Getting Caffeinated at Koffiehuis De Hoek in Amsterdam!

It was after many years that I was going to spending some quality time with one of my closest friends (let's just call her Timbuktu) and so was very excited to be in Amsterdam on that lovely sunny Sunday. She picked me at the airport (not literally, of course, as I weigh quite a bit) and we came to the city Center within minutes in the train.

review cafe Koffiehuis De Hoek Amsterdam
Ah the bar at the cafe!

I am not sure if you know this about me, but I am quite obsessed with coffee. It's not just about it's taste, but the whole experience of it's consumption. In my opinion, Europe does particularly well when it comes to cafes and that's probably the key reason why I love the continent so much! Whether you enjoy coffee in solitude, or with friends, the gorgeous here cafes can always lift your mood :)

Back in the days when I was broke, Timbuktu used to fund all my coffee cravings at the newly opened Barista in Ahmedabad. Of course, those days my coffee was a bit different - milky and sweet. I gave up sugar in my coffee as an experiment when I was a student in US, and never looked back. Milk is another matter though - I do like a bit of milk in my coffee even now, though I detest froth! So no cappuccinos for me :)

review cafe Koffiehuis De Hoek Amsterdam
Timbaktu's hand and checkered table-cloth
review cafe Koffiehuis De Hoek Amsterdam
Nice light outside...

Ah these digressions - I find them delicious as they always take me down the memory lanes to those interesting growing-up years. Anyway coming to present, Timbuktu tried to use her exquisite phone from early Stone Age to try and locate a nice cafe close by, and after a long long time (seemed like hours) we found a place which looked nice even on stone - Koffiehuis De Hoek , which literally translates into 'coffeehouse in the corner. As the phone belonged to another era, using google maps on it was a challenge (there were even prizes if one could use twig hour making a mistake in directions for 2.76 minutes) and also a ton of fun. My phone had a Danish number which sadly didn't work at all  here :(

We passed by multiple shady (read weed) cafes in dingy lanes (I am exaggerating a bit here, of course) and wanted to change plans for the cafe and binge of hash brownies, but Timbuktu dominated as usual and I simply followed her towering personality (she is taller than me ;|). Without marijuana in my veins, I did my best to make sense of the directions, and after a few wrong turns we were finally at our destined cafe. It looked lovely to me, located as it was right next to a canal. So romantic...

I immediately suggested that we must sit outside, enjoy the freeze, sip coffee and look at the Dutch (and of course some foreign too) life passing by. She took one look at the chairs outside (they were deliciously bottle green) and declared it was too cold to sit outside as it might cause some casualties and simply walked in. Looking aghast, I bowed my head and followed her like a good friend.  We took the best possible corner in there, right next to the table. The cafe was gorgeous inside, but shockingly empty. Any guesses why? :/

review cafe Koffiehuis De Hoek Amsterdam
Interesting things at the entrance
review cafe Koffiehuis De Hoek Amsterdam
Look at all those interesting things on the wall...
review cafe Koffiehuis De Hoek Amsterdam
Little nice things on the window

In any case, based on her recommendation I ordered the goat cheese omelette and realised why it's such a good idea to follow a woman's advice. The omelette was great, but the cheese was simply heavenly. In fact, right then I decided that my favourite cheese in the whole universe was goat cheese and all my meals that day should have some of it! In a fit of emotion, I even bought tons of goat cheese for home but alas most of it was spoiled by the time my mom opened it one Sunday morning to make special goat cheese sandwiches (we ended up eating poha instead).

Sadly there was no food to share as we both are the same omelette (quite a bummer I think), and drank almost the same coffee! A couple of hours and a short conversation with the barista later, we were off looking for directions to the bus stand close by. We tried using the rock from the Stone Age, but it simply showed our future which looked a bit dark. Rather smartly, we did what Stone Age men and women did during travels - we asked Dutch people for directions! Don't roll your eyes - Amsterdam is not empty like Norway where you literally clap out of joy (of course inside and with a pretentious straight face) when you see a fellow human on streets during the day.

More adventures unfolded during the rest of the day, but all pictures are now lost and so I won't write about them :/

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Details about the cafe:

Address: Prinsengracht 341, 1016HK Amsterdam
Phone no: +31 20 625 3872
Working hours: 8am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Sat & Sun (Besides breakfast, lunch is served Until 4pm)

review cafe Koffiehuis De Hoek Amsterdam
That's our table by the window...


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Things to do in Amsterdam

Well, Amsterdam is great for coffee and meeting friends, but then there are tons of other things to do as well. How about we explore some free-to-do things in the city? Exactly :)

Read more: What to see for free in Amsterdam


Unfortunately I had just one day in Amsterdam, so I really hope to come back again and explore the city more in detail. However, if you have more days here's an excellent 3 day itinerary specifically for us Indians - Amsterdam 3 day itinerary!

Stay in Amsterdam

Here's a detailed guide on where to stay in Amsterdam by an expat and travel blogger: Where to stay in Amsterdam!

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