De Ysbreeker

Huge restaurant with outdoor and indoor seating, love the high ceilings. There were many servers but I did not feel that they were very attentive, still very friendly service though. Dishes are not large and expensive but tasty nonetheless. Tagliatelle was great, my partners quiche was good. Our friends ordered the recommended dish of a whole chicken served with chunky fries and 4 kinds of sauces. I didn’t try it but it looked really tender. Over all, a nice meal, although experience would have been improved if we’re able to sit outdoors as it was quite warm inside.

Whenever I cycle on leidseplein and rembrandtplein, it always amazes me how many tourist sit on these terraces.
If I have visitors, I surely will offer them a view of a sunset over the Amstelriver and beautiful canalhouses. The ijsbreker is a one of the best location for this that is open to the public. It is known for one of the 10 nicest outdoor terraces in Amsterdam.
Overall Impressions:
— Good place to meet for business meetings and –drinks. Friday and thursday are very popular.
— Terrace is very crowded on sunny days. There may be a queue.
— Service is at Dutch standard
— Food is ok. However, some of my friends are addicted to their «lemon cake».
— Wine selection is good.

I came because it was mentioned as one of Amsterdam’s best terraces on
. And it is!
Great view of the Amstel. Excellent spot to get some work done on your laptop too.
Excellent service, loved the food. I had the Atlantic cod in lobster sauce and two glasses of wine (plus a cappuccino, I was working:) and the bill was 34.50 euro.

This is a pretty okay grand café. Nice atmosphere. I wouldn’t travel all the way to this place from wherever, but are you in the neighbourhood anyway? Why not. Sit at the fireplace or if the weather permits it, go for a table on the terrace. I like them for lunch. Their croque madame is nice.

There was a review on this place that described it as: «the place where young doctors hang out». Perfect! Could not have said it in a better way. If you want to go to a discreet but affluent place, look no further. I got the feeling that if you’re a nurse, they will all look down upon you over there :\
The staff was friendly enough (unlike other experiences here apparently) and the waitress even tried to practice her french with me. I don’t know if she thinking I was french was meant as a positive or negative remark, so I took it as I take my food: suspiciously.
This can actually be a nice spot to get some work done if you find that the more common options for that in Amsterdam are too crowded. As for the space itself, check the pictures, you’ll see it has a nice atmosphere, even a more reserved room at the back if you feel like having a private party or see your boss and want to hide from him.
There’s definitely a lot of sitting places outside, but they don’t take reservations for that (or just made an exception in my case and said ‘no’), so you’ll have to be really lucky to get a place at such a premium location (right next to the Amstel).
The food was great, but a special note to their fine wine selection.
I am talking about the wine itself, because their menu listed some spanish wines as being from Portugal and a portuguese wine as being from Spain.
You can clearly tell that Geography is not their strong suit, but this can be forgiven as you remind yourself that their main line of business is food.

Also a good place to get some work done in the hours between lunch and dinner.
— — –
«Meh, I’ve experienced better» is quite a good description for my visit this time.
Normally I would give this place 4 stars, but this time I was not really satisfied. Actually, not at all if I compare it to my previous visits.
I have not been to the Ysbreeker for almost a year, so was quite excited to have lunch here again. I usually would order the croque or scrambled eggs with salmon or truffle. This time I went for the poached eggs with hollandaise and smoked salmon. While quite curious how the dish will look and taste like, I did not end up being overwhelmed. Moreover, the staff seemed inattentive.
Food-​wise — The eggs were not poached well. They were slightly over, so they did not have a nice runny yolk. Also they seemed to have been poached in some kind of a form or mould, since they had a perfect ping pong ball shape, which simply does not happen if you poach them manually, or let’s say the old school way.
The salmon was nice, but nothing out of the ordinary. The bread on which the eggs and salmon were served was toasted, but I will go ahead and say slightly too long. So as the eggs, just a tad too long on the heat.
The hollandaise was the best part of the dish. Though slightly on the sweet side for those who like their hollandaise more sour, it had a nice texture. It was rather cold though.
I also had two cappuccinos and two fresh mint teas.
There is not much that can go wrong with mint tea, so it was good.
My first cappuccino was good, the second much less so. I think there was too much foam and the espresso shot was almost burnt, I would say. Not sure what went wrong there. Hence I turned to the tea option :)
Overall, I must say that I have experienced much better here. I will come again for sure. Maybe even not too long from now, in order to evaluate whether today was an exception, or if I should permanently decrease my expectations when it comes to this place.
I truly hope it is the first, as I have fond memories of the Ysbreeker as mu go to lunch and work place. The getting work done aspect is still great, but it would be nice to know that they are still on top of their food game.

Our guide took us here saying this is the oldest restaurant in Amsterdam.
decent sandwich with great location, especially, sitting outdoor on a sunny day!

Quality food, drinks and delicious cod!!! The beans under the cod can be cooked a bit longer. I love their bitterballen the most, because it’s coated with pano crumbs, not your traditional bread crumbs, so it is super crunky!!! The indoor area is big for Amsterdam. You see pretty people hang out here, you also see families with kids come for juice and sandwiches. When weather is good, definitely sit outside for the most brilliant view over Amstel river, but do expect to wait half an hour before you get served!

Some people think this place is a little too posh — one of my friends described it as «the place where young doctors hang out» — but I don’t consider myself that kind of person and I absolutely adore the Ysbreeker. I’d go so far as to say it’s my favorite bar in Amsterdam…
The breakfast here *is* a bit pretentious, but it’s completely delicious and the coffee is quite good as well. Lunch and dinner are simply amazing, and the rest of the day it’s a perfect place for — just about anything! Family brunch, lunch date, a catch-​up with old friends, doing a bit of work on that screenplay surrounded by newspapers and a view over the Amstel.
Watch out though, gets extremely crowded during the summer months so be prepared to fight for a seat outside.
Highly recommended!

A nice café on Amstel, next to Amstel hotel. The place has one of the best terraces in town and a great atmosphere. The food is the reason they are loosing 2 stars. I recommend going for a laptop and do some work. And meeting friends as the sunshine on the summer days.

Great place for lunch, VriMiBo and to work on the terrace! This place is really popular during lunch time and especially when the sun is shining… Furthermore, when you enter the Ysbreeker, it is actually a big restaurant which is cozy, but trendy at the same time.
The menu looks good where I have only tried some hot snacks, vongoles and salads/​sandwiches which are really good! The only thing is that during peak time the service is really really slow, so hope they will improve that soon.
One of my favorites at this spot is the hot chocolate with whipped cream which is served in a huge glass! I also like the bitterballen there, even though it is a bit pricey for 4 pieces of bitterballen.

Great place for drinks and bites. Lovely location. Huge terras in summer. Waiters are very young and slow though they are friendly.

Quite possibly the best grand café in Amsterdam. It has everything: great, high-​quality food and drinks every time (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks), cosy & open seating inside, a spectacular terrace under the trees on the Amstel, free wifi and excellent, friendly service. Prices are average, and moderate for this level of consistent quality. I have been going for several years, and it is by a fair margin my favourite café/​restaurant. Seating can always be had, but your timing has to be right to sit near the windows during peak hours. Decoration is modern-​rustic, cosy-​warm-​minimalist.

I am definitely a fan of this popular café. It’s just about a ten minute stroll from where I live. De Ysbreeker has much to offer, it’s a distinguish and historical 18^th century café, which was transformed from a guesthouse, social left party’s women’s political committee, music theater, to an urban café. Features terrace, bar, lounge and dining area. Although, I am not too crazy about the customer service here, but I say… hey this is Amsterdam right?
This trendy café/​restaurant is an ideal place to stop in for a light lunch or lounge with a newspaper. De Ysbreeker provides easy access to an urban meeting place for people to meet up or work on their lab tops. What I appreciate about this environment is that it brings together a rich culture of diverse people. I stopped in here for tea/​cappuccino with my Dutchman. When the weather is beautiful, it’s an ideal place to sit outside on the terrace near the Amstel river.

Classic café on the Amstel river. Lovely terrace when the weather is nice. Warm atmosphere inside when it’s cold out.

Newly renovated. it looks very fancy and nice. Yesterday evening was a bit dead… not sure why. it was Saturday around midnight.
Anyway, good for drinks and hang out. No music… so it is quite.
In Summer they used to have a great terrace, I hope they will do it this year also… it is facing the Amstel, very nice!