A showcase of Netherlands cheese-making heritage—typically including Gouda, Edam, and aged varieties. Served with dark bread and sharp pickled onions that cut through the richness. This is drinking food in the Dutch tradition.
Tips from diners
Perfect pairing with a small jenever—the pickled onions cleanse your palate between sips.
Brown cafés traditionally serve a warm soup, and 't Smalle follows the tradition. What arrives on any given day depends on what was available at the market—consistency is less important than freshness and authenticity.
Tips from diners
Ask the bartender what soup is available today. It's not always listed—they just make what's fresh.
Raw herring is a Dutch tradition, and 't Smalle prepares it simply—sliced herring served with diced onion and tangy pickled cucumber. This is drinking food with teeth. The sharp flavors wake up your palate between sips of jenever or beer.
Tips from diners
If you've never tried raw herring, 't Smalle is the place to start. Ask the bartender how to eat it—there's a traditional Dutch method.
Simple and satisfying—a quality Dutch smoked sausage (rookworst) on crispy bread, finished with coarse mustard and sharp pickled onions. This is the kind of basic, honest food that brown cafés do best. No fuss, all substance.
Tips from diners
Quick, affordable, and filling. Order this if you just want something to eat between drinks.
The Dutch pub classic—fried to a crackling golden exterior, molten savory filling inside. Bitterballen are meant to accompany drinks at a brown café, and 't Smalle's version hits the traditional notes perfectly. The mustard is sharp and cuts the richness.
Tips from diners
Order these at the bar with a jenever—this is the most authentic brown café experience Amsterdam has to offer.
Café 't Smalle is housed in what was once the Hoppe Jenever Distillery, established in 1786 by German immigrant Pieter Hoppe. The building sits on Egelantiersgracht in the heart of Jordaan, and the café opened in its current form in 1978. The interior retains much of the original character—beautiful lead glass windows, a large corner bar, and a spiral staircase. A traditional 'jeneverpomp' (gin pump) hangs on the bar, tapping into the building's 240-year history with Dutch genever.
The outdoor terrace overlooking Egelantiersgracht is where locals actually sit. The interior is dark and intimate; outside captures the charm of the Jordaan neighborhood.
This is a brown café first, restaurant second. Order a small jenever and a simple plate, not a full meal. That's how you experience 't Smalle correctly.
Ask the bartender about the building's history—they love talking about the Hoppe Distillery and the jeneverpomp (gin pump) that still hangs on the bar. The genever they serve traces back to that 1786 tradition.
Page last updated: