Amsterdam Off the Beaten Path - Cafe P96

Many bars, pubs, and cafes in Amsterdam might look the same. It seems like we always end up in the same places, or number of bars in the same popular spot such as Leidseplein or Rembrandtplein. But in these places the majority of bars are very touristy, overcrowded and less characteristic.

How many places do you know when you get meet the owner working behind the bar? How well do you know the bar you're getting your next pint in? Do you know what it was being used for decades ago? I bet the answer would be mostly “no”.

Well we decided to change this. We were lucky enough to get invited to a Halloween party hosted by our friends in one of the bars on Prinsengracht. We liked the place so much that we decided to share it with you, and give you our incite into the bar itself.

Café P96 is located on one of the most beautiful canals in Amsterdam. You might know it already since the location is so impressive. Just a few steps off the beaten path so still plenty of tourists, yet it's still very central. It has its own boat docked right next to the bar, how fitting to have a boat in Amsterdam where you sit back, relax right on the water overlooking the stunning view of the Jordan canals.

When you walk in, you see a pretty typical interior with cozy lights, comfortable chairs along the bar and several tables. It seems it was quite an ordeal to get the bar to what you and i see today.

It started back in 1975. The owner of the bar Alice de Waad worked at the hospital at that time. On this day she got home to receive the news from her husband that he had bought a bar. From that day on they had to quit their jobs and start a new adventure together. And what an adventure it turned out to be.

Back in 1975 The Princengracht, which appears to be a lovely, quiet, and safe neighborhood these days, used to be very popular among criminals, drug dealers and ex-prisoners. So the first several years were quite tough for the new owners. Inheriting a dark small place from the previous owner they also inherited all the dodgy customers. Going through endless fights and stressful nights, within several years family de Waad managed to cut the tie with all the terrible past of the venue. They successfully rebuilt its reputation as a nice, welcoming and very safe establishment.

Initially the bar was called “Princess”, only in 1980 when the owners decided to extend the bar to the neighboring building, undertaking a complete restoration, they decided to give the bar a brand new name. This new beginning ended an era for “Princess” and gave way for “Café P96”.

In 1983 there was yet another improvement which would allow all the customers to finally enjoy the sunny days, sitting canal side on a boat, sipping on their beers, or having a cup of tea with their famous carrot cake.

Nowadays Café P96 welcomes everybody from student to businessmen, from old Amsterdamers who frequented “Princess”, to tourists visiting the city just for a few days. Everybody would find themselves relaxed and welcome. This is what makes Café P96 so special. The owners Alice de Waad and daughter Edmee, still work behind the counter. The bar is very popular for hosting parties. Generally because of the size, which caters for a hundred people easily. That's one hundred without huge queues at the bar, plus no extra fees are required to book the venue. But you have to take into consideration that P96 would not host a private party. They love their regular customers and want to be open for them all the time.

Café P96 is one of the few places in Amsterdam that is open until 3-4 am in the morning. That is another reason for it to be so popular. It becomes a meet-up point for many employees from neighbor bars and restaurants, where they can sit down, stretch their legs after a long working day and relax enjoying a glass of beer or wine with their friends before heading back home for a well-deserved rest.

You will not find fancy cocktails at Café P96, they mostly serve Dutch and Belgium beers, and wines. But it is more about the atmosphere rather than drinks in here. Something about being in touch with the history of Amsterdam. It's good and bad history and experiences. To feel the uniqueness and character of a place which was built by the hands of those standing on the other side of the bar from you.

So if you are in the neighborhood and ready to have a quick break from the noisy city center, stop for a little bit and give yourself a chance. A chance to sit back and relax, enjoy the view and some pleasant company. Café P96 would be the best choice to feel truly at home away from home.

8vo Rooftop Bar - Best classy cocktail bar in San Jose, Costa Rica

While visiting Costa Rica we tried to check out different places. On arrival to San Jose with an unplanned over stop in Panama city due to some crazy storm we decided that it was time to actually treat ourselves with some tasty cocktails in a classy place.
What would you expect of a Costa Rican cocktail bar? Well I was thinking of some tropical place made out of banana trees leaves with always smiling bartneder wearing a Hawaiian shirt and waitreses wearing only bikinies. Okay, first of all San Jose is not on the beach and if you stick to the center, like a real center of the city, you would probably find some dark and dodgy looking places instead of happy tropical bars :-) I am not saying you should stay away from the center - there are tons of cool venues as well, but somehow you don't feel like getting drunk and flashing your wallet around over there at night :-)
So while sitting in Panama we decided to google trying to find some classy cocktail bars in San Jose to celebrate our arrival if it ever happened (trust me when after 10 hour flight you end up in a different country you start doubting things). And it was not easy :-) Even googling in Spanish did not give that many results. But we managed to spot 8vo Rooftop Bar. Pics looked great, there was a swimming pool right on the roof, overlooking the city. So the decision was made!

How to find it? As anything else in Costa Rica it is quite tricky to find for Europeans since there are no streets, well there are, but usually you get the address like "between 1st and 3rd Avenue, next to the Hospital". But in that particular case the bar was outside of the city center (where we stayed) so we chose a taxi option. 20 minutes ride, getting lost, asking for directions from some strangers on the road and finally finding out that 8vo Rooftop bar is in Sheraton Hotel we managed to get there. So if you go by taxi, just ask them to take you to Sheraton hotel and you will be just fine.
The place indeed was great. Since it gets dark quite early, at around 6PM, we got an amazng view of the night city. Unlike many places staff at 8ve Rooftop Bar speaks very good English. The menu is in English as well. Makes things easier :-)
Now, I am still not 100% sure, but somehow got the impression that swimming pool is not supposed to be used at night. Everybody in fact were dressed up nicely, suits, cocktail dresses, so please don't try to get in there wearing boardies hoping to go for swim after one or two drinks :-)
As for the drinks, you can ask for any classical cocktail (they are not on the menu) or pick something from the list. None of them would make sense if you try to guess what yu would get by the name of the drink, but they are all pretty good. To be honest I would not say that I will remember the place for its' cocktails, ... definitely not, but the view is really great, service is super fast, people are very nice and friendly.
Pricewise we were told that that was one of the most expensive places in San Jose, but price for a cocktail was between 3000 and 4000 colones which is about 6-8 US dollars, which is what like 5-6 EUR, I think it's pretty cheap for a classy place right? Plus we paid pretty much the same amount for similar drinks in way cheaper looking places. So guys, if you in San Jose and feeling like going out, dressing up nicely, and ready to enjoy the evening you definitely have to check out 8vo Rooftop Bar.


Cheers,
Your BestBars.in Team

Pimm's Berry Mojito

Since we had a bottle of Pimm's sitting in our home bar we decided to give it a go and create something nice and tasty with it. Thanks to Drinksmixer.com for the inspiration with their Pimm's Mojito recipe,but we were slightly lacking some ingredients, like strawberries, but had blueberries instead, and as a result we came up with an altered cocktail, named Pimm's Berry Mojito.

In a highball glass put mint leaves, squeeze one lime, add sugar syrup (3/4 oz), three raspberries, 4 blueberries. Muddle gently, you don't want to break mint leaves, just squeeze flavor out. Add crashed ice, 1 oz of vodka, 2 oz of Pimm's, stir everything, top it up with crashed ice and soda. Garnish with a few mint leaves and a few berries and you are ready to go :-)

We really liked the result, but be careful, a few cocktails like this and you might find yourself merry and happy, willing to go wild and party hard ;-) Don't say we did not warn you :-)

Cheers,
Your BestBars.In Team

Relaxing Saturday night at WesterGasTerras, Amsterdam

Since we just felt a bit lazy today we decided to chill a bit. The place we choose was Westergasterras, nice and relaxing place in Westerpark in Amsterdam. In summer you would prefer to stretch on the terrace, enjoying a glass of ice cold beer or chilled rose wine. In colder time you still can stay on the terrace under the heaters, but stepping inside would bring you into charming atmosphere with a fireplace, warmth of which would help you to finally find the enjoyment in cold rainy weather, pleasant music, not too loud so you can have a conversation with your friends without shouting into each others ears.

Today wasn't the coldest day in the Netherlands and it wasn't raining either, but somehow we did not put too much clothes on so felt slightly chilly. We decided to sit inside, right next to the bar. When place is packed, and it might happen quite often in summer times you might not get very lucky getting a good spot, also when it is too busy you better stay close to the bar if you want to get your drinks before you start feeling really thirsty :-)

If you are a tourist and feel a bit fed up with all the pubs around Leidseplein or Rembrandtplein where all visitors usually spend time, then grab a tram #10 from Leidseplein or bus 21 from Central Station and come over to Westerpark area, you will definitely find great bars and a few clubs here and will get a chance to experience something more local and less touristy.

Cheers,

BestBars.In Team

Unforgettable wine tasting at Bubbles & Wines in Amsterdam

Yesterday night we decided to go off the beaten path and try something slightly different and maybe less popular in Amsterdam.
Recently we were invited by our friends to a wine bar Bubbles & Wines, the experience was so good that we decided to come back exactly at the same place and share that experience with you this time.
So let us begin our quick review. The place is located on a very quiet street of Amsterdam and just a few meters away from the Dam Square. It is difficult to imagine that making one step aside you can find yourself in absolutely different ambiance, rhythm and atmosphere. We are on Nes street and looking for number 37. Here you find a really cozy and classy looking place called Bubbles & Wines.
The place is perfect for a date, here, especially if you know something about wine, you definitely can impress your date with a great choice and knowledge of the city.

Service is great, wine menu can offer items to the most picky wine gourmets. Personnel is very friendly and professional. What we loved the most is the option of getting a wine flight - set of three wines from the same category (like desert wines, or red chilled wines, or Spanish wines etc). On arrival waiter gave us some information about each individual wine, what is so special about it, which region is it from, difference between picked wines. Same way you would get full answer on any question related to served wines. If you cannot choose, which is easy sometimes, you can also ask for an advice and be sure you will be happily assisted.
Price-wise it is definitely not the cheapest place, but where can you find a wine bar with great variety of really good wines with low prices?
So our recommendation if you haven't been there yet, definitely worth checking it out. Plus it doesn't get really busy so you will always find a table or a room at the bar.

Friday Night out - Cafe de Jaren

Okay this Friday we deiced to take it easy and just have a few drinks with our friends, avoid crazy night out with lots of bars, tequila shots and terrible hangover in the morning.
We agreed to meet at Cafe de Jaren, a nice spacious restaurant in the center of Amsterdam. The place is quite nice, lots of room, nice terrace facing the canal, so if you come there in summer that would be a lovely spot to chill out, enjoy the conversation with a few glasses of wine.
When it gets colder and more wet as it always does in the Netherlands as soon as August is over, then you probably would want to step inside and stay dry and warm.

You won't fine some cocktails, tunes pumping making everybody dance, crazy parties, and it is definitely not the place to finish your  night out. But it is a great place to sit back and relax, with your friends, family.
So depending on what you are looking for, might be the right or wrong place for you.
Weird thing though, well it is quite typical for the majority of venues in Amsterdam, you have to pay for the toilet. I always found it weird, when you leave 50 EUR at the bar they still charge you 50 cents to use the loo. Oh well, this is what it is :-)
Beside that, as I mentioned, great place for the right occasion.

Friday night out in Amsterdam

Bad weather never stops crazy Amsterdam crowd from going out and having fun.

If you are unsure where to go but feeling like being in a crowded place, meet new people, enjoy many options with bars and pubs, then Leidseplein is the right spot. With lots of different bars concentrated in one square and a few streets close by it offers venues to the most picky customers. You can have a pint of Guinness at Hole in the Wall, taste amazing cocktails at NJoy, and much more.

Last Friday BestBars.In team enjoyed the rain and hit a couple of places as well. Our first stop was a restaurant, bar Palladium.

Great place if you arrive early, have a dinner, enjoy a conversation with your friends. Here is what they say about themselves:

Q. What are we? "A bar, a restaurant, a brasserie, a club, a lounge, or a place to dance?"
A. "We are Palladium!" 
Already for 30 years our philosophy remains: Quality, sense of style and fun! Have a fine, lunch or dinner, in a comfortable atmosphere and enjoy the music from 11 p.m. till late!

But it might get a bit busy from 10PM on Fridays and Saturdays.

What we found a little bit weird, that at around 11PM waitresses brought out ashtrays and smoking started. So trying to save our clothes we decided to change the venue and moved almost next door, to Players.
Usually with good dance music that works for majority of the people it offers great variety of drinks, from beers and mixers to some cocktails. Mixed crowd and nice atmosphere helps you to drink more, get more social and enjoy your night out.

Same smoking issue in Players as well, guess this is just a more profitable management choice. Oh well, not our call or position to judge. But at the end of the day (or better to say night) we had great time and enjoyed our night out.

So rain is nothing kids, let's go party!!!