Café De Prins, Amsterdam A Pint Of Ale Pub Review
A typical narrow canalside Amsterdam café, De Prins makes a good place to reflect on the nearby Anne Frank house.
Hannah and I popped into De Prins after an interesting and moving visit to the Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam; It’s just across the canal from the house. It’s a typical narrow building with large windows made from many glass panels straight from a child’s drawing.
There is a bar area and a second area with many tables towards the back, up a few steps. There are green painted wooden benches around the edges of this area. From this area, you can gaze out of the large rear windows at a corrugated plastic roof, or out of the front windows onto a bridge arching over the Prinsengracht canal and the customary clutches of chained up bikes.
There are photographs of young football teams on the walls and there is art: purple footprints, purple hands and purple arms are dotted about on the walls.
Heineken is the beer on offer in De Prins. They serve good coffee too, just like most places in Amsterdam. Jazz music was playing in the background. The pub was empty when we visited, but it had a really good feel about it, helped by the flickering candle on each table. I imagine that this place has an excellent atmosphere when it’s a little busier. The pub’s website (see links on right) claims that this is a pub with its main focus on food. We didn’t try any.
An interesting sign hangs inside the pub. It’s a painting of a man on a horse. This must be the prince (de prins) that the pub is named after.
A comment by Stonch
May 14th, 2007, 12.04am
Is that lamp post pissed?
A comment by Eve
November 14th, 2007, 5.32pm
Last summer my husband and I had the pleasure of having a leisurely lunch at De Prins. Shortly after we arrived, two nap- and guestbook-laden women showed up, sat down near us and looked around nervously. One was obviously very uncomfortable and murmured, ‘This doesn’t look like the same place Rachael Ray went to.’ Admittedly, my husband and I had seen that program, and although we aren’t big Rachael fans, we decided to check out the cafe on our favorite canal street, Prinsengracht.
Service was decidedly slow, but we didn’t have anywhere to go. Eventually the protesting woman convinced her companion to leave before even ordering. Their loss! The sandwiches were large (by European standards for sure!), tasty and affordable. We also enjoyed local cheese dipped in mustard and of course Heinekens. Europe was in the throes of a heat wave but we sat by an open window at the back of the cafe and enjoyed our food and drink thoroughly.
I know many non-Europeans (particularly Americans) may be put off by the fact that this restaurant is in a 400-year-old building and isn’t just another thing put on for tourists. People LIVE in these cities, and so if something looks old, it’s because it is! It wasn’t unclean or anything like that. In the late afternoon, with the sun coming through the window behind us, it wasn’t as brightly lit as the TV program, but still very comfortable. You are unlikely to find a more relaxed and low-priced meal in Amsterdam, particularly in the tourist-heavy location across from the Anne Frank House.
We are Americans but would like to encourage people like our fellow would-be diners from that day to stay away! This is the real deal. If you want something familiar, bright and spotless, you can go to McDonald’s.