Shop in heart of Amsterdam selling stroopwafels to tourists at €13 a piece
A tiny little store in the heart of Amsterdam has caused quite a commotion on social media. Its stroopwafels - with prices ranging from 10 to 13 euros a piece - are the latest TikTok sensation. And that fact has made the shop trend on X, where outraged Dutch point out that you can buy stroopwafels for 2 euros a tin at Albert Heijn or fresh for 5 euros elsewhere in the city.
Van Wonderen Stroopwafels is located on the corner of Kalverstraat and Heiligeweg. It resembles a scene from the new Wonka movie, with hot air balloons dangling from the ceiling around a chandelier and people queuing outside.
Parool recently spoke to the mainly international tourists coming out of the store. None of them seem to mind paying 13 euros for a stroopwafel, plus extra for toppings. “I saw an incredibly aesthetic and cute video on TikTok. The store looked really amazing, so this morning I said: Shall we eat there? And here we are!” a young woman from Finland told the Amsterdam newspaper. “Of course, it is quite expensive. But we are on holiday, and then it’s okay!”
But while tourists don’t mind the price, locals are flabbergasted. A photo of a receipt for three stroopwafels, costing 39 euros in total, recently went viral on X. It drew all sorts of outraged reactions, summarized in the sentiment that Amsterdam has lost its mind.
A few kilometers away from Van Wonderen Stroopwafels, on Albert Cuyp, you can buy a fresh stroopwafel from the Rudi’s Original Stroopwafel stall for 2.50 euros, 3.50 with toppings. Rudi’s was the very first stroopwafel stall in Amsterdam, opening in 1978, and last year topped Parool’s best stroopwafel in Amsterdam ranking.
“Americans come here and say: you have to raise the price! They fell into a tourist trap somewhere in the center and later ended up here,” Dennis, Rudi’s son, told Parool from behind the counter. “But we keep our prices normal. We also have many locals as customers, and we would like to keep them.”
Dennis added that he understands the higher prices in the city center. “Those shops obviously look very nice, they also have a certain setting. We're just a bit of a farm stand,” he grinned.