Bar Botanique

Bar Botanique is a green-saturated all-day café and restaurant on Eerste van Swindenstraat, in the Indische Buurt section of Amsterdam Oost. The building was the gymnasium of De Commelinschool before becoming Café de Ponteneur — a neighbourhood institution for 25 years — and then in 2015 reopened as Bar Botanique with a Studio Modijefsky redesign that restored the original tall windows and filled the room with palms and tropical plants. It's now one of the eastern city's most-photographed cafés and a reliable all-day spot for the surrounding streets.

What it's actually like

The room is genuinely beautiful — high ceilings, natural light filtered through plants, marble bar, intentional clutter. The crowd at the tables shifts through the day: laptop people and parents on coffee runs in the morning, locals on lunches at noon, mixed-bag couples and groups in the evening, late-night drinkers on Friday and Saturday. The atmosphere stays warm and chatty without tipping into loud — easier conversation than at Foodhallen, less polished than fine dining.

What to order

The kitchen does French-Mediterranean small plates and sharing dishes — sourdough with whipped butter, charred sourcream-roasted carrots, ricotta-and-pea pastas, a rotating fish-of-the-day, the bitterballen made in-house. Lunch is sandwich-heavy (the toasted ham-and-cheese with truffle is the signature). Pizzas come from a stone oven in the back and read more 'rustic Italian' than 'Naples authentic'. Cocktails are solid; the wine list leans natural and short.

Most groups end up at €25-32 per person for dinner with one cocktail. Vegan and vegetarian options are integrated throughout the menu, not just one token dish.

When to go

Weekday afternoons (14:00-17:30) are the quietest stretch — the best window for a long coffee with a book. Weekend brunches (10:00-13:00) fill the room within 30 minutes of opening, especially on the outdoor terrace facing Eerste van Swindenstraat. Friday and Saturday from 21:00 the bar is at capacity until 02:00 close. Walk-ins on summer evenings need patience; reservations recommended.