Café Koosje

Description

Café Koosje is a traditional Amsterdam brown café at Plantage Middenlaan 37, on the corner directly opposite ARTIS Royal Zoo in the Plantage neighborhood. It serves breakfast and lunch from 09:00 to 16:30, dinner from 17:00 to 22:00, and drinks until late. Tram 14 from Centraal Station stops outside, and reservations are taken by phone only.

You’ll recognize it by the red awnings on the corner of the Plantage Middenlaan. Koosje opened here in 2001 and calls itself the “living room” of the Plantage: a relaxed, unpretentious neighborhood café where locals, students, museum-goers and families coming out of ARTIS share the same tables. The café’s own description for the mix is “happy chaos,” and that fits. It is a place for a sandwich and a coffee, a proper dinner, or a long borrel (the Dutch round of drinks and snacks with friends or colleagues), not a quiet specialty-coffee bar.

Inside, it has the dark wood and poster-covered walls of a classic Amsterdam bruin café. Outside, a sunny corner terrace looks across the street toward the zoo, which makes it one of the most convenient sit-down stops before or after a day at ARTIS, Micropia or the Hortus Botanicus.

Café Koosje at a glance

Address	Plantage Middenlaan 37, 1018 DB Amsterdam
Type	Brown café and eetcafé (casual café-restaurant)
Breakfast and lunch	Daily, 09:00–16:30
Dinner	17:00–22:00
Bar hours	From 09:00 daily; listed closing times are 01:00 Sunday–Thursday, 03:00 Friday and 02:00 Saturday
Reservations	By phone for up to 15 people: +31 20 320 0817. Larger groups email [email protected].
Nearest tram	Tram 14, Artis stop (in front of the café)
Nearest metro	Waterlooplein (lines 51, 53 and 54)
Good for	Breakfast, lunch after ARTIS, casual dinner, terrace drinks, group borrels, pub quiz
Website	koosjeamsterdam.nl

Kitchen times and reservation rules are from Café Koosje’s website and 2026 menus. Late closing times come from current map and review listings, so check before a late visit.

Key Features

Breakfast and lunch menu

Breakfast and lunch are served together from 09:00 to 16:30, so late risers can still order eggs mid-afternoon. The 2026 menu mixes Dutch café staples with simple sandwiches and salads. Breakfast sets include a Healthy breakfast with yogurt, homemade granola and fruit (€12.00), a Dutch breakfast with croissant, toast, boiled egg, ham and cheese (€14.50), and a Koosje breakfast with scrambled eggs and tomato (€14.50). All breakfast sets include fresh orange juice and coffee or tea.

At lunch, the Dutch options are the most distinctive part of the menu:

• Dutch pancakes, from €8.00 with syrup and sugar up to €12.50 with bacon and cheese
• Two beef or cheese croquettes with bread (€11.00)
• Koosje’s twaalfuurtje, a classic Dutch lunch plate of Old Amsterdam cheese on bread, a croquette on bread and tomato soup (€15.50)
• Soft white rolls with traditional fillings such as chocolate sprinkles, Dutch raw beef sausage or liver sausage (€4.00–€5.00)
• Sandwiches on Italian roll or whole grain, including warm brie with leek (€9.90) and the Stevens with smoked chicken, bacon and avocado (€11.50)

Dinner menu

The dinner menu, served from 17:00 to 22:00, is short and moderately priced for central Amsterdam. It leans on Dutch-Indonesian café favorites and grill classics:

Dish	What you get	Price (2026 menu)
Indonesian gado gado	Rice, vegetables, egg, peanut sauce and prawn crackers	€18.50
Organic beef burger	Old Amsterdam cheese and fries	€19.50
Chicken satay	Peanut sauce, atjar, salad and fries	€20.50
Pasta gamba	Spaghetti with a grilled prawn skewer in white wine sauce	€22.50
Hereford steak (180 g)	Pepper cream sauce, side salad and fries	€24.50
Warm apple pie	With ice cream and whipped cream	€8.50

Prices from Café Koosje’s published 2026 dinner menu. Menus and prices change, so treat these as a guide.

Soups, salads, a bread basket with hummus and herb butter, and cakes (carrot cake or cheesecake, €5.50) round out the menu. Koosje says it uses fresh, organic and sustainable ingredients where possible, and the burgers are listed as organic beef. If you have allergies, ask the staff; the menus invite allergen questions. Current menus are available on Café Koosje’s website.

Drinks and borrel

Drinks are served from 09:00 until late, inside and on the terrace. The list covers espresso and other coffees, fresh ginger tea, elderberry juice, sodas, special beers, fruity wines, bubbles, spirits and cocktails. Koosje is a popular borrel spot and hosts group evenings with drinks and snacks, and the café advises booking early for them.

Pub quiz every other Tuesday

Koosje runs a pub quiz on alternate Tuesdays. Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool named it one of the seven best pub quizzes in the city, noting that teams keep returning for the competition and the level of the questions. Dates are announced on the café’s Instagram, and quiz nights are a good reason to reserve a table.

Terrace opposite ARTIS

The corner terrace is the main draw in warm weather, with a view across the Plantage Middenlaan toward ARTIS and the trams passing by. Inside, the café stays warm and busy, which suits rainy days and winter evenings.

Families and groups

Koosje explicitly welcomes families leaving ARTIS who want a quick, filling meal, and its pancakes, tosti sandwiches and fries are easy options for children. Groups of up to 15 can book by phone. For parties, dinners or reunions of more than 15 people, email the café. A booking is final only once you receive confirmation.

Best Time to Visit

For a calmer table, come for breakfast soon after the 09:00 opening or in the afternoon lull. The kitchen switches from the lunch menu at 16:30 to the dinner menu at 17:00, so there is a short window without full meals.

Koosje’s location shapes its rhythm. Families tend to arrive around ARTIS visits, and evenings bring borrels and, on alternate Tuesdays, the pub quiz. Friday and Saturday nights run latest, with listed closing times of 03:00 and 02:00, so choose a Sunday to Thursday evening if you want a quieter dinner. Food stops at 22:00; after that, Koosje works as a bar.

By season

• Spring (March–May): pair a visit with the Hortus Botanicus, a short walk away. King’s Day on 27 April brings crowds and a festive mood to the whole city.
• Summer (June–August): long evenings make the terrace the best seat, and it fills up in good weather.
• Autumn (September–November): the Plantage’s tree-lined streets are at their best, and the warm interior comes into its own on rainy days.
• Winter (December–February): a warm stop between indoor Plantage sights such as the Verzetsmuseum and the National Holocaust Museum.

What to combine it with

Koosje sits in one of Amsterdam’s greenest and most museum-dense corners. Across the street is ARTIS, the oldest zoo in the Netherlands (founded 1838), with Micropia alongside. Within a short walk are the Hortus Botanicus (founded 1682), Wertheimpark with its Auschwitz memorial, the National Holocaust Museum at Plantage Middenlaan 27 and the Dutch Resistance Museum. For more ideas, see our Plantage neighborhood guide.

How to Get There

Café Koosje is at Plantage Middenlaan 37, 1018 DB Amsterdam, on the corner opposite ARTIS. Public transport is the easiest way to arrive.

• Tram: take tram 14 from Centraal Station to the Artis stop, in front of the café. The ride takes roughly 15 minutes.
• Metro: lines 51, 53 and 54 stop at Waterlooplein. From there, walk east along the Plantage Middenlaan, past the Hortus Botanicus.
• On foot: from Centraal Station, allow about 25–30 minutes.
• Bike: the Plantage is an easy ride from the center. Use a proper rack, and watch for the tram tracks on the Plantage Middenlaan.

Driving and parking

Driving is possible but rarely worth it. Street parking on the Plantage Middenlaan is limited, and paid parking applies around the clock in stadsdeel Centrum. The café’s website quotes €6.50 per hour, but the City of Amsterdam lists Centrum street rates of €5.37 to €8.05 per hour depending on the zone, so check the meter or your parking app. The Markenhoven and Waterlooplein garages are within walking distance at comparable rates. ARTIS has a reduced-rate car park for zoo visitors, though ARTIS itself advises public transport, especially on busy days.

If you want to stay nearby, The Lancaster Hotel Amsterdam is on the same street, also facing ARTIS.

Frequently asked questions