Elsa's Café — Restaurant in Amsterdam

I try Elsa's every now and then, and while I've had good experiences when it comes to the quality of the food, I've had bad experiences when just getting drinks. To start positive: I've ordered the goat cheese salad multiple times and loved it every time, the same can be said about the sate. Even though this isn't the cheapest place in the area, the pub food they serve is a bit more than just that and usually it's well flavoured.

Unfortunately, the service isn't something I would return for. If it's still considered dinner time the staff doesn't like it if you occupy a table just for drinks. And as written in other reviews here, they can refuse to serve you something. Last winter I tried to order a hot chocolate, I saw the mugs on several other tables, and was told that that drink was "just for the kids". It was cold outside, and it seemed like the perfect drink after the walk we just had. I'm from Amsterdam and I know that the Dutch have a certain reputation when it comes to service in the food industry, however I've never encountered this attitude before and was completely flabbergasted. I ordered something else instead, but we decided to head out not long after. It was a bad end to what was a nice...

The other day I visited Cafe Elsa's for the first time. I recently moved in to the neighborhood and thought Cafe Elsa's would make a nice local "watering hole".

I sat at the bar with my friend to have some appetizers, drinks, and desserts on a Friday night, and had the worst experience. We ordered two orders for french fries, some tomato soups, a beer and a wine. The bartender immediately told us that we "weren't allowed" to order french fries (even though they were listed on the menu with prices next to them) because we had to order a main course to get them.

We asked if we could pay extra to have them if it's a cost issue, and the bartender said no. He said, "it doesn't matter how much you pay for them, or if you order 100 orders, you can't have french fries unless you order a main course". At that point we were just shocked by the attitude of the restaurant that they didn't seem to want our money or our patronage. We left immediately.

It's a shame really, the cafe is right down the street from my house, and I could have imagined myself going there frequently, were it not so unwelcoming and married to...

19 years ago I was working in Amsterdam for a few weeks, this place was so good we ate here every night. I was so happy to return only to discover the food is as good as I remember, great atmosphere, good drinks selection and on Tuesdays there’s live jazz playing. This is a must visit place for any meat eater whilst in Amsterdam, well worth the trip out the centre in an Über, go on, you’ll not be disappointed! Can’t wait until I’m back again.

Update to my original review, I’m back again 3 years later and still epic, glad to see this place has survived covid intact and the quality...