Cafe Americain

My birthday this year was on a Monday, which means the only sensible thing to do was celebrate starting from Friday. The weekend was full of joy, food and bubbles, and it ended on Monday night, with a surprise dinner at Cafe Americain.

Let me also briefly mention my amazing partner Hayden who takes me on surprise dinners in beautiful places like this.

If you live in Amsterdam, you’ve probably passed Cafe Americain dozens of times. Located right in the middle of Leidseplein, the cafe is open from breakfast to dinner and it beautiful combines classy, affordable and casual. Back in the 50s, it was a celebrities hotspot. Today it’s the same, since I went there, obviously.

The interior is stunning, and one of the few remaining art nouveau restaurants in the city.

We ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, and dived straight into the menu.

For starters, we shared the Oxtail with truffle mousseline and port sauce. When our portions came, we thought they misunderstood and brought us one each – but they didn’t, the portions were just a lot bigger than what I expected at a fancy-ish place. Not that I’m complaining, just to be clear! The meat was really tender, the melt in your mouth kind.

Next, Hayden chose the Duck Breast. He has a soft spot for any duck choice on the menu. He enjoyed it, and I had a bite to test his statement – correct, it was good. Duck is just never my first choice.

I went for the Lobster Risotto, for a couple of reasons.

First, I don’t actually remember ever having lobster before. You know, it’s always just pretty expensive and theeeen you need to struggle with it anyway. Eh.

Second, I’m still recovering from our holiday in Greece, so seafood helps with the process.

The dish was delicious and very filling. And the lobster didn’t give me too much trouble at all, as it was already broken down into smaller pieces.

After finishing our food and most of our wine, we both decided we’re pretty full and ready to go. Then the dessert menu came, and it’s pretty hard saying no to Creme Brulee. We ended up sharing one, and Hayden made his happy face. Sometimes, I’m the reason behind that, but Creme Brulee definitely never fails. Below you can see him patiently waiting for me to be done with pictures, so he can attack. This was a good one indeed.

On our way home we kept talking about how much we actually ate for only 100 EUR (including the tip and drinks), in this beautiful place that sends you back in time. I’d definitely recommend Cafe Americain for a special dinner, or for a casual breakfast / lunch. It’s one of those places that fits all times of the day and all moods, from a Full English Breakfast to Oysters and champagne.

Value for money: 8

Food Quality: 8

Location: 10 (Leidseplein 28)

Service: 10

Website: https://cafeamericain.nl/en