Café Americain — Restaurant in Amsterdam

I come back to this wonderful place every time I have friends in Amsterdam. The stunning Art Deco interior is worth it for it alone. On this occasion we came for a High tea. I love doing High teas, the importance of variety, multiple but uncomplicated choices and being able to just relax and be spoilt in very comfortable surroundings is the reason I rate the High tea at Café Americain amongst the best in Amsterdam.

What really is special is the service, which here is exceptional, all the staff are brilliant under the fine leadership of the very charming Timothy William, they all took care of our High Tea needs and there was a vast and varied selection. The teas where Superb, you choose and it’s brewed with selection of brew time timers. The champagne also flowed and was sublime, and we were able to talk, chat,catch up,laugh, have fun and most importantly celebrate my civil union, whilst being taken care of by efficient non intrusive guest service team of this very fine Café within the the newly branded Hard rock American Five Star Hotel, which meant we had a superb time, relaxing and very comfortable.

Gerios, Carlos and so many others were an absolute delight and they made myself and guests all have a great afternoon with a marvelous selection of savory sandwiches followed by desserts and cakes. All this with a wonderful view of the The fountain and Leidseplein outside. While being surrounded by charm of this architectural marvel within an historic grand Hotel. I highly recommend a visit to this café when in Amsterdam and being right in the heart of the city, opposite the 🍎 store.

A 👍🏻 LIKE IS APPRECIATED FROM YOU IF YOU...

Holland has a shortage, like in the rest of Europe of finding staff. Therefore companies have to row with the oars they have (heh, thats a good dutch expression) . But that doesn't mean the employers can just walk away by not informing there employees how to do their work. In restaurants where costumers sit is where the money is being made. Wether a lamp is hanging crook is of no importance. Customers are. The Cafe American is a beautiful place to sit, eat or drink, with a great view on the Leidseplein and a very good cook. There are around 40 tables in the mayor part of the restaurant. With 6 to 7 staff for around 30 guests today.

One would think more than enough for that area:

It took approximately 5 minutes for someone to guide us to a table, 15 minutes to order, 20 minutes to receive a simple but good dish, another 4 munutes to the necessary cutlery for having soup and 2 minutes later our drinks arrived. Staff was walking with an oblivious look, empty handed with 1 order to the registry which was put in a spot so staff would turn their back to around 15 guests. Who where waiving their hands to place an order or pay.. or asking for cutlery.. or drinks.. The staff was ill trained about how to work with guests. Eventually you will get grumpy guests and a insecure staff. And a bad turnover. There has to be a retired waiter in A'dam who can inform staff how to work the tables. Because it can be a fun job. And Cafe Americain deserves better. As the beautiful art nouveau...

The inside of this place is beautiful, but it disguises some serious shortcomings that have intensified since the pandemic.

This was a great place once, in fact, it has been in decline for quite some time. Purely because of the good memories, we gave it a pass on a few occasions for poor service, but the last time really was the last. The food is lower quality now, the service inexplicably slow considering the number of staff on shift, and then the icing on the cake was being abruptly asked to leave.

We weren't loud, we weren't incoherent, nor were we inebriated. We were just sat there sharing some beers and a lot of water. It was a scorchingly hot day, we just needed to recharge with some refreshments. Many of the tables indeed had reservations, so we avoided those and sat in an area of unreserved tables.

There was no question of whether we wanted dinner too, we needed to eat. But instead, we were accused of suddenly arriving (2 hours after we sat down) and taking a reserved table (no sign, sorry). Instead of asking us if we wanted dinner or attempting to relocate us... we were abruptly told that we had to finish our drinks and leave.

So we did, for the last time. We left the place we went on our first date, several years ago, and always remembered fondly. Considering that we don't even live in Amsterdam, we had visited many times since our first. We won't...