This pace can be rated for a few different things: café/restaurant/bar/social activities. I give 4 to the café. Nice atmosphere, but nothing very special. Sort of standard menu. There are many cafes /bars on Leidseplein, but I would choose this instead of all those wild touristic joints for its quality. But! Social activities? Oh yes! The place sends to thrive also on giving it’s halls and stage(it seems to have those) to lectures, debates and other sorts of activities. So if you are looking to fill your brain with more thought work than you should, check out their agenda;)
Lisa A.
Tu valoración: 3 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Great place. Lunch is defiantly better than the dinner menu. Try to sit at the window area, the inside looks kinda like an old folks home cafeteria. You’ll have to stand around a bit watching for someone to leave as tables are usually full but empty pretty quickly as most are only passing time while waiting for their movie to begin across the street.
Lora A.
Tu valoración: 3 Somerville, MA
Really a nice place. And I would love to hang out here more after seeing a movie, but the music is soooooo loud. I absolutely don’t understand it — the average audience is not teenagers — people come here to have a nice atmosphere and they are forced to yell at each other in order to hear each other. The rest is all good– food, movies and ambiance.
Guillaume D.
Tu valoración: 4 Mons, Belgique
L’endroit idéal pour se restaurer avant de sortir au Melkweg ou au Paradiso qui sont à deux pas !
Alli K.
Tu valoración: 4 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
If i’m going to hang in Leidseplein, this is probably one of my go to places for drinks. i’m not a fan of the square where all the other pubs are filled with tourist and tourist prices to match. The café also has a movie theater attached. It also has a nice terrace to ppl watch as hoardes of Bachelor or Bachelorette parties walk by on a friday or saturday night. i’ve never eatten here, only had drinks with friends. If you’re looking for a more chill non touristy spot in Leidseplein, i recommend this place.
Kim V.
Tu valoración: 4 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
De Balie is located in the lively city centre next to Leidseplein. This place is always quite busy and crowded with people and De Balie is as well. People come to this place for coffee, lunch, dinner or just drinks. In the evenings it is often filled with people and everyone is also standing outside, chatting/smoking/drinking. But the Balie is more than a grand café. They also host events, readings and there is a cinema. I love their cinema! They show really great movies(foreign/artsy/film festival –style) and also host the CinemAsia festival. So this is a really fun place to check out! My only complaint is the staff since they are certainly not the friendliest and can be really slow and annoying(act like they don’t see you: s) at the bar.
Farrah N.
Tu valoración: 4 San Francisco Bay Area, CA
I worked for a film festival that does an annual festival here at de Balie. I always enjoy the experience here. Although de Balie workers aren’t always the most helpful and rather restrictive, it’s a wonderful, classy venue. It’s also in a a very central location for easy access and it’s a quick walk away from other popular shops and restaurants. The café’s food is pretty good, but I love their espresso drinks the most :) Great view and atmosphere.
Loic C.
Tu valoración: 3 Los Angeles, CA
***De Balie’s MOP(Meal in One Pic)*** ****************************************** De Balie is a great café located nearby the busy Leidseplein Square nearby the Apple Store. It has free wifi, a friendly Café atmosphere, magazines, and a selection of simple Tostis(grilled cheese sandwiches), soups and salads. The food is simple. They serve a lot of Café au Lait which is a shot of expresso and tons of milk. The staff is friendly and the food comes fast. It is difficult to find a table for larger groups(more than 2 people) in the bar coffe area. The dining room has more tables. We tried: Tomato Tosti Cheese, tomato arugula. The bread was good and nicely toasted. Cheese Tosti Simple grilled cheese. The cheese was flavorful and not too salty. Simple Soup. Nothing special about a simple tomato cream soup. De Balie has long and tall windows bringing a lot of light into the café area. It is a nice café to grab a quick lunch and a coffee.
Vincent L.
Tu valoración: 4 Oakland, CA
De Balie is a large, airy café with high ceilings and large picture windows from which you can see the Leidseplein nearby. It’s a good place to stop for a salad or light sandwich, plus a coffee or beer. Service is polite and professional, and there are English menus as well. It’s attached to a performance space that hosts plays and lectures, and the display cases are filled with literature and artistic publications, so this café draws a highly intellectual crowd. A refreshingly non-touristy highlight to one of my recent swings through Amsterdam.
Kim S.
Tu valoración: 3 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
I have been dropping remarks to my Dutchman about wanting to visit this place for quite some time, so I finally get the chance to stop in here on a Sunday afternoon to check out the place. I felt the place was alright, nothing spectacular but ok. Grand café de Baile is known for attracting theater and left wing crowds. I stopped in here with my Dutchman for some thing warm to drink. So we were lucky to find a small table in the corner because the place was pretty much full. De Baile is a cool place to grab a nice hot bowl of soup or cup of coffee. It’s an ideal place for simple meals and drinks off Leidseplein. However, you will find many locals in this café. I was not too crazy about the place but it served it’s purpose for a drink out.
Ana D.
Tu valoración: 4 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Fine for having a coffee/drink with a friend in the spacious dining room or going for a drink at night in the back bar. Staff is usually friendly if at times they forget to come take your order and some of them don’t quite understand English. Still, nobody bothers you and you can take it easy :)
Mark K.
Tu valoración: 4 São Paulo, Brazil
Had a few drinks here on Saturday afternoon and found it to be pretty interesting. The café itself was very crowded so sharing tables with random people was necessary, which wasn’t a big deal. The waiters were attentive with the orders and drinks. The beers I got were actually quite cheap. They weren’t Pint sized. Maybe 10 oz. Either way it was only 2.00−2.50 €. The café has big windows which brought in a lot of natural light and made it a good place to relax.
Istika
Tu valoración: 3 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
good food and good price, in the centre of Amsterdam, nice place to hang out
Blitzi
Tu valoración: 5 Laax, Schweiz
Für den«kleinen» Hunger gibt’s hier ganz bestimmt was feines: D Habe das Club Sandwich bestellt und den Rat der Kellnerin, die Suppe abzubestellen, Gott sei dank befolgt. Eine meeeega Portion! Und hab 7.00 Euro bezahlt. Kleines Bier kostet 2,20 und meine Kollegin hat Ravioli gegessen. Auch normaler Preis: 14.00EUR. Kellnerin war extrem nett und sprach sehr gut Englisch. Wir mussten auch gar nicht lange warten und hätte mir sehr gern noch einen Apfelkuchen bestellt(sah super lecker aus!!), aber ich konnte echt keinen Happen mehr essen… :) Leider kann man keine halben Portionen bestellen. Und für Tee-Freaks: Pfefferminztee mit echten Pfefferminzblättern!