Neighbourhoods
De Baarsjes — Mercatorplein and Amsterdam's most flavourful high street
Interwar Amsterdam School streets around Mercatorplein, where the Jan Evertsenstraat — “de Jan Eef” — serves the city's most multicultural plate.
- multicultural
- local
- food street
- Amsterdam School
- unpolished
Photo: Ahmet Turan ÇETİNKAYA / Google
De Baarsjes was built in one go in the 1920s — Amsterdam School brickwork, Mercatorplein with its tower as centrepiece — and spent decades as a working-class quarter before becoming one of West's liveliest addresses. The spine is the Jan Evertsenstraat, locally “de Jan Eef”: Surinamese roti next to Syrian bakeries next to third-wave coffee, a genuine cross-section of the city on one street. Around Mercatorplein the terraces fill early on sunny days, and the side streets hide neighbourhood bars that never see a tour group. Come hungry, come curious, and walk on to the Rembrandtpark or the Erasmusgracht when the plate is empty. This is Amsterdam living its ordinary life — which is exactly the attraction.
Where to eat
Italian kitchen and bar in the monumental corner building on Mercatorplein — open kitchen, honest pastas and limoncello hospitality.
Italiaanse keuken en bar in het monumentale hoekpand aan het Mercatorplein — open keuken, eerlijke pasta's en limoncello-gastvrijheid.
Laid-back specialty-coffee brunch spot on the Baarsjesweg — soft brioche buns, generous bowls and no-reservation ease.
Relaxte specialty-coffee-brunchzaak aan de Baarsjesweg — zachte briochebroodjes, gulle bowls en gemak zonder reserveren.
Green-fringed local with an original menu and hidden back room — from brunch to cauliflower steak, with a beer garden feel.
Groenomzoomde buurtzaak met originele kaart en verborgen achterzaal — van brunch tot bloemkoolsteak, met biertuin-gevoel.
Getting there
Directions from the nearest transit hubs to De Baarsjes — Mercatorplein and Amsterdam's most flavourful high street.
Amsterdam's main station — intercity, sprinter, metro 51/52/53/54, most tram lines and city ferries all depart here.
Trams 7 and 13 stop at Mercatorplein; 15 minutes by bike from Leidseplein.