Amsterdam cafes for laptop work & echt lekkere coffee - our favorites in West
Ernest Hemingway and La Closerie des Lilas in Paris. Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre and Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots in the French capital. Jorge Luis Borges and Cafe Tortoni in Argentina. Fernando Pessoa and cafe A Brazileira, in the heart of Lisbon. Writers have historically penned their work at coffee houses.
As informal spaces where all types of people come together, cafes are quintessential to city life. They serve as meeting points, as spaces for recharging - resting between errands, a hot beverage before heading to the office -, or, increasingly, as workspaces in itself. Cafes also give you a sliver of city life, a precious thing for creatives in search of a spark. If bringing your laptop to a cafe was once frowned upon after the pāndemīc it became synonymous with urban culture. Remote workers do what they do from wherever they want so any cafe with good broadband will do.
At Amsterdive, we are coffee enthusiasts. Away from domestic distractions is when we can focus the best, with a hot, energizing beverage on the side, the murmur of other humans as ambient noise. We, Ana and Clem, also happen to be neighbors so we end up doing our writing in De Baarsjes + Kinkerstraat area. We value a calm, cozy atmosphere that lends itself to reading and writing, and where we make use of our PC’s without shame. We are partial to friendly staff and good beans with the occasional heart or tulip flourishing atop too. We may not be Pessoa or Beauvoir but we keep working on, at least, maintaining inspiration levels high. The space we work at matters, and these are our six faves.
Note: All these places offer good Wi-Fi (it’s Amsterdam; there is Wi-Fi everywhere). All these places will be pretty busy on the weekends (again: Amsterdam).
Ana recommends Caffènation
Caffènation is the sweet spot for me. The beans are really good, the baristas know what they are doing. They are also friendly, approachable. The set-up is pretty in a welcoming and personable way: wooden tables, colorful walls, newspapers. The spacious basement at Caffènation is the dedicated area for laptop people. It almost resembles a co-working with large desks, power sockets, and of course, wi-fi. To fill up your appetite, they have cakes and grilled sandwiches on offer too.
Clem recommends Coffee Room
Located at bustling Kinkerstraat, this is probably my all-time working café. They have it all: two spacious floors to pick a seat from, and a huge working table that fits about 6-7 working spots. I've had conversations about freelancing, switching careers and the housing market here with fellow co-working "colleagues". Besides good coffee, they have amazing sandwiches, too - so if you get hungry, don't despair! There are several food options to choose from, including gluten-free, açai, salads, and soup.
Ana recommends LOT61
If your priority is high-quality specialty coffee and consistent barista work, this roastery and coffee bar is the place to be. The space was not created with the laptop crowd in mind - the bar stools inside are too high to be comfortable - but there are power sockets and wi-fi. I will say that I usually have short work sessions there anyway just because their coffee always hits the spot, - and I love the NY inspired *hangout* vibe - but realistically, I prefer to keep to my journaling + reading while I’m there before heading back home to work in the right frame of mind.
Clem recommends Belcampo
A spacious café with a library feel, complete with regular neighborhood visitors checking out the newspaper and solving the latest crosswords. Belcampo is a friendly, big café just next to the Oba inside the Hallen, a great location for getting your work done and grabbing dinner or a movie after - right in the same place. Their soup & tosti combo feels like a hug from the inside. Their coffee is great and fairly priced, too!
Ana recommends Coffee & Juices - Baarsjesweg
With a red brick and wooden interior, this cafe ought to be called Coffee, Cozyness, and Juices. It has an inviting neighborhood feel, with a good balance between people typing away, young parents on a coffee break with the little ones, and pensioners reading the newspaper. The coffee is good, the music is mellow, there are power outlets and the food menu works well for a laptop day. I love sitting by their window overlooking a canal, writing, daydreaming, and people-watching.
Clem & Ana both recommend Sam’s Koffie
Located right by one of the most popular street markets of Amsterdam, Ten Katemarkt, this is a comfy space - Scandi-inspired - that pleases the eye. The seating is cozied up with pillows and there are power sockets, but you have to look out for the dedicated laptop tables. The music is sweet-toned and there’s a vibe of familiarity to the place that lends itself to work time. The coffee quality is high and there’s an eclectic food menu too for when hunger strikes. Perhaps the most special thing about Sam’s Koffie is how warm and friendly Nassim, the owner, is. He will make you feel right at home.
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Ana V. Martins is the founder of amsterdive.com. Ana Creates Meaning is the venue for her most personal writing. Clement Taffin is a digital comms specialist. When she’s not doing that, she’s agonizing over what it means to be a person in the 21 century. Follow us on Instagram @amsterdive ✴︎
