Situated in the heart of the centre, overlooking the Leidse Square, or Leidseplein, the famous Art Deco Café Américain is inviting you for breakfast, lunch, dinner, high tea, Sunday Jazz brunch, or just for coffee and cakes at the reading table. Surrounded by buskers, coffee shops, beer-soaked cafés and a general sense of revelry, it is surprising to find an oasis of calm right in the centre of Amsterdam.
Enjoy a newspaper or book in a civilised environment; it is quiet enough to enjoy conversation over the gentle hiss of the espresso machine or simply relax and admire the buzz of activity passing by on the street out of the window. The furnishings are authentic and create an intimate atmosphere unique in this tourist hotspot. There are leaded stained-glass windows, newspaper-littered reading tables, bargello-patterned velvet upholstery, frosted-glass Tiffany chandeliers from the 1920s, and tall carved columns are all part of the dusky sit-and-chat atmosphere. The café walls feature original Art Deco paintings from Shakespeares Mid Summer Nights Dream.
The lofty dining room, restored in 2005, is a national monument to Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Since Café Américain’s opening in 1900, this has been a hangout for Dutch and international artists, writers, dancers, and actors. The spy and seductress Mata Hari held her wedding reception here in her pre-espionage days. ‘Tout’ Amsterdam once liked to be seen here (and some of it still does), but now it’s mostly for tourists. Don’t let that worry you, though: It’s still great. On Sundays, jazz lovers can stock up on good music and food at the Sunday jazz brunch, from 12:30 to 3:30pm (you will need a reservations) and if you’re starved for news, settle down at a long reading desk with the international press.
Location
Café Américain
Leidsekade 97
Amsterdam
Phone: +1 31 (0)20 556 3116
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