CAFÉ LUXEMBOURG, AMSTERDAM

When I go to Amsterdam, one my my first stops is my favourite café, Café Luxembourg. I love it. It’s the perfect place to sit with a glass of wine and watch the world go by. Inside, the café is really cosy. As you walk in, you see a large table in the middle of the bar complete with reading lamps and the daily newspapers. Soft leather sofas line the walls. If you venture towards the back of the bar, large windows give you a beautiful view of the canal.

When I was in Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago, I arrived a few hours before the rest of my friends. I thought I’d feel a bit lost on my one but it was quite the contrary! I had a lovely day on my own. I wandered around the city, getting my bearings again, popped into a café for an espresso (it was a very early flight!), went to the Oude Kerk to see the World Press Photo Exhibition, wandered in and out of cheese shops and chocolate shops, sampling the delights they had to offer me, and then headed to Café Luxembourg for a bite to eat. I love walking into this place, its like a warm hug of mahogany.

I knew I only had an hour or so until the girls arrived so I ordered a glass of wine and the Buffalo mozzarella salad. As I waited, I just sat quietly, taking in my surroundings and tried to hatch a plan of how I could move to Amsterdam….

My salad arrived and it was beautiful. Simple, clean and fresh. I hate when you order a Buffalo mozzarella salad and you are presented with a few measly pieces of mozzarella and loads of salad leaves. This was not one of those occasions. This salad was packed full of mozzarella, as well as confit tomatoes, basil, roasted pumpkin seeds, olive oil and lemon juice. It was delicious. The pumpkin seeds really lifted it to another level.

It was so good I kept raving about it to my friends when they arrived, and so the next day, we were back again. We got a table at the back of the bar, overlooking the canal and swiftly ordered a bottle of Prosecco.

I knew I wanted the Buffalo mozzarella salad but couldn’t decide what else to get so Kate and I decided to share the Croque Monsieur made with Tynjethaler cheese and the cheese croquettes. Mmmm…..what a delicious cheese feast. The perfect way to start the day.

Faiza went for the carpaccio of smoked rib eye of beef since we were going to a vegetarian menu that night and she wanted to ‘up’ her meat intake for the day!

If you do go to Amsterdam, please pop in, even if its just for a drink. But don’t sit outside. There is a large outside area but if you want to sit outside, you may as well sit in any bar or cafe. What I love about this place is the inside of it. Its probably more of a winter bar to be honest but I could happily while away the hours in here, drinking and eating and watching the world go by.