Albert Heijn is the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands and very much dominates the grocery business in Amsterdam. While most Dutch people happily do their groceries at AH, which is considered the upscale food source in the Netherlands, many expats develop a deep hate of their omnipresent stores.
So when I recently discovered the “I hate Albert Heijn” blog I thought I should share it with you. It might sound crazy that – as the blog states – stores are filthy, day-to-day items are frequently out of stock or that AH forces you to buy their own label and keeps phasing out your trusted brands. Unfortunately it’s true and I have even seen the pigeons in the store as depicted last week’s post.
Good Amsterdam food from a trusted source - not a vending machine.
this is terrific. I often wonder how monopolies like AH are allowed to operate in this country.
February 10th, 2010 at 01:37
This problem of low quality AH shops is only true for the bigger cities.
All the filthy AH’s I have seen are in Amsterdam. In Groningen they are a lot better!
March 17th, 2010 at 04:54
Hi CV,
I bet it’s much less of a problem outside the big cities. But it’s not only filth, but also empty shelves and unfriendly personnel. And I have seen it personally in smaller outlets outside of the center. The AH on Beethovenstraat at some point was literally empty.
I hope they’ll improve but I’m not holding my breath…
–dutchgrub
March 19th, 2010 at 18:39
Then comes the next question:
where do you head for buying your groceries?
March 20th, 2010 at 16:19
That’s a good question, Andre! The answer is somewhat long as I end up getting groceries at different stores.
For starters, there are three small Turkish stores close to where I live. One has decent fruit and vegetables. One has very good chicken and olives. And the third is well stocked in Italian coffee and olive oil.
I still go to Albert Heijn and also Dirk. Luckily they have just extended opening hours to 10pm on weekdays and even are open on Sunday. Dirk tends to be cheaper but does not stock all the A brands.
Finally I go to various bakeries, butcher shops, organic stores and all, and make trips to Noordermarkt, Haarlemmerstraat, Feduzzi or other places as needed.
Quite time consuming… and obviously all by bike or tram! But, hey, it’s worth it if you love food like I do!
–dutchgrub
March 21st, 2010 at 10:15
Thanks for the answer!
I am also starting to get that those small turkish shops can be a great resource. Funny isn’t it? You needed foreigners to answer the need for a closer contact with the seller and an interesting product selection.
Thankfully in Italy it is still plenty of gastronomie and fruttivendoli (fruit and veggies stores)… And it goes without saying that a supermarket like AH would go bankruptcy after one month.
Your blog is great in that it made me find some pleasure in eating out in the country of broodje kroketten.
But now comes my one-million-dollar question: best restaurant in Amsterdam for 20 euros?
March 23rd, 2010 at 20:38
Hi Andre,
fruttivendoli are not only a great thing to have but certainly also one of the funnest words I ever heard!
I’ve actually been thinking about posting a list of ‘best affordable restaurants’ in Amsterdam. Not sure if € 20 is achievable if you want quality food. For a little more I like Zus en Zus on Overtoom and a few of the better eetcafes like De Reiger in the Jordaan or Vooges on Utrechtsestraat.
Do you have any favorites?
–dutchgrub
March 29th, 2010 at 21:58
Well then we also have wonderful pescivendoli!
My 20-euros question originated from the need of having a decent dinner when friends come over to visit me, and don’t want to spend too much.
But i’m realising that, as you say, it is very hard to get good food in amsterdam for that price. It is the same in Milan though, but at least when you want to go cheap you can enter (almost) any pizzeria and be happy with some fifteen euros!
Now that I live here I am actually enjoying eetcafes, some of them really provide acceptable stuff. In the jordaan for sure, but there’s also something in lovely de pijp.
Unfortunately I actually live in delft, but this means that finding a good spot in amsterdam (where I try to spend most of my free time) is even more important!
April 4th, 2010 at 16:12
Don’t forget that half the AH stores are franchisers (especially in A’dam). It does make sense that those differ in a bad way from the real AH shops.
January 15th, 2011 at 13:52
Interesting. Didn’t know they were franchises. Franchise or not, they sure all seem to suffer from the same problems here in Amsterdam…
Somebody just made a funny song about it. The musical quality is bearable at best, but the points are quite true: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlZ9d-g1fA8&feature=player_embedded
–dutchgrub
January 15th, 2011 at 14:02
All the Albert heijn brand food products have some sort of obscure preservative and even the “biological” ham has tons of nitrites and sugar in it, even a can on chickpeas needs a preservative or emulgator… while other brands just use salt as preservative…??
A simple to go sandwich has a immense list of ingredients… And then it doesn’t even taste good!!
November 17th, 2011 at 22:09
That’s funny (or actually, it isn’t)… I have never ever visited an AH in Amsterdam, but dozens of different ones in many other places all over The Netherlands. I cannot remember noticing dirty shops or unfriendly staff in any of those locations. I guess it’s typical for the Amsterdam shops, I don’t know.
November 23rd, 2011 at 18:31