Best Shops: The Cream of the Crop

There are far more good coffee shops than bad ones in Amsterdam. Ideally you should check out all of the ones in this guide and form your own opinion. Then you should e-mail me with your conclusions.

If you haven't got time to do that, here are a few guidelines to the outstanding shops.

 

	A UK Viewpoint is provided by me, Lemming
	A NL Viewpoint is provided by Wybrand
	A US Viewpoint is provided by High Times
	A few suggestions for finding different music in coffeeshops

Some places have exceptional buds, others are comfortable places to hang out. Occasionally these qualities coincide. These are my recommendations:

I like to start my day of indulgence with a good breakfast and I've been a fan of Barney's Breakfast Bar for many years. These days, however, it's getting a little bit commercial, crowded and expensive. Still worth checking out, though, especially very early in the morning or later in the afternoon. Both the food and the grass are good. Another nice coffee shop on the same street is Pink Floyd and you'll probably pass Rokerij II too.

At some point during your visit, a trip to Grey Area is well worthwhile. A taste of their top grasses should not be missed. In the same area are two shops that combine quality cannabis with comfortable surroundings and friendly staff. They are Homegrown Fantasy and Abraxas.

Two good central cafe-coffeeshops where alcohol is available alongside marijuana are De Kuil and Greenhouse Centrum.

To the south of Dam square, but still within the area covered by the main map, is the Spui area where there are two special and related coffeeshops: Dampkring and Tweede Kamer.

Around the edges of the map are some nice places that offer a less tourist-orientated alternative smoking and eating experience: Het Ballonnetje, Paradox and La Tertulia.

Out of the centre, to the south, there are a bunch of interesting coffee shops around the Albert Culpstraat street market (Media, Katsu, etc.). Equally far out but to the south-west is Kashmir Lounge. All of these shops are easily accessible by tram.

A short train ride out of Amsterdam takes you to Haarlem. Just outside the station is Frans Hals, part of the Willie Wortel empire. Also in Haarlem is the Theehuis.

For an international viewpoint, check out the Correspondent's Comments on the shop pages.
There is a list of reviews here.

Naturally enough he rates Grey Area as the very best. He also recommends Dampkring, Dutch Flowers, Greenhouse (Tolstraat, Namaste and Centrum) and Tweede Kamer.

Greenhouse Tolstraat, Sensi Seeds, De Dampkring, Barney's Breakfast Bar , Grey Area, De Rokerij, Bluebird, Greenhouse Seed Co., Katsu, Lucky Mothers, Dutch Flowers, Homegrown Fantaseeds, Serious Seeds, Paradise Seeds, Dutch Passion B.V., Sagarmatha Seeds, Soma Seeds, Positronics, Picasso, Hemp Works, The Noon, The Flying Dutchmen, The Old Church, Free City, The Dolphins, Greenhouse Centrum, Homegrown Fantasy, Softland, Siberië, Tweede Kamer, El Guapo, Chocolata, Dread Rock, The Bushdocter, Abraxas Coffeeshop

For something different try:

Dance: Two Twenty Two and Baba specialise in Trance and Techno. 222 also has occasional live DJs and a good selection of flyers. The hotel-bar section of Greenhouse Effect has live DJs on Saturday night and the music there is generally loud and funky.

Rock: De Kuil is a special home for old rockers with an emphasis on Frank Zappa. Central often gets into some Heavy Metal. The Doors and Pink Floyd are pretty self-explanatory.

Reggae: Rastababy plays popular reggae. Dreadrock also plays a fair bit of reggae. I'm told Black Star is good too but I've not checked it out yet.