Pakhuis De Zwijger

Very good food, the veggie curry dish is (too) huge but super tasty. Have had two dinners and one lunch at Pakhuis de Zwijger and all have been great. Especially convenient when there is an event at the place.

I’ve been going here for a while and it’s a nice enough place. The food is pretty good and their tosti is really good, made on foccacia and filled with plenty of ham. Friendly lunch and dinner crowd, and nice lunch time waiters.
My last experience left a bad taste in my mouth though. I was there with my group of expat coworkers, some of whom left early, paying their bill on the way out. The night bartender, however, made us pay again for what had already been paid because he said we still owed for those portions of the bill. We explained that that wasn’t the case so he asked his colleague, who, like him, had just started her shift, if anyone had paid her, to which she automatically replied «no.»
I said he could call my colleagues but he wasn’t interested and said that if we ever came back to Amsterdam we could bring our colleague’s receipts there and they’d refund us. It didn’t matter that we said we worked next door.
Like is customary in Amsterdam as far as I can see, my colleagues hadn’t asked for receipts.
Maybe the bartenders have had people walk out without paying but my group certainly did not get that impression at all — and in my experience working at bars, cafes and restaurants in Amsterdam I’ve never seen it happen, either. The impression we left with was the same as a visitor to a touristy city who gets ripped off just because they’ll probably never come back. It just didn’t seem very honest.

This was a fairly decent location for the recent Friends of Search event, the conference halls were a decent size and there was a reasonable amount of networking space. There is a free cloak room in the basement area along with toilets, the only problem you might have is there is only one small lift so expect to use the stairs a bit to get between the floors. There is also some cool art scattered around the floors that you can discover.

Like a Dutch lady that prefers the natural look (which usually means they can’t be bothered or lack the knowledge to apply makeup correctly) the Pakhuis De Zwijger is delightfully straightforward. What you see, is what you get.
Like ladies that dress to be comfortable, the Pakhuis De Zwijger, is not much to look at, but it has terrific coffee, friendly service, and tasty sandwiches. Like a friend with benefits, it’s warm, comfortable, and can be relied upon to deliver the goods.
It’s terrific, and I hope they don’t get the idea to update it or make it trendy. In the words of that old song written by Billy Joel and made famous by Barry White, «I love you just the way you are.»

This location is one of my favourite event venues in Amsterdam.
I’ve attended a several different kinds of events that were hosted by de Zwijger and it was a flawless experience every time. The building is big and modern, the staff as well as the event hosting is professional.
One of the events was over three days so food was included. I don’t know if it was provided by de Zwijger itself or if they had organized a caterer. Either way, it was the best food I got so far on a conference.
For some months now Pakhuis de Zwijger is the new venue for Creative Mornings. I’m happy about that, because since then it really takes place every month thanks to the professional organization.

There are very few places in the city where you can find a good mix of art, food, casual good times, and well organized events. Pakhuis is one of them.
I have been here a few times, almost always for an event that was organized in the higher hall upstairs. Often, I take advantage of the weather by sitting down at one of the benches outside for a drink or two. If it’s cold, I get a drink inside at the café, which, by the way, also has some great vegetarian options.
The staff is very professional and friendly, to the point of making you look for an event that you could attend later. There is a coat check, too. The location is a bit away from the center of the city, but it’s worth the pleasant walk around the Ij.
Oh yeah, the views are good!

I love having lunch here. Service might be slow and they don’t have a drinks cart. Te club sandwich is really nice, and he krokete!

Pakhuis De Zwijger on the first level floor is hosted as a bar/​restaurant. Upstairs is used as a media workshop or space for multiple events. I came out here last night to meet up with a few fellow Tech-​mapers for drinks and great discussions on marketing. Pakhus De Zwiger is a cultural meeting place for think tank environments and people that consist of a network structure in virtual organizations. It’s an ideal location for networking events, workshops, presentations and large groups for any type of media or social meetup event in Amsterdam. The office building is quite impressive. It was originally a warehouse for refrigerator goods in the 1930s. After extensive renovation, it’s now functioned as a lovely building serving the cultural needs of the community.