Food and drink in Rotterdam

Da Kaapse Brouwers

De Kaapse Brouwers is an independent craft brewery located inside Fenix Food Factory. A long row of 30 beer taps (meaning, 30 different kinds of beer!) really is quite a sight to see. Fast paced, yet friendly service. It is a busy place with a great vibe and relaxed atmosphere. A glass of beer (probably around 300ml?) cost from €2.80 and can go up to around €7. We had #13.Karel (€2.80) and #10.Harrie (€3). They were both really tasty with different layers of flavour.

 

Rechtstreex

Also located in Fenix food Factory, Rechtstreex serves light snacks such as salads and soup using local vegetables. Their French fries with truffle mayonnaise is absolutely a must-try. I think it was about €3.50 with the mayo. The fries are cooked to perfection; crunchy and fluffy, and you can really appreciate the quality of the potato itself. At Fenix Food Factory, you can sit and eat your purchase wherever you want, allowing customers to mix and try out different foods and drinks in the premises. We of course had our fries with beer at De Kaapse Brouwers. Another example of Rotterdam’s ‘bringing together’ ethos.

Bram Ladage

Bram Ladage is a French fries chain. I spotted them in a few places in Rotterdam including the Markthal. Crunchy, fluffy, hot, tasty, fried potato happiness. The only problem is that their normal portion (€2.60) was a little small for a French fries enthusiast like me. Next time, I will go large (€3.35). The sauces are €0.55. I had mine with curry sauce which had more distinct spice notes than the ones I’ve had in Germany. C had his with mayo, an excellent choice. Never underestimate the majestic creaminess of Dutch mayonnaise.

Chocolate Company

A chocolate specialist cafe in a central location. They have 50 varieties of hot chocolate (block on a wooden spoon) with different flavours and strength. C had 99% which was really good and probably my favourite. Due to my tendency to want to try out anything new, I had earl grey and lavender which also was really tasty with the right balance of tea, lavender and chocolate. But what was really amazing, was the coffee. We had an espresso and it was just near perfect: tasty, a little sour, coherent layers of flavour and refreshing. Hot chocolate was €3.90 and espresso was €2.25.

Natamania

Pastel de Nata (Portuguese pastry) specialist in the Markthal. We had Pastel de Nata in Lisbon and also outside Portugal. Natamania’s pastry is one of the best we’ve had. Highly recommended. €1.50.

Ramen

There seem to be an exciting Ramen (Japanese noodle soup) culture happening in Rotterdam. We had Ramen twice during our short visit to the city and we were deeply impressed! Read more about the places we went here. 

Oliebollen

Literally ‘oil balls’, Dutch people welcome the New Year with these warm, deep-fried, sweet bready goodnesses. They are basically deep-fried round sweet breads, often with raisins and dusted with powder sugar. It’s crunchy on the outside and chewy/soft on the inside. It’s warm, familiar and comforting. We were in Rotterdam in late December and we had oliebollen everywhere: The Markthal, on the street from mobile stalls, they even made an appearance in our hotel breakfast!

Yoghurt Barn

A cafe with focus on – as the name suggest, yogurt, but they also offer cakes, sandwiches and other snacks. We only had coffees and they were really good. Coffee was around €3. Friendly customer service. A good looking and cosy place in a central location. Near Eendrachtsplein metro station.

De Pelgrim

A micro brewery in historic Delfshaven. Friendly service and good local beers. We had Stoombier (250ml/€2.90) and Mayflower (250ml/€4.10). Both were really tasty, refreshing and with layers of intricate flavours.

Locus Publicus

A Belgian beer specialist bar. They have a few draught beer and a very, long, long list of Belgian, Dutch and international (bottled) beers covering their walls. Prices start at around €3-4 per bottle going all the way up to around €10. Somewhat their reviews are quite mixed in Tripadvisor, but when we went, we got friendly and welcoming customer service. We tried a bottle of Dutch beer called ‘Alfa Super Dortmunder’, €3.40. It was nice, but was a bottled beer after-all and missing that flavour explosion we got so used to from other Dutch draught beers.