Coffeeshops in Haarlemmerbuurt

The Haarlemmerbuurt is the long commercial spine running west from Centraal: Haarlemmerstraat becomes Haarlemmerdijk, and the whole stretch is regularly voted the best shopping street in the Netherlands. Independent food shops, coffee roasters, cheese, wine, bakeries, and cafés with tables on the pavement — it's a working street, not a tourist one, and it's ten minutes on foot from the station.

That makes it the obvious alternative to walking south into Damrak. Same distance from your train, entirely different afternoon. The coffeeshops along here serve the street's own traffic, which means normal prices, room to sit, and staff who aren't managing a queue.

It's bounded by the Jordaan to the south and the Westelijke Eilanden to the north, and it's a different proposition from either: busier and more commercial than the Jordaan's canal streets, more centrally useful than the islands. At the western end, the Haarlemmerpoort marks the entrance to Westerpark and the Westergas complex, which is where the evening goes if you're staying nearby.