Tucked away in a street between the Van Oldenbarneveldstraat and the Binnenweg there is a small restaurant called Open. Here you can get some good salads and sandwiches. My favorite is the sandwich with smoked chicken with basil dressing, but there is much more to choose from.

The place is small but brightly decorated, something that they change every now and then. The staff isn’t the quickest, but their friendliness makes up for that.

I have had dinner here once, a couple of years ago, but generally come here for lunch.

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Open | Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Mediterranean ) | Bread roll salmon € 7.50
Jacobusstraat 215 | Center | +31102136257
Sun – Thu 12:00 – 21:30, Fri – Sat 12:00 – 22:00

The last corner of the Meent and the marktplaats now finally has some potential. Van Zanten has opened her doors last summer and I like it. It’s a nice little cafe/lunch place during the day and turns into a restaurant/bar at night.

Their food is good and not as predictable as in most places (so not just your standard steak and fries). Van Zanten has lots of salads to choose from and asparagus (white) when they’re in season. They also have a lot of sandwiches to choose from, which makes it a great place for lunch.

Van Zanten is getting quite the attention now. It attracts a different crowd than Café Pol (check out the article) or the other two pubs on the corners. A lot more down to earth people.

This bar is turning into a great success!

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Van Zanten | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (European)
Meent 44 | Center | +31108435012
Sun – Thu 10:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 10:00 – 02:00

One of my favorite bars in Rotterdam is definitely ‘Stalles’.

The location and its terrace is ideal for some good people watching. The different type of visitors to this place is also the reason I like it so much, a nice mixture of all kind of people. One thing they all have in common is that they’re relaxed.

Next to Stalles is ‘Parket’, which is the same kind of place. In fact only one wall separates the two places from being one. They share owner, staff and bathrooms. ‘Stalles’ and ‘Parket’ are known as pubs, but the menu here is quite good and gets regular up-dates. Monday and Tuesdays are pizza night. From 15:00 pizza’s cost between € 4.50 and € 6.50.

If you stay long enough during the weekend you can walk straight into Club Vibes (check the Club Vibes article), yaay!

Exciting, if you have a RotterdamPas, you get 20% discount on the bittergarnituur!!!

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Stalles | Bars, Restaurants (European) | Plat du Jour € 10.50
Nieuwe Binnenweg 11a | Center | +31104361655
Mon – Thu 12:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sun 12:00 – 02:00 (with bad weather from 15:00)

The interior doesn’t give it away, but this place is tops!

I just got rid of my fried rice with mushroom addiction, cause I discovered how good their sushi is.

This place is always very busy, so you might have to wait for a seat at one of the long tables. Or…you can ask for take away and eat your dinner/lunch at a nicer place.

Don’t be afraid you won’t have enough food. It comes in pretty good portions (you know, just a little too much that you eat anyway and then feel way too full!)

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Dim Daily | Restaurants (Asian) | Mixed sushi 8 pieces € 14.00
Rode zand 48 | Center | +31102809026
Sat -Thu 12:00 – 22:00, Fri 12:00 – 23:00

I know, it is one of the many pizza/pasta places in town, but the food is really good and the price even better. If you are with less then 10 people you can’t make a reservation.

The place is big, but also very popular at the moment. And if you need to wait, Happy Italy is located right next to Van Zanten (check my Van Zanten article), so you can start and end your evening there and jump in for dinner here.

If you’ve got kids; there’s a little play area downstairs. The little ones can entertain themselves while you enjoy you dinner.

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Happy Italy | Restaurants (Italian) | Pizza Delizioza € 6.75
Binnenrotte 102 | Center | +31102140836
12:00 – 23:00 daily

Level is situated in the trendy area around the Meent and this describes the place a bit as well. It’s decked out very hip and lots of people come here to be seen. All the others come for the cocktails, especially the “Porn star”. I’m not the biggest cocktail drinker, but even I like some of the ones they make here.

I like Level because it’s a nice and a bit different hang out near my house. I don’t have to go far to have a night out.

Before 21:00 when the place turns into a crowded cocktail bar, Level is a restaurant. They have nice food and the way serve that food is very pretty, but that’s also what you pay for! Their chocolate dessert for chocolate lovers is to die for though!

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Level | Bars, Restaurants (European) | Chocolate desert € 7.50
Pannekoekstraat 76A | Center | +31102800788
12:00 – 01:00 daily

I was planning to go and enjoy some lovely sushi at the Dim Daily (check the Dim Daily article) with one of my friends when she suggested to go to this Vietnamese restaurant right underneath the apartment building where she lives. She said it was very nice and something different, but I shouldn’t expect Dim Daily.

She was so right. What a nice place she took me to. We had to eat at the bar, because we didn’t make a reservation (stupid us, it was a Saturday) and it was very busy. Still the service was quick and very good.

The food was lovely, I enjoyed every bite. The tea we had afterwards was a bit strong, but my friend and I do drink very weak tea.

Dim Daily doesn’t have to worry, nothing beats their friend rice with egg and mushrooms, but Little V did just steal a little place in my heart.

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Little V | Restaurants (Vietnamese) | Noodles with gamba’s € 12.00
Grotekerkplein 109 | Center | +3110413191
Tue – Wed 17:00 – 23:00, Thu 17:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 17:00 – 01:30, Sun 12:00 – 22:00

The first rays of sunlight came out, sping has begun and so it’s off to the terrace!

Right next to the lake in ‘Het Kralingsche bos’ (check the Kralingsche bos article) is ‘De Tuin’, as people in Rotterdam call this restaurant/lunch-place/bar. This is the place I go to after a walk around the lake with my friend to have a cup of tea and eat back the calories we might have burned while walking by ordering a bittergarnituur (small deep fried snacks). My friends and I have done some thorough research and ‘De Tuin’ has definitely got best combination of ‘bittergarnituur’. So going to this place just for that is worth it.

But if you’re looking for a place to enjoy the green that Rotterdam has to offer, look no further. From the terrace there’s a great view of the skyline of the city. Plus this is a good place to enjoy the sun, although you will find that a lot of people like this place for just that reason.

Not to long ago they renovated ‘De Tuin’, which made it look trendier, but also drove the prices a bit up. Still it’s worth going to.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
De Tuin van de vier windstreken | Bars, Restaurants (Intern.) | Sandwich € 8.75
Plaszoom 354 | Kralingen | +31104527743
10:00 – 00:00 daily (kitchen till 22:00)

Nostra’s back!! After they had to move because of construction work they were gone for a while. But now they have reopened and I’m happy about it.

The place is completely new, but hasn’t lost it’s cosy feeling. And the menu is still great as well. The Van Oldenbarneveld street has some very nice shops where they sell beautiful stuff. Like SHPPR which sells the dresses of Wendy Troost. Therefor Nostra is great for a shopping break. And on your way back, pick up some delicious cupcakes from Alice in Cakeland (check the article), she’s only a couple of doors down.

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Nostra | Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Lunch) | Pastrami bread roll € 7.50
Van Oldenbarneveltstraat 127A | Center
Thu – Mon 10:00 – 21:00, closed on Tue – Wed night

This restaurant lives up to it’s name (translation: “heaven on earth”). It’s the favorite restaurant of one of my best friends and not with out a reason. Their tapas are delicious and there is lots to choose from. My favorite are the dates filled with an almond and rolled in bacon.

This popular place does not take reservations during the weekend, so it could be that you have to wait before you get a table. Or you can take a seat at the bar.

Just with their food, the owners have put a lot of thought and love into the interior of the restaurant. Everywhere in the place there are statues of angels and other things that have to do with heaven.

Enjoy a great meal here and maybe afterwards you can have a nice beer or something warmer by the fireplace at the Locus Publicus (check the Locus Publicus article). Not too long ago they put heaters outside, so you can sit there as well. Normally there are only chairs here during summer, so I reckon that’s more for smokers to sit. I haven’t tried it yet, so can’t really judge. Good reason to pay them a visit again .

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Hemel op aarde | Restaurants (Tapas) | Dates with almond & bacon € 3.25
Oostzeedijk beneden 205a | Kralingen | +31104139656
17:30 – 00:00 daily