Bar Langendijk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

by gavin, posted in Bars, Restaurants, Travel

After walking around East Amsterdam for a couple of hours I spotted a the De Gooyer windmill and headed towards it. There are a couple of bars in the shadows of the windmill so I knew I’d be able to get a drink.

The beer menu is large and has a good choice of Dutch and European beers on tap and in bottles.

During my 90 minute visit my beers were

I enjoyed the Duvel the most closely followed by Leffe Blonde. The Pale Ale was by no means bad, just not upto the standard of the other 2.

Certainly worth dropping in if you are in the area and want a bar that’s not overrun by tourists.

Martin’s Social Club, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

by gavin, posted in Coffee, Restaurants, Travel

Feeling a little slow on Saturday morning after one too many beers on Friday evening I emerged from my hotel mid morning looking to have brunch at Martin’s Social Club a block from the hotel.

Walking in I was surprised that there was only one other table occupied, but that gave me my pick of the tables.

My original plan was to grab some sweet pancakes but when I saw the savory option of 5 pancakes with bacon and maple syrup I knew what I would be ordering.

Soon I had a large stack of pancakes in front of me and I was wondering how I was going to finish this off.

For my morning heart starter I ordered a macchiato latte.

There’s something that makes mixing the saltiness of the bacon with the sweetness of the maple syrup. I hope whoever invented this combination got a knighthood!

The pancakes were delicious, coffee good and the service very good.

PS for the record I couldn’t finish the pancakes calling it quits after 4.

Beer Temple, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

by gavin, posted in Bars, Travel

After my morning walking tour of Amsterdam conducted by Free Dam Tours (highly recommended by the way) I asked Ralph, the tour guide, to point me towards a good craft beer place, and around 10 or so minutes later I was sitting at the bar of Beer Temple.

Beer Temple is, as the name suggests, a temple devoted to all things beer. And I must say, if you like beer, this is the alter to which you should pray.

For about 90 minutes I was able to have some of the best beers that I think I’ve ever drunk.

I actually started off with a mulled cider, The Dude’s Rug from B. Nektar Meadery .

The Beer Temple website says of this cider

Hard cider with black tea and chai spices (cardamom, clove, cinnamon, and ginger). OK, so you’re a cider, I’m a cider, that’s terrific. But this is not just any cider. This is The Dude’s Rug. For a spiced chai cider, it really chai’d the room together. Amateurs could not pull off the perfect blend of black tea with cardamom, clove, cinnamon and ginger. They’d be out of their element. So, if you want to be an achiever, drink this cider and abide. Nobody messes with the B.

I then had a beer, Northern Farm Eagle, which, while not as impressive as the cider was still decent.

Finally I moved onto what I think is the best beer I have ever tasted, a Barrel-Aged Ten FIDY Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels, which blew myself (and the bartender away). The flavors that this brew contains was absolutely mind blowing! As was the alcohol content – 12.9%. This beer is so smooth and flavorful! An absolute legend of beers.

Food, though, is rather limited. I had a garlic sausage with some bread and biscuits. Not a meal but enough to keep me working.

Cafe Gollem Amstelstraat, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

by gavin, posted in Bars, Travel

Gollem is a chain of 4 beer cafes in Amsterdam serving a HUGE selection of absolutely magnificent beers. There would be 30 beers of all varieties on tap and probably another 30 or more in bottles.

Cafe Gollem Amstelstraat is about 50 metres from my hotel which meant I’d be spending some time here.

And spend some time here I did! I found my self enjoying some truly stunning beers 4 evenings out of my 7 in Amsterdam!

Here are the beers I tried. I won’t comment much on them here but follow the links to see what people are saying about them on UNTAPPD.

Gollem is a beer drinkers heaven.

Three Sisters Pub, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

by gavin, posted in Bars, Restaurants, Travel

Another pub looking out on Rembrandt Square is Three Sisters Pub. It has a large outdoor seating area looking out across Rembrandt Square if you’re lucky enough to score one of those tables.

The food and drinks menu is quite extensive with lots of beers both on tap and in bottles.

I visited twice during my stay in Amsterdam.

First visit I was more interested in just getting a drink but as I was sitting there I looked through the menu and decided to have a meal. I ordered a schnitzel along with a pint of Amstel.

The schnitzel was probably a little overcooked for my liking, the Amstel beer a good, middle of the road brew. To complete my meal I had a couple of Heinekens.

On my second visit a couple of days later I ordered the chicken satay which came with fried onion and satay sauce. Again the chicken was overcooked and a little bit tough unfortunately. The Heinekens were good.

My greatest peeve with this place is that the poor waitress has to look after so many tables that it can be impossible to get her attention. Pro tip, sit by a door so you can flag her down when she passes.