Café-restaurant In De Waag

Café-restaurant in In De Waag combines gastronomy with history. This historic building is the prefect background for a tasty lunch or three-course dinner. Come here in the afternoon for High Tea if you are craving for scones with clotted cream. Come for dinner and try duck leg with sauerkraut or a double Waag-burger. Finish your meal with chocolate and caramel mousse. Not only is In De Waag favourite among tourists who visit Amsterdam, it is also a place where the locals meet.

Gastronomy with a Touch of History

The interior of In De Waag is beautifully decorated. The white-washed walls, wooden floors and furniture and an abundance of candles take you back to earlier times. The pleasant hum of visitors enjoying the food and each other’s company buzzes across the rafters.

The menu selection features a good choice of meat and a few vegetarian dishes. Crispy pork belly sounds promising as does ricotta and lemon ravioli. The desserts are tantalizing. Who can resist a strawberry tartelette or caramel mousse?

If you are not very hungry, try the snack menu with Dutch favourites like bitterballen and kroket or just go for a cappuccino and a wedge of apple pie with a secret Dutch mix of spices. Then sit back, spoon up the whipped cream and enjoy this authentic Dutch treat.

Free Lesson in History.

The year is 1488. It’s evening. It’s half past nine. The sky has turned ink-blue. The night watchman turns the key in the lock and then brings it to the city hall for safekeeping. Saint Antonius Gate is locked and Amsterdam is safe for the night.

Two hundred years later St Antonius gate is no longer used for defense but is now a weighing house within the city walls. Merchants liked its proximity to the Amstel River and a thriving market sprung up in front of the tower which was now called Waag or Weighing House. In the 18th century, the area around the Waag became known as Nieuwmarkt (New Market), and has retained this name until the present day. Nieuwmarkt thrived and grew into Amsterdam’s most important trading centre.

Over the centuries the Waag building and surroundings have had various functions. At one time, it stored the city’s archives and in Napoleonic days Nieuwmarkt Square served as public execution place.

These days it is a daily market where vendors sell fruit, vegetables and flowers. On Saturdays it is the Farmers’ Market and famous for its organic produce. Today, the Waag is a haunt for history buffs and for all others a gastronomic place with excellent outdoor seating in summer.

Address: Café-restaurant In De Waag. Nieuwmarkt 4, Amsterdam
Opening Hours: Daily from 09.00-22.00

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photo credit Marianne Crone