Mendo

Great bookstore for all designers! They have a very interesting collection of books from architecture to graphic design to fashion.
It’s a fest for the eyes and brains. The ambiance of the place is great, dark, minimalist and screams design.
Will go back

First things first; the architecture/​interior design is nice, but it’s not as sensational as it’s made out to be.
That said, this is a great bookstore if you’re looking for photography books on fashion, in particular, coffee table books about a variety of subjects, oversize books and very expensive limited edition photo books.
Overall, I was disappointed in the selection. Many of the books shown on the online catalog weren’t in stock, and there were little to no photojournalism books, books by great great photographers in general, or anything that strayed from the fashion/​super expensive motif of the store.
Also; I found the staff to be rather superior in attitude. I travel to Amsterdam a great deal, so I’m familiar with and grateful for the relaxed service one typically finds… but this wasn’t that.

I thought I had died and gone to coffee table book heaven. Photography, art, fashion, design fans — listen up — you must check Mendo out. All the books they sell in store are available online as well on
but the books themselves are really like pieces of art and must be seen in person. The staff is extremely helpful, there is comfortable seating for perusing and it’s just a lovely store to lose time in.

I used to go to bookstores and spend hours browsing and reading. I don’t go anymore because I already have a lot of books and also I don’t read non-​work-​related books much anymore.
Walking down the street, however, I was drawn to this very unique bookstore. Not a lot of books, but the books are well selected. From the website: «Led by its founders, Roy Rietstap, Joeri Worm and Joost Albronda, MENDO has become the home-​base for inspirational and creative books on fashion, photography, architecture, interior and graphic design.»
Given the focus, most of the books are images and little text. One of the unique aspects is that they carry limited XL editions (think books so large you’d have a hard time carrying them home).
I wanted to buy a few of the books but didn’t have much room in my luggage to bring back on the plane. Luckily, you can order online. Unfortunately, going online I found that the XL books run in the 1000s of Euros. Oh well. There are still a few books I’d like to order that are more reasonably priced.
Only two stores like this in the world (the other in London) so definitely worth a stop if you are in Amsterdam and you like books.