good amsterdam food from a trusted source – not a vending machine.
In January I attended a wine tasting of Dutch wine e-tailer vindict.com. The wine tasting was fun and I also liked the web site of vindict, which presents color, intensity, nose, aroma, smell, flavors, taste, body, alcohol, sweetness, acidity and tannin of each wine.
Delivery is free for orders above € 70,=. You choose your wines from their site, indicate which evening you would like them delivered and then just wait for the bottles to arrive in vindict’s trademark purple piaggio ape pick-up.
Note: This is an old version of dutchgrub’s best Amsterdam terraces. For the up to date version with a map, please see http://s19.c69.myftpupload.com/best-amsterdam-terraces/
Amsterdam is a different city when the sun comes out. The locals know all too well that sunny days are precious and head for the parks, terraces and boats in masses. It’s quite amazing how everyday life just stops, everybody drops whatever they have been doing, and heads out for that perfect spot in the sun.
Not surprisingly, there are plenty of terraces and finding the right one is not easy. Having seen the standard recommendations in the recent TimeOut and the local NL20 magazine, I decided to publish my own list. Their recommendations seem to focus mostly on trendy places and ignore some of the intricacies of Amsterdam including weather, crowds and the ubiquitous lack of service.
So here are my picks for best terraces in Amsterdam where you can enjoy great drinks and a few snacks. All of them have great location, mostly off the beaten path and situated in such a way that you can actually sit in the sun if it decides to shine. Beware, many of the terraces around the canals will be in the shade from the late afternoon on. And all terraces provide a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, service with a personal touch rather than unpleasant crowds, plastic chairs and overwhelmed staff.
Brouwerij ‘t IJ
At micro brewery Brouwerij ‘t IJ you can sip a range of home brewed Belgian-style beers on a great terrace under an old Dutch windmill. What more can you ask for? Its simplicity and quirkiness has made the brewery very popular. On sunny weekend afternoons the terrace literally spills over as the thirsty crowd claims each and every inch of the brewery’s pub, the terrace and the pavement of the nearby streets. There is an interesting mix of regulars, locals, families, beer enthusiasts and tourists. You have to walk to the counter to pick up your own beer, choosing from a pilsner, three trappist, a wheat and two specialty beers.
www.brouwerijhetij.nl
Funenkade 7
1018 AL Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0)20 622 83 25
Gent aan de Schinkel
Gent is a mix of restaurant, local bar around the corner and lovely outdoors cafe in the summer. It’s located in an old building next to a drawbridge over the Schinkel canal by the western exit of Vondelpark. The restaurant has a monthly changing organic menu. The regulars enjoy sitting on the high bar stools and drinking Affligem, Chouffe, Palm or one of the other Belgian beers on tap. And on a sunny day it seems as if anybody who lives west or south of Vondelpark gathers around one of the outside tables on the sidewalk or in the small beer garden right by the Schinkel. In case you are looking for a place to stay, there is a great bed and breakfast in one of the small houses next to Gent with an equally great view of the canal.
www.gentaandeschinkel.nl
Theophile de Bockstraat 1
1058 TV Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0)20 388 28 51
Cafe Hesp
Cafe Hesp is a typical Amsterdam-style brown cafe with a large terrace directly by the Amstel, down near Amstel Station. Most people head to the Amstelhaven or De IJsbreker to enjoy a few drinks and snacks next to the Amstel. I prefer to head further upstream to Hesp, which has two large terraces with sunlight until late in the evening and a great selection of 20 types of beer on tap. Hesp serves decent bitterballen and sate with fries and draws a large after-work crowd, especially on Friday. It’s fun to watch the mostly business crowd gather around the beer garden style tables and get rowdier and rowdier as another large round of Weihenstephan or Palm arrives and is downed to much cheers and merriment.
www.cafehesp.nl
Weesperzijde 130-131
1091 ER Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0)20 665 12 02
Cafe de Jaren
Cafe de Jaren, like Cafe Walem, is an Amsterdam institution. De Jaren has been around for years and every Amsterdammer has been there at least a few times. It’s almost as chic as its neighbor, classy Hotel de l’Europe. It’s spacious, with high ceilings, and boasts a classic chic that makes it a great destination for either fun or business. De Jaren actually has two terraces, both hidden in the back of the building, overlooking the water across from the Stopera. One terrace is on the first floor, the other downstairs, tucked away in a corner, with a dock that some guests use to arrive at De Jaren by boat. There is somewhat of an intellectual feel because of newspapers available on large tables. It’s a terrace where you would have a trendy caffe latte or a good glass of white wine or champagne.
www.cafedejaren.nl
Nieuwe Doelenstraat 20
1012 CP Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0)20 6255771
Cafe ‘t Sluisje
‘t Sluisje is like a village tavern, far off the beaten path on the other side of het IJ behind Central Station. You get there by ferry and will feel great about leaving the hectic city behind. The Nieuwendammerdijk is a former dyke, lined by century old small Dutch houses. ‘t Sluisje is located in one of them, built in 1565 next to the boat lock. The same family has been running the cafe for over 100 years with a few interruptions. Everything at the cafe is simple – there is a small menu of snacks and people come to enjoy a traditional beer or jenever and not fancy drinks. It’s a great destination for a bike tour beyond city limits. Alternatively you could opt for Klein Kalfje, another great terrace out in the countryside, a few miles up the Amstel, heading south of Amsterdam towards Ouderkerk.
www.hetsluisje.nl
Nieuwendammerdijk 297
1025 LM Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0)20 636 17 12?
Cafe Walem
Cafe Walem, run by the same owners as Cafe de Jaren, is somewhat of an institution and has been in its Keizersgracht location for over 20 years. The food at Walem is not great and the service can be erratic. The chic terrace, however, is great. It’s one of the few sunny locations around the canals, by the Leidsestraat bridge over Keizersgracht. The crowd, like the retro-modern interior design, is very stylish and wants to be seen. You may spot a local celebrity and Cafe Walem is also very popular by the gay scene.
www.cafewalem.nl
Keizersgracht 449
1017 DK Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0)20 6255771?
There have been many food related events in Amsterdam in the past weeks. And more are coming up.
One that didn’t make it, is Amsterdam Culinair. It was supposed to be held on Museumplein from June 18 to 21. It was pitched as a creative, high-end food event. Intending to be like De Parade for food. The event had already been canceled in 2007 and was small-scale in 2008. Hopes to revive it in 2009 were dashed as it had to be canceled again.
It’s great to see more and more food festivals in Amsterdam. However, it’s not surpirsing to see some less succesful that fail to distinguish themselves in the crowded festival calendar.
Restaurant De Kas is one of dutchgrub’s four best restaurants in Amsterdam. Apart from the locally produced ingredients, we especially love the fantastic setting in a former greenhouse.
Last week design blog toxel published its list of the 10 most unusual and creative restaurants in the world. De Kas is featured on the list alongside a dark restaurant in London and an underwater restaurant in the Maldives. You have to love the pictures!
June was food festival month in Amsterdam! First the Holland Food Festival and the Weekend of the Rolling Kitchens were jointly held at the Westergasfabriek. Then we had the Amsterdam Roots Festival in Oosterpark. And finally the Taste Festival is visiting Amsterdam this weekend.
While this is the end of food themed festivals, I noticed that other cultural festivals are putting more and more emphasis on food. Finally! It used to be that food was sparse, over-priced and poor quality. Nothing more than a money maker and fuel to keep festival visitors going. Now food is becoming a key element, vital to attracting visitors!
De Parade, a mobile theater and circus event touring Rotterdam, Den Haag, Utrecht and Amsterdam, was the first to combine food and shows. Comedy, drama, dance, song and other shows are taking place in circus tents around the festival area. The tent village is centered around a food plaza where visitors eat, drink and have fun and which the artists visit with little publicity stunts to promote their show. De Parade will be held in Martin Luther King park in Amsterdam 31 July to 16 August. And there will be no less than 15 food stalls including a tempura bar, a wood oven pizzeria and a soul food cantina.
Next up is the Over Het IJ Festival from 2 July to 12 July on NDSM wharf in Amsterdam North. It’s a theater festival with an extensive programme including performances by theater students. The location is great, across the IJ river as its name suggests and reached by ferry directly from Amsterdam Central Station. Food is actively being promoted as one of the key ingredients of the festival. Caterers One for the Road and bakery BCups will supply food on the festival terrain. And the neighboring Noorderlicht Cafe, housed in a cool glass hangar, is participating in the festival all week long.
De Witte Uyl is one of dutchgrub’s top four Amsterdam restaurants because of its unusual, seasonal menu. Perfectly timed for the start of summer and the unusually sunny weather, De Witte Uyl has just announced their summer menu and opened its terrace!
As always there are some inventive dishes on the menu that combine summery ingredients from the Dutch, French and Asian cuisine. Smoked Chinook salmon from Frank’s Smoke house is an old favorite that has made it back onto the menu. It’s served with cantaloupe, watercress and mint and has always stood out for the quality of the salmon. It really has nothing in common with the tasteless whitish bits of farmed salmon served all too frequently in Amsterdam. The crème of fresh corn with home smoked mozzarella and a wonton and served with chickpeas, coriander, cumin, lemongrass and ginger sounds perfect for a warm summer day on the terrace. As does the tartar of white tuna with shiso, avocado, watercress and a poached egg.
The terrace was opened two or three years ago. It’s basically tables and chairs arranged on the sidewalk, but quite nice as the Frans Halsstraat is quiet and charming. And quite in style, hostess Annemieke has some great summer white wines on her unbeatable wine list!