Bar hopping in the Jordaan****

I usually review restaurants, but this time I thought I'd just mention a few Brown Bars in the Jordaan that are worth passing by if you have a lazy Sunday or friends in town. 

Last week an old University flatmate Mr A was in town from Edinburgh with his colleagues (BBC Sports Producer and an Entrepeneur who was working with Phillips on a very 'green' invention). Mr A and I used to share a flat (me and 5 guys - all DJ's!!!) whilst I was in 3rd year in a borough of Edinburgh called Leith ( a mix of re-developed old warehouses and run down council houses and at that time in the early 90's the location for Trainspotting) It had been 8 years or so since I last saw Mr A so decided to take them all on a bit of a mini bar hop around the brown bars of the Jordaan.

As a heads up from Wikipedia: The most common theory on the origin of the name Jordaan is as a derivation of the French word jardin e.g. Garden. Maybe that's why many of the street names are named after flowers.  

I digress. Back to the bars.

First stop was Cafe Brandon. A bar that just doesn't change. It's a charming, small bar right on the Keizersgracht 157  and my favourite small canal Leliesgracht. A perfect place to meet the locals and watch the world go by.

It was time to eat so we headed down the beautiful Leliesgracht. Right at the end of the water is Cafe de Prins, again a really decent brown bar on the Prinsengracht with a large terrace looking down on the water. The menu has typical fayre of fish, meat, pasta options plus de Prins' speciality the fondu. I opted for the sirloin steak which was surprisingly good whilst Mr A, Mr BBC and Mr Green opted for the pasta and the soup. These guys had big appetites and ordered their dishes again. De Prins is another bar to just sit and watch Jordaan life with it's bikes whizzing by over the bridge.

Next stop was to one of my favourite bars in Amsterdam- t' Smalle. I can't resist the charm of this bar, although it maybe a little over polished, it has a great terrace water level,  the quaintest,  smallest bar stools in Amsterdam and a the clock that is coincidentally made in Edinburgh. The bar has a familiar feeling to those at I loved in Edinburgh. After a long discussion with the bar man on the delights of Dutch genever we were off to the next bar.

Our final bar of my evening was Gollem. Gollem is tucked away just off the Singel, near the Spui on Raamsteeg 4. This unique bar has (I'm guessing) around 100 beers from around the world.  The building is typical of houses on the canals so don't worry when you feel a little tipsy, the walls are slanting.  Gollem is a bar that you will walk in for one on the way home and stay till closing and that is almost what we did, although 3 drinks later and I was putting the guys on the tram home.  

A great evening.