Coffee and Jazz is a tiny, unassuming restaurant on Amsterdam’s Utrechtsestraat, a quaint street full of independent clothes, book and music stores. As the name suggests, this is the place to go for a good cup of coffee, sipped to the accompaniment of mellow jazz sounds. What is not immediately obvious from the name is that Coffee and Jazz also sells excellent Indonesian food served by an eccentric Dutchman.
Amsterdam Restaurant With a Reputation
Coffee and Jazz opened more than a decade ago and in that time both it and the owner have become something of an Amsterdam institution. Dressed in a polka dot shirt and sunglasses, with slightly dishevelled shoulder-length hair, Rene Volker is not your average host. In fact, he originally trained as a graphic designer. “But my wife is Indonesian,” he explains, “and I got into jazz through my father, so this restaurant is really the combination of those two people.”
His wife, Peggy, does most of the cooking, and although he has never been to Indonesia himself, because he has a fear of flying, he is in charge of the satay. This is one of the restaurant’s signature dishes and an Indonesian classic of strips of chicken threaded onto skewers, cooked over coals and served with a spicy peanut sauce.
Rijsttafel on the Menu
Coffee and Jazz has been reviewed on Dutch restaurant websites and in several tourist guides and receives, almost without exception, outstanding reviews. In addition to the satay, the restaurant is renowned for its fruit shakes, soto (a clear soup, served with meats such as chicken or lamb and rice) and rijsttafel or rice table. A concept introduced by the Dutch colonists in Indonesia, rijsttafel is a lavish meal comprising a whole range of dishes served in a single sitting. After Indonesia’s independence in 1945, the rijsttafel all but disappeared but is still popular in Holland.
Volker himself, however, is often described in these reviews as a 'rare snijboon,' a delightful Dutch expression that translates literally as 'a strange string bean,' and what the English would probably call a funny fish.
He is pretty nonchalant about the description. “I can be a bit crazy sometimes, yes,” he agrees, “but the customers play a part as well. The people who come here are very chatty, and we often talk to each other. Most people really like that, but then someone comes here for the first time, and they think my behavior's strange.”
Voker, who is now over 50, has already reduced the restaurant opening hours from six to four days a week, so that he has more time to pursue other jazz-related interests. This will be a great loss for chatty diners with a penchant for quirky service, but no doubt a bonus for all lovers of jazz.
Restaurant Details
Coffee and Jazz can be found on Utrechtsestraat 113. Tel. +31 (0)20 624 58 51. Open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Payment by cash only.
It is advisable to book in advance, as there are only four or five tables. There are limited options for vegetarians.
Cecily Layzell - Cecily Layzell is a food and travel writer and founder of restaurant review site www.eat-amsterdam.com.
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