In ‘t Aepjen — Restaurant in Amsterdam

A worthwhile dive into history, in the oldest house (made of wood) and cafe in Amsterdam and called after one of the oldest Dutch sayings, cafe ‘In’t Aepjen’! Did you know that ‘In de aap gelogeerd zijn’ (meaning that you’ve got yourself into big trouble) is derived from this very building? It dates back to the Dutch Golden Age, when the salesmen brought their ships back to the port and dyke (the street which is now called Zeedijk) and with them exotic animals from their colony Oost-Indië (now Indonesia). The cafe was an inn back then (the old rooms are still available and rented out by Barbizon Palace). Some visitors of the inn also brought exotic animals, amongst them some monkeys too. When sailors went back to their ships and started scratching their body, their colleagues used to say to them:”So, you’ve probably visited The monkey.” (arguing that they must have gotten lice from staying in the inn at the dyke). The cafe still breathes the old idyllic atmosphere from ages ago and is decorated with a dozen of monkeys in all sizes, shapes and of different materials. Feel yourself at home and have a chat with the...

Another cool and weird place with a nice story behind it (or not) is In't Aepjen. Supposedly, after the almost destruction of the city, only two buildings remained standing. Officially, it's one, but you know, stories. Well, In't Aepjen is one of those places remaining and one of the oldest bars in the city. The story goes that sailors were out of cash when they returned from expeditions. Still, they brought back exotic things, like animals and whatnot. The owner of In't Aepjen started charging in a particular way: IN MONKEYS! The lad saw monkeys coming from other continents and went out of his mind. The sailors paid for their beer or genever in the currency of the moment, the monkey and everybody were happy. In't Aepjen means "in the monkeys", and the bar is nothing more and nothing less than that, a place with monkeys of all sizes and colours. Ask for the house beer, and you will always...

Very good pub with professional and hospitable service. Quite small but this adds to the convivial atmosphere. You might have to wait for seats but people come and go pretty quickly. Lots of history here too (sailors could trade monkeys for goods, beer etc. if they ran out of money apparently). Not the best music but definitely a fine selection of beer. Losing a star as I think they could further diversify the variety on offer e.g. only one (bottled) stout on offer, which was out of stock, no sours/saisons, limited selection of fruit beer. Still, would definitely return next time we are in town for the history...