Barbecue in Amsterdam: Café de Klos

From the outside, Café de Klos looks like a traditional 17th century brown café. A brown café is the name the Dutch use to describe a quintessential Dutch pub. Café de Klos is actually the best place to go for barbecue in the city. A small wood-paneled room from floor to ceiling with heavy wooden beams and a dark, chunky, bar occupied by elbow to elbow smiling diners.

My friend and I arrived before dusk in hopes of securing a table before the crowds arrived. The host was friendly and spoke perfect English. He wrote our name on the list and informed us it would be about an hour wait and directed us to the bar across the street to have a drink. We ordered two pints of Amstel and sat at a picnic table outside on the sidewalk to do some people watching.

I’ll be upfront here, the only negative thing I can say about my time at Café de Klos happened before I even sat down to eat. It almost felt like the host forgot about us. We saw groups of twos and fours invited into the restaurant long before the host came to tell us our table was ready. It turned out to be a miscommunication. When we arrived we said we would sit at the bar, assuming this would be the fastest way to get a table. Turns out, everyone wants a seat at the bar, and rightfully so.

Waiting for a table at the bar was a great choice. When we walked in the waitstaff knew our names and with their excellent senses of humor, made us feel more than welcome. It was more like a living room filled with sociable guests from all over the world than a traditional restaurant. The lively atmosphere is completed by the open kitchen behind the bar, where you can salivate while watching the magic happen.

We quickly made friends and ordered beers from their decent draught selection including microbrews from De Bekeerde Suster, a brewery owned by the same people. I recommend De Blonde Barber, a Belgian style pale ale that compliments the massive quantities of meat you are about to order.

The simple menu is printed on the staff members T-shirts and includes enormous portions of barbecued and smoked meats served with a sweet coleslaw salad and french bread. Additionally there are plenty of appetizers and a few other barbecue essentials. Some of the standouts are french onion soup, baked potatoes, and a brownie sundae for dessert.

Do yourself a favor and give into the peer pressure, order the spare ribs like everyone else.

Within twenty minutes, each of us was served our own wooden chopping board piled high with succulent, juicy ribs. I snapped a few poor pictures in the dimly lit room but quickly put my camera away finding it hard to resist the tower that sat in front of me. I didn’t know where to begin, but once I took one bite, I couldn’t stop. The ribs were fall off the bone tender. Extra lean, and extra meaty on the inside, with a crispy grilled crust on the outside.

Flavorful on their own, there was no extra sloppy sauce slathered over the top before serving. Instead, two sauces were served on the side: the house special whisky sauce and a Thousand Island sauce.

I have never eaten this much meat before. I have been eating mostly vegetarian for the last two years or so, but I had no problem digging in at this carnivore kingdom. There is no website, and they don’t accept reservations, but I cannot recommend Café de Klos more highly.

Located in the heart of the tourist district, just off Leidestraat, Café de Klos is anything but a tourist trap. Popular with tourists and locals alike, Café de Klos has a great atmosphere and great food. There are no gimmicks and the funny waitstaff treats you like you are a friend joining them for a relaxed dinner no matter who you are or where you came from.

Kerkstraat 41-43, Amsterdam, Netherlands