Febo is one of many unmistakable automatiek places that serve food out of slots in the wall. The name is derived from the first branch which was located on the road named FErdinand BOlstraat.

I first noticed Febo whilst looking round the red light district in a huddle of tourists about ten years ago.

It looked to me like a filthy place, not helped by the location of this particularly branch being on a dodgy drug addict/street dealer ridden street.

I observed that hungry tourists would approach this Febo place and insert a couple of coins into the wall. Thereafter they were able to open a small hatch in the wall and remove their food of choice.

This is pretty much the fastest food you can probably buy anywhere in the world but strangely, despite being a fan of the likes of McDonalds and KFC, I had no inclination to try this "exotic" type of food.

Luckily, I decided to take the plunge many years later and I can say with hand on heart that Febo is an Amsterdam experience not to be missed!

Every Febo consists of the classic wall of food. This is composed of a matrix like layout with different food occupying different columns. As soon as you take your food item, it will be replaced within seconds by a man who sits behind the wall and whose job it is to prepare the food and ensure that the walls are well stocked.

The food varies but is clean, fresh and warm. Most of it is some kind of bread and/or meat combination. For instance, kipburger is a type of chicken burger. There are also a variety of krokets. These are a type of breaded combination of mincemeat, vegetables and gravy that remain hot in the middle in a similar fashion to an apple pie.

In fact, the kroket is quintessentially Dutch and with the exception of those made at home, Febo's kroket is the most famous.

The price of the food is very economical at Febo. Typically you will pay one Euro or perhaps an additional 50 cents for anything from the automats. Sometimes, there is even a special deal 50 cent kroket on offer!

All Febo branches also have a counter where one can purchase non-automatiek items such as french fries and milkshakes. In terms of other furniture, you will not normally find any seating in a Febo. In fact, in all the branches that I have visited in Amsterdam, I have yet to find any seating arrangement. Still, this does not disuade customers who usually grab and go or are often so hungry that they stop briefly to eat on site.

There are also other branches of automatiek eateries with the second most popular outlet being Smullers. However, Febo undoubtedly dominates!