This review is solely for the coffee I had at Dudok. I ordered a Flat White. A Flat White is a more ‘modern’ style of coffee, coming into fashion since the 1980s, associated with what is called ‘third wave coffee’. Third wave coffee is noteworthy for being a refinement of traditional coffee making practices, namely, but not exclusively, a lighter roast (not dark roast), careful extraction (grind and timing) and when milk is used, it is heated to the point where the natural sugars are made present and not ‘cooked off’.

This brings me to the flat white I received at Dudok. First impression - a sponge may have been dropped into the coffee before it was brought to me. I will include a photo. The foam had splashes of burnt crema and was not a typical presentation.

On tasting the coffee the extremely hot temperature was again noteworthy. Hot enough to burn my tongue, I’d guess 90++ degrees. The natural sugars in the milk were long gone. The coffee was presented with a package of refined sugar, sadly necessary to make this brew palatable. This is very common in old style coffee shops. The coffee itself, despite the addition of milk, was bitter with a burnt caramel taste. Not enjoyable even by less modern standards. I took two sips, one on the coffee arriving (scalding hot) and the other after it cooled a little so I could give it a second assessment. Frankly it was awful. I drank no more. As an experiment I left the barely touched 4€+ coffee sitting beside my plate to see if the staff would enquire to why I had not really touched it. There was no interest in why I ordered something and left it untouched. This probably brings us to the real issue here. A long established place with tried and true methods, that just don’t get revisited or reassessed. It’s no longer a vanguard restaurant changing the landscape of eating out in Rotterdam, it’s a institution and profit machine. This place is a ‘safe’ choice (as long as you don’t order an espresso drink), not a great choice.

To the owners: please consider hiring someone to update your coffee setup and offerings. It’s really not great. Perhaps the guy who makes the coffee at FiveFiveFive – Coffee in Rotterdam could be hired as a consultant. Their coffee is excellent.