The second in a series of extracts from Paul Clutterbuck’s book Inside Amsterdam in which he re-visits some of his old haunts.
Café de Dokter (Doctor)
Rozenboomsteeg 4
1012 PR Amsterdam
Tel: 020-6242582
Hours: Tue-Sat 4pm-1am Sun-Mon CLOSED
Beer: 4 draft and 4 bottled
Wine: House red, white, rose
Whiskies a house speciality
Food: Dutch Snacks (particularly smoked beef sausage); fresh orange juice
200 years old and uniquely Dickensian
Where to start? Firstly the café was founded in 1798 by a doctor from the nearby hospital (closed in 1975).
He converted it from a resting place for stagecoaches to the café we see today. Originally named ‘de Doketertje’ (little doctor) because it dispensed the medicine
needed, today it could be more appropriately called “The Old Curiosity Shop”.It is located very near the Begijnhof, Old City Orphanage (now
the Amsterdam Historic Museum) and the Spui.
.
It has been run by the Beems family for six generations. Jannie and Jan Beems took it overfrom Jan’s mother forty five years ago, when she was eighty six years old. Jan kept everything just as she left it. Yes, that does mean no dusting has been done. Jan’s mother stopped dusting when she was sixty five years old making the dust and cobwebs hanging from the doctor’s bag, birdcage and picture frames more than sixty five years old, creating a unique decoration. Expect Miss Haversham from Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” to appear any minute.
The classic brown café with wooden floor and sand is in evidence but the
brown café purist will note there is music wafting around. Jazz from the
Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday era gently plays in the
background most days but I’m told that when Jan Beems is in a bad mood
classical music can be heard. Many of these famous jazz artists have made
their way here over the years to pay homage to the homage being paid
them.
This café is an obvious candidate for the smallest café in town at less
than eighteen square metes and is full of interesting bric-a-brac, collectibles and memorabilia. The toilets are up the steep spiral staircase at the back (maybe Miss Haversham is at the top).
Jan takes great interest in his customers and usually asks two
questions; what do you do and where do you come from? He has an
impressive memory for his customers no matter how frequently they
visit or where they live in the world. Whether you find Jan and Jannie
or their warm and welcoming son-in-law behind the bar, you’ll find de
Dokter a very hospitable, unusual and curious place to down your
medicine.
Get your copy of Inside Amsterdam here and help kids with facial deformities worldwide enjoy a better life.
Thank you
Cliff
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cliff Chapman
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