Cafe Gollem and a Rainy Afternoon in Amsterdam, Netherlands
I was only in Amsterdam for two days and wanted to make the most of my limited time, and the weather decided to be helpful and downpour on me for the entire first day. Although the skies were not blue and the sun didn’t shine, the grey clouds complemented the muted colors of Dutch architecture perfectly. Also, grey and rainy weather gave me the perfect excuse to find a cozy little bar and warm up.
I don’t know what it is about rainy weather, but I feel like it almost makes some colors even brighter. Almost like the grey sky in comparison makes certain colors “pop” more because of how bright they are in comparison. I had to stop by some random person’s front porch and take a picture of their flower planter because I thought the colors looked so pretty.
Amsterdam is a dark city, color-palette-wise. There are a few buildings sporting vibrant colors, but for the most part they abide by an unofficial palette consisting of black, greys, and dull browns which looked gorgeous against the white overcast sky. I thought that I would have preferred sunny weather (I am a California girl after all) but I am glad that I was forced to explore Amsterdam the way I did. A lot of my day was spent looking for cute little bars or cafes to sit down in and people-watch while warming up and staying dry. This is what led me to Cafe Gollem.
Cafe Gollem is a small bar in Amsterdam. It is very small, very cramped, and has a lot of character. Every square inch of the walls are covered in either beer bottles, menus, or posters. The bar is very dark, overall, except for the gorgeous stained glass windows way in the back.
Cafe Gollem (at least at the Raamsteeg location) offers some 200 beers. I decided to order a pint of their Gollum Blond beer and a cheeseboard. The beer was great, but the cheeseboard… oh my god. It was incredible. I knew that the Netherlands is known for their gouda, but I didn’t know about any other dutch cheeses. This cheese plate had three different cheeses, olives, a sweet apple syrup, and like half a loaf of fresh bread. It was all so delicious and flavorful and went perfectly with the beer. I could have eaten another entire cheese board or two.
Gafe Gollem also serves a meat and cheese board. Next time I visit Amsterdam I am definitely trying that one.
I enjoyed my lunch at Cafe Gollem so much that I went back again in the same day only 6 hours later to have another pint of their house blond. I can only speak for the Raamsteeg location, but I assume that the other locations are just as great. The drinks were impressive, as was the food, and the employee.
Somehow, the one employee was the sole bartender, dishwasher, chef, and server. I didn’t know someone could be in four places at once and make it work so seamlessly. To make it even more impressive, he looked to be around 6’3 and the entryway to the kitchen was a narrow, downward staircase that was a whole head shorter than he was.
I highly recommend Cafe Gollem to anyone visiting Amsterdam, even if you only pop in for a quick drink.
One thought on “Cafe Gollem and a Rainy Afternoon in Amsterdam, Netherlands”
Had a lovely holiday in Amsterdam last September. Found Café Gollem Ramsteeg on the first day, and went back every day for the remainder of the holiday. Brilliant. And the in-house blonde beer is excellent.