Recommended by Koos Romkes: De Stroohoed at the Eewal is the kind of place that never seems to change. When you enter, there’s a heavy red curtain behind the door, the kind you have quite a struggle with when you leave the place long after last orders. Once inside you can’t help but notice the big long bar with a bartender that seems to blend into the background. There’s two reasons you will notice him and that’s because it is the kind of place where they greet you upon entering and when leaving and, most importantly, he serves you the best beer you had in quite a while. Don’t expect him to fling a bottle behind his back nor will you get your drink on a fancy, though always soaked, napkin. What you will get however is a carefully tapped beer with a good brew head, the way the Europeans like it.
The music is on the background and there’s a fair chance you’ll hear the old exhaust system on the wall near the billiard better. Life goes by slowly in this pub but that’s all the better since you’ll need your time to pick one of their many special brews. There’s always something a little different on tap and the variety of bottled beers is enormous. This is where the bartender comes in handy again. He can guide you to find the beer that you never knew you wanted to try. After a few questions he’ll give you some interesting options of unheard beers from breweries worldwide.
But if you really want to go back in time you should try the jenevers. Don’t expect to get an English gin, something not to be drunk without tonic, if you ask me. The Dutch gin, jenever, is something else completely. The old ones are as refined in taste as some of the good whisk(e)ys (of which they have many too). So if you really want to imagine yourself in the fifties, order a nice old jenever after you tried one of their beers. Carefully sipping your drink you’ll enjoy your moment of mindfulness in an early retro environment. De Stroohoed is the place to be for anyone who has a little time to spare.
De Stroohoed I Bars, cafes & pubs
Eewal 72-b (Show on map)
Open: Tue-Sat 19:30-0:00