| AMSTERDAM CITYGUIDE | Transport | Restaurants | Cafe's | Shoppings | Museums | |||
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| Cafes and Bars in Amsterdam | ||||||||
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Most bars open around 11.00 mid-morning and will remain open all day and evening until the early hours, around 01.00. (This is why they never announce their opening hours…) You will find a wide range of draught beers, from the ubiquitous Heineken to the stronger Palm or refreshing ''witte bieren'' (white, or wheat beers). Coffee and tea can be ordered any time of day or night, and when you need to go to the toilet, remember to take some small change with you. There is often an attendant waiting for a 25c tip.
Most cafes will serve sandwiches, salads and soup for lunch or 'borrel hapjes', (beer snacks, such as bread with salami or olives), especially if they don't have a lunch menu. The Dutch don't have large, hot meals at lunchtime and tend to eat very early around 18.00 in the evening. (If you are in Amsterdam during their cold winters, you'll know why).
Amsterdammers tend to keep themselves to themselves in cafes, so be pleasantly surprised if someone starts up a conversation with you.
Otherwise, the city has some really beautiful, well-preserved old cafés which are very civilised places to socialise with friends.
De Molenpad: Typical Dutch waterside café . A restful place
to have a beer along one of the main canal routes through the city.
De Molenpad (The Mill path) offers some good views of passers-by and
boats on the water. Be warned, however, that asking for a beer may result
in a small glass of liquid with a very large head on it. Don't be offended;
this is what you've paid for. (And don't ask for it to be topped up,
as one visitor did. Her beer came back twenty minutes later with nothing
extra added. You'll get used to it soon. In fact you'll get similar
servings in bars throughout the Netherlands). Absinthe Bar: A late night bar and good place to meet idiosyncratic
characters. Not the most blatantly obvious bar in the city, as it seems
half hidden underground. Unusually, it serves the potent absinthe, but
is also a good place to enjoy a beer and has some very eclectic clientele.
Excellent lounge bar, which attempts to recreate some of the former
mystique surrounding absinthe. Absinthe, though highly fashionable in
the 19th century, became linked with permanent brain damage in the beginning
of twentieth century. (The drink was blamed for Van Gogh's ear-cutting
incident for example, and this led to a worldwide ban). DJ's during
the weekend. Melkhuis: A large Café in the middle of Vondelpark. This is
a welcoming place amidst the trees in a beautiful location. An ideal
place to have a drink after watching one of the free evening performances
at the open-air theatre nearby. Croissants and breakfast is served until
12.00 and freshly baked breads for lunch. You can order little pancakes
called 'poffertjes' for children (or hungry adults) in the afternoon
and from around 18.00 they serve evening meals and their own version
of tapas. One attraction is that they have a boules playing area and
large children's playground. Here, lively young people can run races
with wagons and there's always Robbie the Robot to entertain four year
olds. Tonight @ Hotel Arena: bar, restaurant & dancing. Arena hosts
dance events during the weekend. Although this hotel and club is a bit
out of the centre, it's worth getting a tram to after a hard day's sightseeing.
You'll find a trendy, relaxed venue next to the pretty Oosterpark (Eastpark).
Hotel Arena is a good place to stay if you are tempted by the fascinating
Tropenmuseum, or the Dappermarkt street market a few minutes walk away.
Melkweg: Amsterdam's biggest multi-functional entertainment
venue. The Melkweg, (Milky way) is not only very central, it also offers
music, drama, movies, a weekend disco, a bar and a restaurant. Although
this converted brewery looks huge, inside there are three smaller stages
so avid fans can get close to their favourite band. The Melkweg is the
main venue for The Amsterdam Roots Festival, an annual world music event
in mid-June, with acts from Senegal, Sudan and elsewhere performing
until the early hours of the morning. The annual music and writing festival,
Crossing Borders is also held here, (one amongst five other local venues
involved), and it's worth coming to Amsterdam for this every November.s
The Greenhouse Coffee: shop and café in De Pijp This small coffee
shop won the 'High Times Cup' for their particular brand of cannabis
a few years ago and is renowned for the high quality and diverse range
of their speciality products. Apparently, different strains have been
gathered from all the corners of the globe and lovingly cultivated by
their original growers. Café Van Puffelen: A unique combination of brown café and fine
restaurant. This grand café on one of the most beautiful stretches of
canals offers a fine selection of wines as well as afternoon tea. Their
verbena herbal infusion, served in large white cups, is better than
most in Amsterdam and you can sit and read the paper or order a meal
in the dining area next door. In the evenings there is a club-like atmosphere
and a different DJ selects his or her mix every month. Café Van Puffelen
also has a salon boat, built in 1905, which can be rented for small
groups of up to fifteen people for a balmy summer evening. De Brakke Grond: Quiet café with outdoor terrace.Situated next
to the Flemish Cultural Centre behind Dam Square, this inviting café
serves a range of Belgian and Dutch beers. There is a varied music programme
with up-and-coming performers presenting their latest work at the arts
and cultural centre, but some very variable exhibitions have been held
in this space. It is potluck whether you will like what you see, as
they have ranged from installations of gory and horrific dolls houses
to lyrical videos of unusual events in an ordinary street. However,
it is a welcome respite from the crowds in Dam Square. You may experience
typical Dutch service here, rather slow and nonchalant. (Most of the
waiting staff in Amsterdam are also university students and often think
it beneath them to serve a customer or look busy. There isn't that slick
professionalism found in Paris or Vienna, but then this is reflected
in the lower cost of drinking in the laid-back Netherlands). s In de Wildeman: Unique bar with hundreds of specialist beers.Situated
in a former Amsterdam distillery, "In de Wildeman" offers an ideal opportunity
to enjoy different beers in an authentic Dutch environment. They serve
17 varieties on draught and have a range of 200 bottled beers, so the
main problem can be choosing what to sample. They serve mainly Belgian
and Dutch beers (Trappists) but also stock special brews from the UK
and Germany. Once a month a few special selected beers are also offered
on draught. "In de Wildeman" is a unique bar in that it doesn't play
music and is frequented by a very varied mix of people. This is also
one of the few bars in Amsterdam which has a non-smoking room. A relaxed
place, appreciated by locals and visitors. Divertimento Cafe: Serves delicious breakfasts opposite the
flower markets This central café is an ideal place to get your morning
croissants; order freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee before wandering
along the flower stalls. De Bakkerswinkel For breakfast: lunchand high tea. Wonderful
bread and cakes in impressive surroundings. Until recently, De Bakkerswinkel
(The Baker's Shop) had only one lunch restaurant in the Oud Zuid, ten
minutes walk from Museumplein. Their large, communal tables and afternoon
teas drew in a mixed crowd of Dutch workers and relaxed couples, who
flocked to taste their delicious quiches, soups and chocolate cakes.
Fortunately, for visitors in the central area, they have converted a
warehouse in a rather tacky part of the city into a haven of culinary
delights. The new Warmoestraat café is a great place to have their hearty
breakfasts on a Saturday morning, or scones and home made pineapple
jam on a rainy afternoon. Child sized furniture is also available at
the back of the café with a selection of things for younger diners to
play with. Even if you don't have time to sit down and taste their homemade
cakes, you can buy their freshly baked rustic breads from behind the
counter. Their Grandmother's Bread comes in white, brown or dark brown
'forest' versions. Buy a crusty, nutty loaf to savour at home. Café Gollem: A cosy brown cafe with specialist beers.The best
bar in Amsterdam for specialist Belgian beers, and apparently a friendly
place to meet anyone from a top Dutch lawyer to a local plumber. They
stock over 200 bottled beers, of which 95% are Belgian, and some are
exclusive to this bar. They stock the elusive Westvleteren, as well
as a few other rare Trappist brews, (Possibly still brewed by dutiful
monks). There are six beers on tap, which change frequently, (whenever
a barrel is drunk dry). Although the bar is small, it is welcoming and
typically Dutch, so worth a visit whenever you are in the city.
Café Cobra: A surprising example of modern architecture on the
edge of Museumplein This café worth visiting just to experience the
unusual, prizewinning toilets in the basement. (When you enter, the
doors look transparent but turn opaque when you lock them from the inside).
Drinks and food are rather expensive, as it is located in a prime site
behind the Rijksmuseum, but it has a nice view which can be appreciated
from the grass terrace outside during the summer. The café and restaurant
are named after a group of 20thC artists, such as Corneille and Wolvecamp,
based in Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam, (hence
the name, COBRA). Their designs have been used to decorate the café
and even the waiters' aprons. There is a shop downstairs where you can
buy the brightly coloured Cobra china and artist inspired T-shirts.
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