Lourens — Restaurant in Amsterdam

Situated on the corner of Oude Leliestraat, Lourens has great views of Herengracht canal. Less than a minute's walk from the Multatuli statue on Singel canal, this delightful bakery has some of the best bread and croissants to be found in Amsterdam.

Established in 1952, Lourens is undoubtedly best known for their mouth watering tompoucen. A Tompouce is a unique Dutch pastry speciality, invariably served at birthdays and other celebrations. This Dutch variation of the mille-feuille consists of soft cream, pilled onto layers of puff pastry and topped with icing. Football victories and national events such as King's Day are celebrated with orange-coloured versions. It is believed to have originated in Amsterdam in the 19th century.

Roasting their own beans, this place has some of the best coffee in town, They offer a pea-based alternative to milk called Sproud which is greatly favoured by coffee aficionados. It is available for purchase in regular, barista and chocolate versions.

Lourens has a delicious assortment of icecream and a wonderful cake and pastry selection showcasing creations from renowned master patisseries Holtkamp and Waldo. With so many delightful things on offer, you could be excused for missing the shop's magnificently adorned ceiling which, on its own, is worth a visit.

Weather permitting, there is outside seating where you can enjoy your purchases in great...

I was disappointed with Lourens. I truly don't understand the hype. We bought a white chocolate cookie croissant, a ricotta-spinach bun, and a loaf of white bread.

The cookie croissant was over-baked, and slightly dry. The white chocolate filling had a nice flavour, but the texture was stodgy. The cookies on top were nice, but personally the combination isn't something I'd seek out again. It felt very overpriced.

For the ricotta-spinach bun - it was fine. Nothing memorable and, if anything, a bit too meagre on the filling.

The bread, though, was shameful. While the crust itself was good, the inside was far too dense (see photo attached) and had very little flavour. I guess that perhaps these loaves are more for "Display" purposes? The fact that the staff didn't know if it was white or brown bread (and actually still thought it was brown bread after slicing it) maybe is evidence for this.

I would suggest Salvo (excellent croissants!), Bbrood, Fort Negen (for their bread) over Lourens if you're looking for better quality bread...

The first time I saw this on social media, I said to my niece visiting then in June to get me 2 croissants. Pistachio and the cookie. It was tasty.

The second time, I went to see it for myself, location and the store , and all the products they have. I got Almond and the pistachio croissant.

It’s still the same baked croissant, it tastes good but no where in the level that you will drool with. The price is a bit high but you’re in Herengracht area of Amsterdam.

When I was there, there were only 2 small tables inside, and I think there were 2 benches outside. There were three crew at the counter. One is texting and the other serving the customer and the last one manning the cash register. It’s not so clean. But maybe it’s not their job to clean the store but it’s nice to keep them tidy because the trash can is already full, the crumbs from the croissants were all over the standing area where some people ate their...