Amsterdam cafe reviews

All photos © garethreid 2012

I take a trip to Amsterdam or elsewhere in Europe every now and again to see some friends I met whilst studying in Melbourne. (Of course) you will have already read my round up from our trip to Berlin last year... so may be familiar with my approach to these weekends.

In general, I try to get to know a place by perusing as many of their dining establishments as possible. And this weekend was no different. When you're getting up at 8am on a weekend away I think second breakfast is more than appropriate, don't you?

So, here's my thoughts on a few places to eat in Amsterdam:

de koffie salon, Utrechtsestraat 130, 1017 Amsterdam, Netherlands

I may have cheated a little bit when researching places for good coffee near our hostel and taken a tip from the TimeOut "Best of Amsterdam Awards 2001". You can't be too careful when researching "coffee shops" in Amsterdam though so I was happy to ask the experts on this occasion.

de koffie salon was less than 5 minutes away from our hostel so we stopped by both mornings to grab a coffee and quick snack to keep us going on the walk into town. The coffee was really tasty, and they always ask whether you want one or two shots so you can personalise depending on your taste.

The first morning I had a single shot latte and some granola with natural yoghurt which was served in a drinking glass with a long sundae spoon - nice touch.  My other half had a double shot cappuccino and ham and cheese croissant. This all came in at about €15.

The coffee and snacks were great, but my favourite thing about this place was the giant communal table at the back. Both days we stopped by the table was bustling with people grabbing breakfast and reading the paper - dogs, babies and all.

www.dekoffiesalon.nl

De Bakkerswinkel, Zeedijk 37, 1012 Amsterdam, Netherlands

I'd been to De Bakkerswinkel on a previous visit to Amsterdam and remembered really enjoying it so sought it out this time as well. They've since moved premises to a rather shady street mostly housing Chinese restaurants, making for rather a shock when you stumble upon this bakery-come-canteen where you least expect it.  

I've included the 'please wait to be seated' sign in the images above because we stood looking at it for about 20 minutes whilst doing just that. I could see they were busy, but I could also see quite a few free tables so found it extremely frustrating to be ignored for so long. Not a good start. 

Once we were finally seated the waitress was very friendly and the food was great, I guess the reason why it was so busy (dammit). My other half had a coffee which was fine, but not particularly memorable apparently, and I had a fresh orange. For (second) breakfast we both had fried eggs and bacon on sourdough which was tasty and generously proportioned. The whole meal came in at just over €20.

www.debakkerswinkel.com

Footnote: I know this doesn't technically come under the 'cafe' category, but thought you might find it useful to know that we stayed at CocoMama - "Amsterdam's first boutique hostel". The staff were amazing, really welcoming and annotated our map to show us the best places to go. They have a cat. And an honesty bar where you can get a beer for €1. Nuff said. www.cocomama.nl

Berlin cafe reviews

I was lucky enough to spend this weekend in sun soaked Berlin and do a little blog research whilst there. Berlin in a fabulous city with many more amazing cafes than those listed here but I hope these few will tempt you enough for now:

Keyser Soze
33 Tucholskystr, Mitte, Berlin, Germany

Named after the mysterious underworld character from 1995 film The Usual Suspects, there’s something strangely familiar about this street side cafe quite apart from its cultural reference. Whether it’s the friendly staff, comprehensive menu, or laid back atmosphere, even when freshly arrived for the first time in Berlin you can feel immediately at home here.

The perfect place to catch your breath, refer to your guide book and plan your next move, Keyser Soze is conveniently located a short walk from Friedrichstrasse station in the centre of the city. We stopped off for a well needed caffeine hit after a 6.30am flight and refuelled with scrambled eggs and these jaw dropping club sandwiches. Seriously reasonably priced, our first foray into the cafe culture of Berlin was well rewarded.


Knickelkopp
77 Kreuzbergstrasse, Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany

There are two things which almost immediately grab my attention when wandering the streets of a new city: fairy lights, and bunting. So far, this slightly odd way of choosing bars, cafes, restaurants and boutiques has served me well and this time was no exception. I was so drawn by the lights, bunting and brightly coloured chairs adorning the street outside Knickelkopp that I even made my friends cross the street so that we could check it out.

On entering, I was pleasantly surprised as the candy coloured exterior, though clearly visually appealing, led me to assume that the main produce on offer would be overly iced neon-coloured cupcakes. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The interior is calm and fresh and the woman who greeted us couldn’t have been more welcoming or helpful. We only stopped for a quick coffee but I was so taken by this place I’d make the effort to seek it out next time I’m in Berlin.


Salon Schmuck
80 Skalitzer Strasse, Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany

After walking through a new city for a few hours you often get to a point at which your need for cake is so overwhelming you just. can’t. continue. Often, this is the point when you fall into the nearest establishment and find yourself with stale doughnuts and bitter coffee. However, in Berlin you are completely spoilt for choice with great cafes, bars and restaurants to take a pit stop and it so happened that Salon Schmuck was perfectly located for our 3pm refuel.

With a relaxed, street side ambience, and at least four different types of cake so decadent that choosing one was a little intimidating, it was the perfect spot to take a break and stock up on the calories needed to continue our adventure. Baked cheesecake with raspberries and carrot cake were our choices and went down a treat with fresh tea leaves ingeniously installed in fold down tea bags.