Café Hesp — Restaurant in Amsterdam

Amazing bar with a large laid-back riverside terrace. Lovely view, quiet surroundings, away from the loud crowds of tourists in the center.

There's really nothing not to like about Hesp. Has a good drinks menu that'll please everyone: good beers, wine, jenever, spirits, coffees and soft drinks. Even Paulaner on draft in 0.5L, as well as a selection of craft.

They have a fairly large food menu, too - breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. The menu is pretty typical Dutch/European. The beer snacks are good, quality bitterballen and tasty rendang fries.

The large waterfront terrace is the star of the show but there's also a fairly large indoor area. One half of the building is the bar area which often shows AJAX games on the projector, and is good for drinks and snacks. The other half is a dedicated restaurant area which has been nicely decorated and faces onto the kitchen.

Tourist friendly too: they take credit cards, and they have English menus.

Only downside: if you want a seat outside in good weather,...

We always knew Hesp was a great sunny terrace with a seriously good beer selection. We were curious to visit after watching 'upgrades' on successive covid walks in the neighbourhood. Renovations of old school institutions can be tricky - sometimes your favourite bruine kroeg turns into pure modern douchebaggery. In this case, Hesp has done a very tasteful refresh (add in grand cafe elements) without losing its core, transformed itself into a place where you can come for beers and stay for dinner. Everything we had was made with love and without cutting corners. Rendang fries, bavette nicely seasoned and well grilled, a tasty and fresh little side salad, good fries. Almond bavarois with elderflower sorbet and nicely mi-cuit moelleux au chocolat....

If i could I would give this cafe 0 stars. Staff is extremely rude. We stopped on the canal next to this cafe with our boat and i really needed to use the toilet. I know most places don't let you use the toilet unless you're a paying costumer so for that reason I bought a 5,50€ take-away drink at the terrace bar, went inside and asked the gentleman at the inside bar where the toilets are. He replied "you know we're really tired of this, we are not a public toilet!". I showed him my drink, informing him that I just bought a (pretty expensive) drink and he proceeded to usher me outside and pointed to a stinky portable toilet...