- Amsterdam
- /
- cafe
- (21)
-
Netherlands
Perfectly situated at the intersection of local and tourist, Cafe van Zuylen is quintessentially Amsterdam. It’s located on a corner overlooking a canal in the city’s Jordaan area.
If you want to get away from the cringe-inducing ugliness of Rokin, the main tourist drag that leads straight to and from Amsterdam’s Central Station, this is the perfect spot. It’s only five minutes away by foot from Rokin and the almost equally garish Dam Square, but it’s as authentic and charming a place as you’ll find in the city.
Full of natural light, natural wood furniture, and naturally a fat house cat, van Zuylen is a great spot to fire up the laptop (free Wi-Fi) and waste away the afternoon with cheap beer and friendly service (a rarity in the city). Not to mention the decent Dutch snacks and pub-ish fare and a very decent cappucino and apple tart (There’s also a restaurant attached - haven’t eaten there yet - for a more intimate setting). And on a nice day, the seating spills over to a bench outside and a sizable collection of tables overlooking a canal.
Better yet, open up your map on the table and plot your next stop, or open the travel journal and watch the people going by - your first entry will likely start with “Maybe I should just move here...” It’s like a movie about Amsterdam, with more than enough interesting faces going by to offset the occasional hipster twirling his sad mustache while looking for jobs online.
How else to put it? It’s a cosy, unassuming, cool place. And it's one of those unique spots that is always busy, but somehow there’s always a spot for you.
www.cafevanzuylen.nl/
Torensteeg 4-8, 1012 TH Amsterdam
+31(0)20 639 10 55
Google map: bit.ly/xCUXte
An Italian breadshop, very tasteful in both design and baking. Fresh veggies, pretty cakes, firm breads, delicious cookies, they have it all. Did I mention it looks great?
It is on the Nieuwmarkt, near the central station. Walk down the famous Zeedijk and you will reach it.
A bit of a nerd alert here ... the following post deals with a place many of us haven't visited since grade school - so feel free to fast-forward if you are not a fan of the literary arts. The rest of us will geek out at places like Bibliotheek Amsterdam - an architectural and bibliotheq-lical wonder located about five minutes walk from Amstedam's Centraal Station.
It's part of what might be called the "new" Amsterdam. "Old" Amsterdam buildings are the homes, bridges, and cobblestone streets from the past several centuries - beautiful, quaint, happily cramped, and the stuff that most of us see on postcards. What is less often seen is the really cool and modern interior/exterior design that also permeates the city.
Overlooking the water and the entire city to the south, the main central library cost 80 million Euros to build and is easily the coolest library you've ever seen, seemingly intended as much for the tourist as for the student.
The lighting and layout - seven floors in total - evokes an Apple store-ish feel, with several hundred Mac displays and hundreds of quiet corners to read or study.
Occasionally, you'll be able to catch a concert here, with a piano player or singer belting out tunes on a given afternoon, in addition to cultural events like art openings. If you're handy with it, you can simply sit down at the piano on the main floor and tickle the ivories.
Any time of day, you can head to the affordable chicness of Vapiano attached to the front of the building, or head to La Place on the 7th floor for all meals (tip: get the Thai stir-fry for lunch) or a dessert and a coffee, with sweet views and photo ops of the entire city.
www.oba.nl
Oosterdokskade 143, 1011 DL Amsterdam
+31(0)20 523 0800
Google map: bit.ly/qXStAK
Small World is a small deli/takeaway join that offers the BEST sandwiches in Amsterdam (along with cakes, coffee, juices, salads and warm meals). It's Aussie-owned and staffed by friendly young expats. The sandwiches can easily feed two and are stuffed with incredibly fresh ingredients in fresh baked bread. It's a local gem and not to be missed!
www.smallworldcatering.nl
Binnenoranjestraat 14, 1013 JA Amsterdam
+31(0)20 4202774
Google map: bit.ly/j02hyu
Full of character, situated in the trendy Jordaan area. Excellent Dutch apple cake, and a wonderful array of interesting lunchtime snacks with healthy options. Very reasonably priced as well. Sit outside on the canal and watch the world go by.
www.cafethijssen.nl/
Brouwersgracht 107, 1015 GD Amsterdam, Netherlands
+31(0)20 6238994
Google map: bit.ly/lJQBuN
Amsterdam’s Museum of Modern Art has a fabulous collection from Piat Mondrian to Karel Appel. There’s a host of galleries in the city centre but this has one of the best collections of contemporary art and is definitely worth a look. It’s free with a Museumkaart or Amsterdam Stadspas and there’s a nice little café on the second floor where you can grab a coffee and discuss the exhibits.
Oosterdokskade 3–5
One of ‘the’ things to do in Amsterdam is visit one of the notorious coffeehouses. Although they are mostly good quality, Gaeper is one of the best in the city. It has a laidback but funky atmosphere and is usually crammed with an international studenty crowd.
Staalstraat 4
The archetype of a brown cafe, with a good selection of beers and cosily 'gezellig', despite its proximity to Leidseplein, it's a retreat from the lager louts.
Korte Leidsedwarsstraat 86
0031 206248901
For unique and panoramic views over the city, within ten minutes walking distance of the station, visit the Metz cafe on the top floor of the Metz department store - and enjoy wonderful coffee and cakes at the same time!
Keizersgracht 455
Find ‘De Erste Klasse’ on platform 2b of Amsterdam Central Station and be infused with years of rail travel atmosphere. This huge late 19th century wood paneled brassiere is the epitome of European railway romanticism: think ‘Brief Encounter’ without the tea urn.
Central Station
Café Du Prins is a wonderful slice of Dammer life, on the Western fringe of central Amsterdam. When I visited, we popped in each morning as we strolled along the canals into the city, stopping by for a strong coffee, a glass of freshly-squeezed orange juice, or one of those very small beers that the Dammers seem to like so much.
By the third day, we were on first-name terms with the landlord and bar maid, and the old man on the stool at the bar would nod in a manner that seemed to say 'Well, if you must'. It was mid-March, and it rained almost every day, but inside Café Du Prins we always felt cosy, despite the rickety tables and bare brick walls.
I would like to know what percentage of my stay in Amsterdam was spent in Café Du Prins, admiring the artwork on the walls, poring over the flyer racks, listening to the atmospheric soundscapes from the stereo, or eating pancakes, ham and eggs, or little biscuits.
The other thing about Café Du Prins is that it conforms to the Dammer mould of tallness, narrowness, and shambolic order. Once this status quo dawns upon you, you notice it in many guises. Of course, the city is packed into the concentric semi-circles formed around the canals, and as the buildings teeter on their foundations, standing tall, narrow and tightly packed, the essence of the city somehow follows suit.
Tall men and women sat upright on high bar stools, Heineken drunk from narrow vessels, the streets densely packed with upright cyclists on high-seated bicycles, and of course the Dammers themselves … Café Du Prins is a beautifully welcoming retreat and is well worth a visit.
Cafe de Jaren on Nieuwe Doelenstraat offers delectable food (and staff!). It's the ideal cafe, with a reading room, restaurant and - my favourite spot - terraced decking right on the River Amstel.
The view takes in the University and Muntplein, and the cafe is only a short walk from Central Station. Their cocktails make the day and their apple tart is to die for, even in a city famous for them.
Vertigo, the café-restaurant in Vondelpark, has a wonderful atmosphere at any time of the day and in any season.
Visit the Cafe Restaurant Amsterdam in the middle of an eco-friendly housing estate!
Visit the M l Café at the top of the Metz & Co department store. Good food, excellent wine and a stunning view of the city.
American hotel is an extremely good place to stay, though a bit pricy. Fantastic location close to museums & night life. Very friendly staff, a real treat, and the hotel's cafe is a fantastic place to have a meal or just a cup of coffee, very beautiful with a distinctly old-times flavour. Excellent value for money. Strongly recommend both places.
Leidsekade 97, Amsterdam (close to Ledsplein);
tel: (0)20 556 3000;
email: info@AmsterdamAmerican.com;
www.amsterdamamerican.com
Back in the 1600s Catholics and Protestants discovered that they were living side by side and strangely enough for the time hadn’t slaughtered each other. As it seemed to work reasonably well they invented a concept called “tolerance”. This has percolated down the years to modern times so that nowadays the Dutch don’t care whether you’re gay or put mayonnaise on your chips.
This is a delightful city to browse around and watch the people. Everyone is so relaxed, and not just due to the effects of strange substances. Amsterdam has a policy of tolerating the sale and use of soft drugs. These activities are centred around the euphemistically called coffee shops. Easy to recognise if you’re trying to avoid them as they are usually dark, have a characteristic smell and have words such as free, high, happy, dreams etc. in their titles.
In spring and autumn, when the sun comes out but there's still a nip in the air, there's no better place for an al-fresco lunchbreak. En Zo serves a variety of home-made soups in weird and wonderful flavours (for example spicy peanut or spinach and cream) at prices from about 3 Euros - ideal for a hearty but healthy meal.
Jodenbreestraat 94A, near Waterlooplein and opposite Albert Hijn supermarket;
tel: 020-422 22 43;
www.soupenzo.nl/eng/index.html
Berets and wristbands abound in the the place my mate Matt calls "Ebelingo" because there's so much chalk that the whole place is chattering. He's great. Anyway, come to the Ebeling for great service and even better house DJ's. A must.
Overtoom 50/52
1054 HK
Tel: 020 689 45 58
www.cafeebeling.com
The best place to chill out early in the afternoon in true continental style. A grand café - with high ceilings to match its title - that is open all day as a café, bar and restaurant. Pick up one of the international papers and lazily drink your coffee with view on the canal. In the summer the terrace is open. Make a grand entrance by arriving by boat and hopping in for drinks.
Nieuwe Doelenstraat 20-22, 1012 CP Amsterdam;
tel: 20 62 55 771; nearest tram: Muntplein;
www.diningcity.com/ams/dejaren/index.htm
Is this your business?Search Been there
