Elsa’s

Elsa’s is a real Dutch eetcafé with real Dutch rudeness the staff can offer you. I mean this with a wink ;-) as this will not spoil your overall experience.
One thing that will surprise you is that the food is really good. Even though the meals on the menu are simple meals, like famous saté (meat with peanutbutter sauce), kroketten or steak, the quality of the food is good. Besides the food Elsa’s always has nice craft beers (on draft and a lot more on bottle).
I also admire the way Elsa’s is decorated, trying to take you back into time and reminding you of great legends that lived in Watergraafsmeer (of which the Ajax history is the most prominent). Even the schedule of Ajax playing is on their menu!!!
When wanting to enjoy the real Dutch gezelligheid, I would recommend you to come over during one of these football games or on a national holiday. Not sure wether you can find a spot, Elsa’s will be the hotspot in Watergraafsmeer. Beside these big parties, Elsa’s offers a home to jazz musicians every Tuesday night for a life jam session (21:30hrs).
All in all Elsa’s is a nice place to go for a diner. The only minus about Elsa is the fact that it sometimes feels like an in crowd place. A friend will be helped as soon as he/​she enters, while you would be waiting at the bar for your turn. Nonetheless, Elsa’s is worth stepping over this Dutch rudeness and engulfing into the real Dutch eetcafé experience ;-)

Best spareribs I ever ate!!! Super Service, lecker Essen! Super nettes Personal!!! Hin gehen !!!

The onion soup is excellent, as is the terrace view of the park. My girlfriend and I came for the live jazz. As New Orleans residents, we we went with low expectations and were pleasantly surprised. Bonus points for the brouwerij’tij brews.

I went in not expecting much more than standard bar fare and was really impressed with the quality and creativity in the food. I’m a vegetarian so I simply had their tomato caprese — which was really well done (melted cheese, fresh tomatoes + fresh basil). But my colleagues had the Elsa’s burger and said it was amazing, one said, «This is a burger that Texas can be proud up.» I don’t know what all was on the burger, but it was huge and amongst other things had an egg in it. I think we’re going to make this our local watering hole for the next week that we’re here in Amsterdam.