I Heart Late-Night Pizza in Rembrandtplein

Please note that since writing this article, Pizza Heart has closed down

A few months back I wrote a series of posts in response to Thrillist’s claim that Rembrandtplein was the best neighbourhood for food in Amsterdam. I’ll grudgingly admit that there were (in the end, it turned out) quite a few decent restaurants in the area – including Salsa Shop, O Mai and Lion Noir (although Hummbar’s burgers were so life-changingly awful as to negate my goodwill towards the tourist-thronged plein altogether). But what particularly struck me during my “research” was just how many options there are for late-night dining in the area…

You’ve got to admit that Amsterdam could not generally be considered a late-eating city. I hear my neighbours clanking cutlery on their plates at 6.30 when I happen to be passing their door, and I’ve many times been turned away from a restaurant at 9.30 because the kitchen is closed. In that respect, Amsterdam is no Venice of the North. But around the Rembrandtplein, on the contrary, you can find at least a handful of places that are keen to welcome you in past 10 pm. One of these is Bar Huf, which I reviewed favourably back in 2014 – although last time I tried to eat there late at night the place was so rammed there wasn’t the slightest chance of getting a table. Another is Van Rijn, which I went to more recently and which thoroughly impressed me with the quality of its food and service – especially given the location and the time of day.

But when it comes to late-night dining, you can’t do better than a good old-fashioned pizza. Admittedly, pizza has long been known in Western Europe as post-pub food – the drinker’s dinner of choice. But us drinkers have got wiser and classier since the days when a greasy dough delivery was going to do the trick. Now, we want fresh tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and the kind of ham that doesn’t come with tinned pineapple and call itself a “Hawaiian”.

Enter Pizza Heart: a pizza bakery with a couple of tables (plus plenty of takeaway boxes) right in the middle of the Reguliersdwarsstraat. Given its position on the street that’s home to possibly the largest number of stag and hen parties in Amsterdam, I didn’t hold out much hope. Oh ye of little faith, Victoria. Pizza Heart was every bit worthy of its name: a huge (and very hot) wood-fired oven baked its pizza bases to crisp perfection. The ingredients on the top were definitely more Italian than Hawaiian (phew) and I loved my Pizza Parigina as much as a hungry little foodie who’s four beers deep possibly could.

When I look back at their website now, I do notice a couple of dodgy combinations (there does appear to be a Pizza Hawai after all, as well as something called a Pizza Exxentricia – both of which somehow involve pineapple). But I am trying not to judge, because my initial impressions were based on the quality of the food I ate in the there and then – not to be swayed by my general menu-snobbery afterwards.

So there you have it: late-night pizza in the heart of late-night Amsterdam, for just a tientje (that’s €10 to you) or thereabouts – wood-fired oven to boot! ***And ssshhh, don’t tell anyone I ever use Thuisbezorgd, but I just discovered they offer delivery on there too…***