Cafe Cook

Is there anything better than Sunday brunch? Good food, drinks, friends, laughs…then I wonder why I have the Mondays blues every week.

Last week we’ve decided to explore a part of Amsterdam West that we don’t usually go to, around Erasmuspark. There, we found Cafe Cook (’cause it’s on James Cookstraat, get it?). Not sure how long they’ve been there, but I’m always thrilled to find new spots with good reviews around the neighborhood.

This one was a fairly early brunch, at 11…one may call it breakfast, but add a beer, and bam – brunch. We’ve had some drinks before having a look at their small menu. I’ve had the Krab IPA from Schelde Brouwerij that I haven’t seen on tap before. While Amsterdam is a beer lover’s heaven (after Belgium, that is), most beers on tap around bars here are similar, unless you go to a beer bar. So it was a nice little find.

On the menu, you’ll find about 6-7 choices. That’s a good thing. I couldn’t, however, see a theme – from a dish that highlights burrata, to a belly pork one, to jerk chicken, it’s pretty much anyone’s guess. Their dinner menu is different, and I haven’t tried it, so this review refers to their lunch offer.

Both guys in our group went with the jerk chicken, which comes with a bean stew, bell pepper, coriander, lime and mango salsa. They both enjoyed it, but not sure if they were head-over-heels impressed. To be fair, I think that’s hard to do with jerk chicken in general. Or maybe I haven’t had the right one yet.

I chose the glazed pork belly with sweet potato, pickled vegetables, sriracha mayonnaise and crispy shallot. This was a pretty delicious dish. A good balance of meat and sides, so the pork belly didn’t let me feel full, bloated and regretting my life decisions. The pickled veggies help with this too. Meat was very tender, and the fat layer was to my liking (not too thin, not too thick). I love pork belly, but if not done properly, it can be a bitter disappointment. I was definitely happy with how Cafe Cook prepped it.

My vegetarian friend ordered the burrata with oyster mushroom, pearl barley, basil, shiitake, crispy kale and mushroom tapenade. It looked beautiful, and she was very happy with the flavours. She actually called it “excellent”. However, they did get her order wrong the first time around. Luckily, the 2nd try didn’t take too long.

Overall, we left Cafe Cook with happy bellies and happy faces. It probably won’t join my favorite brunch spots, but it’s definitely a good choice for lunch around De Baarsjes. Their dinner menu looks pretty cute too (I think it’s changing monthly), and the reviews are good – so perhaps a reason to come back for a different vibe and different dishes.

Value for money: 8

Food Quality: 8

Location: 7 (James Cookstraat 2)

Service: 8

Website: https://cafecook.nl/

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