An excellent place if you went to the Tropenmuseum, Artis or the Hortus Botanicus. It is very bright inside and they only have tables at the window.

The restaurant has a very calm but warm interior with nice items, such as a handwritten blackboard with the menu on it, shaky chairs at the main table and wines in small bowls.

The food is not expensive and they have nice combinations. Most of the time, the special of the day is typically Dutch, like “stampot”. I enjoy the food here every time.

A great thing is the picnic box. It is available from the 1st of March through the entire summer. You get a plaid, food, drinks and a jeu de boules play.

The “Oosterpark” is opposite of the restaurant and you do not have to do all the work in kitchen before going to the park enjoying the sunshine.

Details about this spot
Boom | Restaurants (International) | Bite of the day € 10.00
Linnaeusstraat 63 | Plantage/Oost (area map) | +31206655224
Mon 17:00 - 01:00, Tue -Sun 12:00 - 01:00

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This is a cultural and learning environment for both adults and children. It is a really nice museum with lots of theoretical and practical information.

You can read a lot about the history of the jews, you can see movies, pictures and original items of their belief. Furthermore is the museum located in a synagoge, which makes it even more special.

In the movies you visit families who are celebrating all jewish traditions and explaning the backgrounds. After one day at the museum you know why they are celebrating and what is important to the jewish community.

At this moment until the 30th of November 2008, they have a special exhibition celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of Israel. The “Art of State” presents photographs and video works by sixteen artists from Israel. Through their works they reflect upon their country: the community in which they live, the numerous cultural and religious differences among Israel’s population and the current political situation. I think it really gives an image and a certain feeling of this country. The sadness, but also the beautifulness and sometimes even combined in one photo or video.

Details about this spot
Jewish Historical Museum | Art & culture | Adults € 7.50
Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1 | Plantage/Oost (area map) | +31205310310
11:00 - 17:00 daily

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The Tropenmuseum is a famous ethnographic museum. There is excellent information about and nice artifacts from almost every corner of the world. This is not the typical “pots and pans” museum.

The best exhibitions are about former Dutch colonies (mainly Indonesia and Suriname). The irony is that the beautiful building this museum is housed in was paid for by money earned by exploiting the colonies and its people.A temporarily exhibition is that of the “Bisjpalen”. These poles are made in New-Guinea for honoring their grandparents. There are at least 30 poles standing in the middle of the museum from 3 to 15 meters high.

If you get a chance, visit a concert in the Tropen-theater. It is housed in the Tropen-instituut building. If there is a concert, it is usually someone unknown from a very faraway place. Always surprising! If there is no concert, at least try to see the inside hall, usually only open during concerts. It’s almost 100% marble. Too much, definitely, but still nice!

Details about this spot
KIT | Art & culture, Music | Admission € 7.50
Linnaeusstraat 2 | Plantage/Oost (area map) | +31205688200
10:00 - 17:00 daily

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This cinema/bar is run by a staff of about forty-five volunteers that are all students. Since I am one of them, my perception of the place might be quite different from that of a customer. I have however experienced Kriterion literally at every hour of the day and at every hour of the night, and I might be able to give you a good insight into what it has to offer.

Kriterion has been through a lot of reconstruction work in the summer, which resulted in a new smoke-free space in the bar, and a third room for our cinema. We took the opportunity to cover the once white but since long nicotine-yellow walls with a new layer of paint. The color scheme gives a fresher look and blends in with the original features of the building. Although it looks a bit more modern, the atmosphere of a “bruin café” (that’s the Dutch word for all smoky, dark colored bars, with dimmed lights and wooden floors) is maintained.

Located in front of one of the bigger branches of the UvA (University of Amsterdam) our café is swarmed by students during the day. Their continuing presence shows that the hours in between classes are longer than the classes themselves. The UvA students spend their free time drinking lattes or cappuccino’s (this to my annoyance; I want to hug everyone that orders an espresso), reading a newspaper, or, I see this quite often, studying.

What looks like a café during the day, feels more like a pub at night. With the candles lit, the music turned up a bit, and a friendly beer drinking crowd, I dare to say that Kriterion is the only cinema in Amsterdam that has a real pub in it. You can go there just to drink a beer, or just to see a movie, but for anybody that wants to combine these two experiences, Kriterion is the perfect place. It is one of the main things that attracted me, since I like to think of going to the movies as going out. Besides, the conversations about the movie seem so much more insightful when you’re gulping down a cold beer.

If you’re from abroad you will not feel a stranger, since a large part of Kriterion’s clientele consists of foreign students or member of our international community. You can easily blend in with a very diverse crowd of moviegoers, students from all over, and the quite eccentric individuals living in the neighborhood.

Details about this spot
Kriterion | Bars, Cinemas | Movie € 7.00
Roetersstraat 170 | Plantage/Oost (area map) | +31206231708
Mon - Fri 10:30 - 01:00, Fri 10:30 - 03:00, Sat 13:00 - 03:00, Sun 11:00 - 01:00

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Kriterion’s Sneak Preview is supposed to be the oldest in The Netherlands. Whether this has got anything to do with it or not I don’t know, but the Sneak experience in Kriterion is unlike any other film experience I know.

Every Tuesday night around nine in the evening the bar quickly fills up with a crowd of real movie fanatics. Even if you only go twice you will already start recognizing the faces. Yes, this crowd is quite consistent, and as they have seen a lot of “Sneaks” before, they either are, or consider themselves to be, film buffs.

This has a few consequences for the way you yourself will sit through the movie… You should, surely, expect that: 1. Many people will leave the film room at the beginning, in the middle, or even right before the end. 2. Your neighbors will feel at liberty to state their opinion out LOUD. 3. You will see a lot of (heated) discussions about the movie afterwards.

You might either be pleasantly surprised by the movie itself or very disappointed. I can assure you the latter will not spoil your night; just join in on the booing and feel free to laugh at moments when you are not supposed to.

The movie that you will see in the Sneak Preview has not premiered yet, but will do so in the next weeks or months. The title is of course a closely guarded secret, but when you tell somebody of the staff which languages you speak, he or she will give you a go or a no go.

Since I’ve been going to the Sneak, I’ve seen many films that I wanted to see before they were showing anywhere else, an equal amount of very good films that I would probably not go to on my own initiative, and some movies that I thought were lacking even the slightest bit of quality. However, be it in very different ways, I have enjoyed all of them almost equally.

Make a reservation or be there early if you want to be sure to get tickets.

Details about this spot
Sneak Preview | Cinemas | Movie € 4.50
Roetersstraat 170 | Plantage/Oost (area map) | +31206231708
Tue 22:15 to around 00:00

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Tucked away quite far in the eastern part of the city you find a cinema/theatre/club/pub/restaurant rolled into one. Studio K is located prominently on the Timorplein, in a building that used to be a school for craftsmanship. The building has been beautifully renovated and it looks airy and fresh. The large building houses a budget hotel, and a number of offices for small companies.

Studio K is an ambitious project, meant to create a cultural and creative center in a neighborhood that has otherwise very little to offer. It is located in a part of the Zeeburg quarter that was already quite decent, but in my opinion this little oasis is working its magic on the rest of the district.

Young, creative entrepreneurs were drawn to the dynamic environment of Studio K, and the offices were quickly rented out. Inhabitants of Zeeburg now have a place to go to in their own neighborhood for a coffee or a beer.

I would not know another place in Zeeburg that is as suitable as Studio K to have a drink or enjoy a movie, but, from another perspective I would actually take the effort to make the trip to this part of the town to enjoy a beer or a proper meal in a beautiful bar, served by a friendly staff, and to watch a movie if I feel like it.

Their selection of films is usually good, although it usually includes some reruns of films that have been already been in other cinemas for a few months. I do not always feel like being in the midst of the rumor of the city and Studio K has all the atmosphere that you need in a quieter part of the city.

Details about this spot
Studio K | Theaters, Bars, Cinemas, Restaurants (International) | Coffee € 1.50
Timorplein 62 | Plantage/Oost (area map) | +31206920422
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