Cafes abound in Amsterdam and throughout the Netherlands, and in a variety of styles - grand cafes, eetcafes and brown bars, coffee shops and regular cafes. Grand cafes have a grandiose style, architecture and ambience in the tradition of the old cafes of Vienna or Paris and offer a dinner menu as well. Eetcafes are essentially brown bars (called brown due to the years of tobacco smoke which have stained the walls) that serve good, basic, reasonably priced pub food. Coffee shops in Amsterdam are not to be confused with Starbucks and Costa. Although they do serve coffee, they are licensed and controlled venues that offer customers the opportunity to buy and comfortably sit and smoke marijuana and hashish. They do not offer food and are not allowed to serve alcohol.

So if you fancy breakfast, lunch or even just a delectable piece of homemade apple pie you need to head to a cafe. Cafes vary from contemporary, stylish traiteurs and delicatessens with a few small tables curbside or indoors, to those in old Dutch houses with panoramic canal views or nestled in between eclectic galleries and shops. Cafes can also be found in the parks, with huge sunny terraces amid the trees. Most specialise in home-made soups, salads and sandwiches and a few use only organic ingredients. Although the international coffee chain companies have not yet infiltrated the Netherlands, there are popular local franchises which offer high quality food and coffee either to eat in or take away, such as Coffee Company, Gary’s Muffins, Bagels & Beans, De Bakkerswinkel and Pasta di Mamma.