The 5 best places to have a good cup of coffee in Amsterdam

Francesco and Elmer opened their coffee roastery and bar in early 2014, after meeting in the Espressofabriek in Westerpark. It’s the perfect hangout for a tremendous flat white or you can also just sit and read at their reading table. Their homeroasted beans are for sale, as are the artisanal chocolate bars from Amsterdam-based shop Chocolátl. 

This bright and airy corner shop is a veritable spot of sunshine in the eastern part of Amsterdam. It’s the sister of nearby Cafe Bru and serves loose leaf tea imported straight from China as well as freshly-roasted coffee. Peckish? Their bakery serves American classics such as mud pie and lemon drizzle cake. 

This place serves Italian-style coffee in a cosy interior with beautiful stained glass windows. It is a lovely place to start your day with a cappuccino. If you’re lucky, you can catch a few rays of sun on their tiny terrace. 

The blonde wood and white walls of the Scandinavian Embassy, on the fringe of Sarphati Park, make for a minimalistic but warm coffee bar. The owner is the award-winning Argentinean-born roaster Nicolas Castagno. After moving to Sweden in his twenties, he became involved in the Swedish coffee scene. He relocated to Amsterdam, where he started his own spot with a Scandinavian flavour. 

What started as a hole-in-the-wall coffee bar in a fashion shop in the southern part of town, is now a stylish bar all on its own. Owners Adil and Rosa Loukane use Amsterdam-roasted Lot61 coffee beans for their brews and serve small bites, such as their renowned cinnamon buns. There’s a second location at Willemsparkweg 8 near Museumplein.