Description: We always like to find somewhere a bit different during any of our city visits, and so aimed for a pub called Brouwerij 't IJ that I heard brewed its own beers and was housed in a windmill. As such, even the walk to this pub allowed us to explore an area to the east of Amsterdam city centre, a patch of the city we don't usually visit given our love and natural affinity for the Jordaan to the West.
On our way to our intended destination, our attention was caught by the attractiveness of a bar, the Cafe Koojse. Amsterdammers seem to spend their life sun worshipping outside a cafe with a little glass of beer in front of them, and so we decided to live like the locals and have a pit stop to enjoy the sunshine here, and people watch as it stands on a busy little crossroads. Fortunately, there was a little space for us outside.
This was quite a large bar, and although again it sold the usual Amsterdam staples of fizzy larger or small glasses of wine, it was still a nice place to stop and watch the world go past. As the cafe is near the city zoo and the University, it is quite a busy little place.
Inside, the Cafe Koojse displayed quite a lot of music event posters and also offered food. The lunchtime menu with its range of sandwiches and salads looks particularly good value at between 5-8 Euros for a light meal. The evening meals look rather more pricy, but Amsterdam isn't a cheap city for dining. With its part student client base, this cafe is open until the early hours each morning; worth bearing in mind if you want a late nightcap.
While I wouldn't describe the Cafe Koojse as a place to take a detour to , it is worth thinking about if you are in this part of town, or are looking for somewhere to lunch before or after a trip to the zoo. It is certainly friendly and reasonably priced and definitely a place worth sitting outside.
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