Although its neighboring country Belgium is more well-known for fries, the Netherlands also has a lot of decent fried potatoes. In Amsterdam, you can easily name places like Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx or Manneken Pis (although both places insinuate Belgian origins), but Fabel Friet is a place where you can see people lining up for their fries just as much.
(Be sure to check out the video below for a one-minute video of Fabel Friet)
I came to know about Fabel Friet when I passed by it on King's Night. They said it was one of the most famous places for fries in Amsterdam, but the problem was that I couldn't remember the location. However, when I visited Balthazar's Keuken, I finally remembered the place.
Just like on King's Night, there was a long line, and I stood in it. A standing sign featuring a QR code allowed me to check the menu, and another sign stated that they only accept cards. Interestingly, unlike other Dutch shops, they accept Amex as well.
Unlike the aforementioned places, Fabel Friet highlights more of Dutch identity. While Manneken Pis explicitly exposes its Brussels identity, and Vleminckx shows its Flemish identity even from the name, Fabel Friet talks about potatoes from local farmers. Even the potatoes they use, Agria potatoes, were developed by Agrico, a Dutch agricultural cooperative that specializes in potato breeding and were introduced in 1984.
Agria potatoes are large, oblong-shaped potatoes with yellow-brown skin and creamy yellow flesh. They have a high dry matter content, which means that they are ideal for frying and baking. The texture of Agria potatoes is smooth and firm, making them perfect for making French fries, chips, and other potato-based dishes.
While waiting in the queue, you can learn about the menu using the QR code. They had five recommendations, and I chose the fries with Parmesan, normal mayo, and spicy mayo. Compared to the other two places, Fabel Friet's fries fall into a different category. While those two places are mostly about fries with sauce, Fabel Friet adds a cheese topping on top of their fries and sauce.
At Fabel Friet, they double fry their potatoes. First, they fry the potatoes at a lower temperature to remove the moisture, then cool them down to 5 degrees before frying them again. They also fry the potatoes with the skin on, which helps to maintain the flavor and prevent a 10% loss from cutting. In addition, they use plant-based oil.
Their golden-colored fries were delicious, crispy outside with a soft inside. Additionally, the paper tray was deeper than I thought, so the combination of sauce and fries was perfect. Among the three places, my favorite is still Vleminckx, but the level of frying at Fabel Friet was amazing as well. I personally thought that Fabel Friet had a superb combination of toppings and sauce, while Vleminckx had great fries at a reasonable price.
Fabel Friet
Runstraat 1, 1016 GJ Amsterdam
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