Latei in Amsterdam: a small Second-Hand Cafe

Deze post verscheen eerder op mijn oude blog Ecolicious, vandaar dat het in Engels geschreven is!

Latei is a very small second-hand cafe situated in Amsterdam. Well, that just sounds funny, doesn’t it? Yet, it’s the truth! In Latei, everything you see is second-hand and from the fifties, sixties and seventies. And it’s all for sale. The lamps, the plates, the cupboards, you name it. As the menu reads, even the chair you sit on has a price tag on it. Like what you see? Buy it and it will be replaced! I love that concept!

Most of the food Latei serves is biological. They have a simple but nice menu which is veggie friendly. For example, when I had lunch there with one of the authors of the Groene Garde, I ordered a goats cheese sandwich but I could have chosen from two other types of cheese.

I think the juices Latei serve are heavenly. You get to choose from a variety of fruits. If you want you can even pick vegetables. I asked for a fruity surprise and I got an exquisite fresh mixture spiced up with ginger and red pepper. I’ll have to reproduce that at home some time soon!

Latei is situated in a touristy area of Amsterdam. You’ll find the café at the Zeedijk (the heart of Chinatown) and close to the red light district (for some reason a popular tourist attraction). Most catering establishments are unimaginative in this area, especially if you are walking towards Dam Square. I guess because restaurants are trying to please so many different nationalities all at once.

You’ll probably find yourself in that area anyway because you don’t want to miss out on highlights your travel guide is telling you about. I guess most of us often do follow the beaten track (how else would it get beaten, right?). Luckily you now really do have a reason to go there: to have lunch in Latei! And the great thing is, you’ll have it with a bunch of arty locals in stead of drunken tourists.

Latei also serves dinner on Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays. Cooked by a very creative cooking collective and Veggie friendly. I have to be honest: I have yet to taste it. But I will do soon because I’m very curious about it, especially after seeing this clip!

Well, I’d say just go there, enjoy the food, the arty people and discover that I am not the only gluing vintage magazines to walls. And let me know what you think! Like what you see? Tati in Nijmegen also sells Vintage and Coffee!