The Cityguys' mission is to share the coolest, tastiest, most fun and chill spots in Amsterdam. By following Roger, Jean-Paul and Steven via Cityguys.com and their social media you are always up to date on the best restaurants and bars. The gentlemen prefer to eat gourmet food at Salmuera and Helling 7 they find a surprising newcomer.
Best restaurant
Roger: We prefer and eat most often at Salmuera. We have a joke among ourselves that we can answer any question with Salmuera as our favorite place. We also think Martin Eisma of Salmuera is the best bartender. He is brilliant at his job. Everything he makes is incredibly cool; if you're a real cocktail snob - but also accessible when you've never had a cocktail before.
Surprising newcomer
Steven: Slope 7 is proof that when something opens in a remote corner and the concept is right, it just fills up again. Inside it is a little fancier with white sheets on the tables, outside you have a cool terrace With mega-long sun.
Jean-Paul: Slope 7 sits at a shipyard; the concept is raw, there's a fat terrace. It's just accessible and reasonably affordable, though. Europizza is another surprising newcomer; it's everything you don't expect judging from the name. They have a menu with only 3 pizzas - though lots of entrees and desserts - but everything on it is top notch. I got a pizza with all green on it and was shocked; a pizza full of grass. And I took a bite and thought: I want another one! They also have top service and a good selection of wines.
Best terrace
Steven: The little terrace at Cafe the Sluyswacht on the Nieuwmarkt has something idyllic about it. It has a view of the Montelbaanstoren, from where the women used to wave the boatmen off. From the terrace you can see the Maritime Museum and NEMO Science Museum lie, as well as authentic cottages. And you have super long sunshine. It's kind of historic Amsterdam but doesn't feel touristy. I've never had no place there either and the service is brilliant.
Hidden gem
Steven: On Ferdinand Bolstraat you'll find a little hidden under Moak Pancakes a cocktail bar: Bar Mokum. What makes it fun is that they recur cliché images from the city in a very funny way. For example, the theater of the Vondelpark is the bar. The Prostitution Rooms are the booths where you can sit down to drink a cocktail. Then you have the old brewery. When you take people to this, they're like, 'wow, I didn't expect this.' Roger: The cocktail pub looks like an alley inside. When you take a picture there, people often think you're outside, when in fact you're in a basement. It's one of my favorite things in town, though. Besides Bar Mokum, favorite cocktail bars in the city are Vesper and Door74.
Best place in town
Steven: NDSM, a bit cliché though. Every time you take the ferry to NDSM, some new tower is built. It is where most of the festivals are and where most of the new catering establishments open. There is still room to grow. At the same time, it is quite exciting how this area will develop. The more people that move there, the more pressure there will be on facilities like hospitality and festivals. I'm curious to see what comes out of that. While it's still a bit of an amusement park for us now, I want to enjoy it for a while.
Jean-Paul: I think the Jordaan makes me most happy. Roger: Or the Red Light District. Often you hear Amsterdammers say, Oh, the center I don't come there anyway. Steven: That is a trend, that because of covid Amsterdammers are discovering their own city again. And it makes you suddenly come back to Café the New Lily sits, or at Cafe Chris.
Best hotel bar
Roger: Rosalia's Menagerie is a cocktail bar located on the Kloveniersburgwal. The cocktail bar is the lobby of the hotel, but you should actually see it completely the other way around. Rather, it is a bar with a speakeasy hotel. People go in here, walk through a door and wonder "What is this? And so then there's a hotel above the cocktail bar. Steven: It's more of a boutique hotel. They have six rooms, but they're always packed. Roger: Also, we often sit at The Lobby Nesplein. Work, champagne, coffee. Often people connect.
Best brunch
Roger: Little Collins for an ideal brunch. At Little Collins in the Pijp, you have to get there on time; before noon. Then you won't stand in line. At the restaurant in West, you can make reservations.
Best wine bar
Steven: Compartir is almost a perfect place. I learned what it's like to be in that kind of business there for me. The concept of 'you drink a good wine somewhere and go have a good bite to go with it.' Then sometimes you're still hungry and you still have to eat out. At Compartir, everything fell into place; from the bubbly on entry to closing - here you get the full experience. Jean-Paul: Compartir is small, cute, special and affordable.
Roger: When I get to Clos sits and I drink a wine with a snack, I'm having a good time. Steven: Clos, I think it's very complete. But more of a restaurant with good wines than a wine bar.
Best coffee bar
Steven: FUKU, 100%. It is a bar where people come from abroad specifically to sit at the bar and talk to the barista. It's tremendously good. Jean-Paul: You can choose different beans and flavors in almost all hip coffee shops. Here you really have different flavors. If you grab two different coffees here, you think twice: wow. It's bizarrely good twice. At some point you figure out your taste. Roger: It's totally not an influencer spot but a small coffee shop, which is nevertheless internationally known. And totally worth the money for a really good coffee. Steven: Until an espresso martini spot opens in town, this is our favorite coffee shop.
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