Please note that since writing this blog post, G's has closed down
Have you noticed how every brunch establishment in Amsterdam seems to be run by expats? There’s Little Collins (Australian), Greenwood’s (British), formerly Lovefood HQ (British)… and this weekend’s finds have been no exception: Bakers & Roasters is run by New Zealanders, and G’s by a Canadian. At the risk of causing controversy, what is it about the Dutch and brunch that don’t seem to get much further than hagelslag and koffie verkeerd?
But thankfully, immigration – you know – happens, and brunch in the city is being pulled up by its Anglo-Saxon bootstraps. So is the coffee, for that matter, which is just as important.
Bakers & Roasters doesn’t take reservations and it doesn’t take your order (you go up to the counter for that). But despite these seemingly customer-unfriendly facts, it has a warm, familiar vibe to it and a relaxed buzz. You know, like an Irish coffee: stimulant caffeine mixed with depressant alcohol. My brunch date ordered a chilli mocha just because he could, while I stuck to a hangover-curing flat white. And then another one afterwards. So it must have been good.
The food was slightly underwhelming, despite the promising start. The sweet potato and chorizo “hash” was both less hashed and less chilli-kicking than I’d anticipated, but overall hit the spot. The huevos rancheros were a little odd and a lot under-seasoned: the dish looked like a kind of deep-fried pizza with black beans for sauce and two eggs for cheese. Avocado, salsa and sour cream as toppings were present, but there wasn’t enough of any of them, and the black beans were bland. All this being said, I’d probably go back for the atmosphere and the coffee alone.
G’s (formerly G&T’s and still touting itself as a Really Nice Place) was a similarly mixed bag. I took my boyfriend there for his birthday breakfast, so we kicked off with a Mimosa and a Bloody Mary – a cracking start in a cool, retro-chic venue. But then the food let it down again: eggs benedict came on muffins that were soggy, doughy and untoasted, and with Hollandaise that tasted of cream and not a lot else. The burger – which was purportedly from fancy-looking organic butcher down the road, Louman – was entirely cooked through (despite our request for medium-rare), although that was probably no bad thing in the end as it tasted much like any other cheap burger meat. After two disappointing dishes, the bill wasn’t a pleasant surprise either.
The expats may be the only ones doing brunch, but there’s still a way to go on the breakfast scene. Perhaps it’s time for some Dutch foodies to give it a shot?
