48 hours of Amsterdam: Terrace hopping in the capital with Niek & Karin

East, West, where does the wine taste best? Karin & Niek cycled through Amsterdam in search of the most relaxed or exciting terrace and the finest summer glass. - TEXT KARIN LEEUWENHOEK | IMAGE NIEK BEUTE + KARIN LEEUWENHOEK

The Far West

East, West, North, South, Centre... Where to start, with the more than 40 wine bars Amsterdam now has? We went for our own tastes and some new tips! We kick off in the Far West. At least, we cycle a bit into A'dam-West, to the eclectic, booming neighbourhood De Baarsjes. Diagonally opposite the mosque here on Witte de Withplein sits wine restaurant Kien.

With large terrace, right on the south. Owners Bart Dignum and Joost Brouwer, modest but knowledgeable and experienced in hospitality, opened on 8 March 2020. Only to have to close again eight days later. Fate. Extra sour: they received no government support because they had just started. Kien got a great restaurant review in Het Parool last summer, and from then on it happily took a storm - until the next corona closure. Summer 2021 is hopefully going to be another good one. There is a choice of around 100 gourmet wines for every budget. Bart: 'We deliberately don't blow up high, so that people who come here are really surprised.'

Equally unassuming but simply sublime is the stuffed egg on the dining menu. Niek: 'Order a glass (or bottle) of Vigneau-Chevreau sparkling Vouvray with it and creamy, fresh and ripe find each other; enjoy!' Above all, stay put until you see the sun setting in the west.

Glouglou´en

Nearby you'll also find Bar Centraal and Fabus. The latter, at 105 De Clercqstraat, has a small terrace with evening sun, but its insane Slovenian and Croatian natural wines are especially noteworthy. As is the heartwarming service from the handsome Croatian Nada. Here, for instance, try Batič's unique rosé or Tomac's orange wine Marany, accompanied by a plank of mangalica ham, Istrian truffle sausage and raw milk cheeses. Pure, genuine and unique. A coup de coeur address!

It is also delicious glouglou'en of vin nature at Bar Centraal on the corner of Ten Katestraat, with natural wines from predominantly French winemakers, matching the cosy décor with lots of wood, colours and posters. Natural
there is always real baguette and you can also eat good creative French food here. According to the biodynamic wine calendar, it was a fruit day, so that will have enhanced our glouglou experience of the chilled red Es d'Aqui M&M: frivolous red fruit, flowers, fresh spices, pure fermented juice! The terrace here is hot & happening, with a sultry atmosphere. On a balmy summer evening, and especially during the day with the spectacle of Ten Katemarkt to your left, you imagine yourself in a Mediterranean city like Barcelona or Lisbon. If you're not afraid of vin nature - often with a hint of barnyard and a hint of velon glue - and love hustle and bustle and burgundy conviviality, this is your hotspot!

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