after them. And the food? A knockout combo of South African classics and top-tier pub grub, plated with pride and devoured with delight. I’ve never left hungry. I’ve also never left early.

There are many places where you can grab a pint and a bite. But the Lion’s Head is where I’ve laughed louder, cheered harder, and maybe even cried (but that was probably just the bunny-chow). It's got soul. It's got stories. And it's got a permanent place in my heart.

Five stars? No. All the stars. Go for the beer, stay for the vibe, return for the memories you didn’t know you were...

I really wish I could give this place 5 stars but as long as they decide to not up their game, staff-wise, It will be a 4 star.

Let's first talk about the positives, The food is delicious and really honours the South African Braai culture, the Biltong and boerewors are especially recommendable They also have some nice self brewed beer, and although they could have more choice I still really enjoyed them.

Then the negatives, I would say the interior could be nicer, although this is more of an in between part of the rating. The real problem lies with the staff, or better said, the lack of any. When we were at the restaurant there was only 1 waiter. This is absolutely ridiculous as she was under an unfair amount of stress.

Firstly, as she was alone service was slow. Secondly, the stress made her make many rookie mistakes like forgetting cutlery, forgetting our order or giving us the wrong beers. No hate towards this staff member as it really is the owners responsibility to hire more staff. The food thankfully did come out quickly, they probably do have enough chefs.

Anyhow, this place could easily be 5 stars if they just get their staff situation under control. It must have been better in the past as this place has almost no bad feedback. I hope they can quickly get back...