Stadscafé van Mechelen — Restaurant in Amsterdam

Seems to be a lively and popular place, frequented by people in their 20s to 30s. There are four small tables outside at the entrance, forming a cosy seating area, as well as plenty more inside, including a standing bar on the left. Overall, it's a nice mix of ambiences.

There are two menus: one is available until 16:00, and the other is available until 22:00. The selection is quite broad, offering a mix of French and local dishes. I also noticed many dishes from northern Spain. We only tried a appetiser, which was good, although it could have had a bit more jelly. The beer selection, however, is excellent.

That said, I was somewhat unsatisfied with the overall experience (bear in mind that the area where we were sitting was only 50% occupied)... When we arrived, we waited around 15 minutes for someone to take our order and weren't sure whether we should go inside to order. Eventually, one of us went in and asked a waiter, who told us that orders were taken at the table and said someone would come. After another 10 minutes and a few more glances inside, we finally caught the attention of another waiter, who sent a waitress to take our order. She came by two or three times after that to check if the dishes were ready to be picked up. The table behind us wasn't cleaned. The dirty dishes were there when we arrived, we do not know how long they'd been there. They weren't cleared away until the waitress came to take our order, so they were there for at least 25 minutes. Since it was right at the entrance, it didn’t make for a very inviting first impression.

We'll give it another chance as the food options seem interesting, and since it is located outside tourist areas and close to our place, it could become our regular beer spot. Hopefully, the slow service was just a...

An absolutely brilliant place to spend an evening. Fantastic service, great drink options coupled with some mouth watering food.

Ambience: (5/5) Has seating both indoors and outdoors. The team is very good with adhering to Covid regulations. The outdoor seating is my favourite as there is a view of the canal. It’s a cozy and relaxed place overall. Large tables for bigger groups seem to be available as well.

Food & Drink: (5/5) I haven’t had the chance to order too much here, but from what I have eaten, I absolutely love it. The food looks great and tastes even better. Good selection of food with a varied menu for day time and evening.

Service: (6/5) Yes, I would give the service a 6 just because the staff are all super friendly and constantly checking up on whether anything is needed. Absolutely loved it! Given that Amsterdam on general doesn’t have the best service, this was a breath a fresh air. A big shout out to Jard who was so good at suggesting beers I should try. Loved the fact that his knowledge on beers helped me to select some good ones to try.

Summary: (5/5) This has officially become one of my favourite places. Just the overall vibe and great service make this place a great option to try. Do make a reservation ahead of time as it does get booked out. Highly highly...

I loved the vibe of this place and the menu looks promising and diverse, but man tonight's dinner was a source of disappointment and frustration 😕

We were served by two waiters, the restaurant was pretty quiet

Despite this it took about a half hour to hear back from the waiter that they didn't have the starter we'd ordered; by that time we were hungry so we just went and ordered entrees.

The waiter did bring slices of bread with salt - it was unclear if this was standard or a token of apology from the kitchen.

The "Café schotel" risotto was tasty, though the side salad consisted of only warm(??), slightly wilted iceberg lettuce with a few walnuts & cucumber slices. No dressing or flavoring of any kind. I would've ignored it entirely had the risotto plate not been so small 🫥

The waiter collected our plates and quickly left, so we waited until the waitress came by to ask for dessert. Another 30min later nothing had arrived, so we paid and left.

I won't go into detail about the aftermath, but let's say my dinner and I parted ways alarmingly soon after, so overall I'm not keen to...