Really enjoying this thread, love seeing and reading about the absolute glory days of Amsterdam, which I feel i caught the tail end of having first gone over in 2013. Currently feeling very nostalgic for Utopia (that Citral was pure lemony goodness).
Here's a great video capturing the last days of de Graal. Only went in once but fell in love with the place, it was like sitting in a hippie's living room. I remember smoking some Caramello hash when an older American gent came over and tried asking me about what I was smoking in Dutch, when I replied in English he looked like a kid who had just dropped his ice cream cone and walked back over to his wife. I'm assuming he had been brushing up on Rosetta Stone before his trip and was disappointed when he didn't get to use it
Inside Free Adam which was on Oude Hoogstraat. I may be getting it confused as there were quite a few along there but I remember this place as dark and wooden with a raised bit at the back. Maybe they refurbed, maybe I lunched
Smokeybee21 wrote: Mon 18th Aug 2025 01:16 am
Really enjoying this thread, love seeing and reading about the absolute glory days of Amsterdam, which I feel i caught the tail end of having first gone over in 2013. Currently feeling very nostalgic for Utopia (that Citral was pure lemony goodness).
Here's a great video capturing the last days of de Graal. Only went in once but fell in love with the place, it was like sitting in a hippie's living room. I remember smoking some Caramello hash when an older American gent came over and tried asking me about what I was smoking in Dutch, when I replied in English he looked like a kid who had just dropped his ice cream cone and walked back over to his wife. I'm assuming he had been brushing up on Rosetta Stone before his trip and was disappointed when he didn't get to use it
Quality video that is Smokeybee21. Never went to De Graal, really wish I did now though watching that video. Really does look like a living room type vibe. I remember Pengaldinho's quest for diamonds travelogue series he always use to frequent De Graal. Brilliant travelogues they were too.
HitTheNorth wrote: Mon 18th Aug 2025 12:04 pm
Inside Free Adam which was on Oude Hoogstraat. I may be getting it confused as there were quite a few along there but I remember this place as dark and wooden with a raised bit at the back. Maybe they refurbed, maybe I lunched
You keep on coming back with quality videos mate. Thanks very much!
Also, I don't know how I missed the Coffeeshop 36 video but that was real good. Loved the dealers booth with all the cd cases in the racks ready to be played!
It was next door to the Hard Rock Cafe back then and I think they were affiliated. As the logos have the same font and the coffeeshop t-shirt (£100 something on ebay at the minute) has the ® symbol. I'm intrigued by this one as by 1990 it was a giftshop for the cafe which is on HitTheNorths post with the 1990 Coffeeshop video.
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Hunter's Warmoestraat, incidentally the first coffeeshop I ever went into.Now Hill St Blues 2. Great video from BlueBerry, who was a frequent poster on here way back in the day. I always watch through the vids on her channel in the lead-up to a trip, as it takes me back to the rush of excitement I had when researching before my first jaunt over.
One that I saw on the montage the other day that I'd forgot about - Coffeeshop K Appel. It always stuck in my head as Karel Appel was a dutch artist, part of the COBRA group and at the time I first saw it, I was an art student.
I can find nothing but this photo:
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While on my quest I happened upon these image - all taken around 1986/7
Bulldog:
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Grasshopper
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Downtown on Reguliersdwarsstr.
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Balou
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Prix D'Ami - one of the old locations I think, where Easy Times 2 is now, ex Betty Too
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Hunter's Warmoestraat, incidentally the first coffeeshop I ever went into.Now Hill St Blues 2. Great video from BlueBerry, who was a frequent poster on here way back in the day. I always watch through the vids on her channel in the lead-up to a trip, as it takes me back to the rush of excitement I had when researching before my first jaunt over.
I was very pleased to see some footage of this one. I remember a very happy afternoon spent in there smoking their blue cheese with a mate before we headed to the Stone Roses gig at HMH in 2012. Good times
It's so easy to laugh, it's so easy to hate - it takes guts to be gentle and kind...
Those photos are brilliant. Good work finding them mate
I have tried so hard so many times to find images of Prix D’Ami’s other ex locations. So happy you’ve come across it. That’s the Nieuwendijk location, never seen any images of that address as any other Coffeeshop so thanks a lot for finding that image
I’ve found a couple of photos of when Betty Boop Too/Easy Times 2 was called Grand Prix. Which would end up next door to Coffeeshop Downtown in your other photo.
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I really hope one of those T-shirts Karel Appel have got hanging in their window on that photo ends up on EBay one day for you mate. There must still be at least one out there somewhere!
Love seeing the ganja leaves on The Grasshopper’s logo and on the Prix D’Ami sign.
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Hunter's Warmoestraat, incidentally the first coffeeshop I ever went into.Now Hill St Blues 2. Great video from BlueBerry, who was a frequent poster on here way back in the day. I always watch through the vids on her channel in the lead-up to a trip, as it takes me back to the rush of excitement I had when researching before my first jaunt over.
I was very pleased to see some footage of this one. I remember a very happy afternoon spent in there smoking their blue cheese with a mate before we headed to the Stone Roses gig at HMH in 2012. Good times
Good times indeed. I stayed at Hotel de Mallemoolen at the top of the Warmoestraat my first few trips, one of my happiest memories is walking into Hunter's at about 8am on a Monday morning with the BT blasting the first Jimi Hendrix Experience album way too loud. My mates were already there, one of them passed me a joint of Lemon Haze as soon as I walked in. My first thought was, "well, this beats every 8am on a Monday I've ever had."
Last edited by Smokeybee21 on Wed 20th Aug 2025 07:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Smokeybee21 wrote: Wed 20th Aug 2025 05:49 pmGood times indeed. I stayed at Hotel de Mallemoolen at the top of the Warmoestraat my first few trips, one of my happiest memories is walking into Hunter's at about 8am on a Sunday morning with the BT blasting the first Jimi Hendrix Experience album way too loud. My mates were already there, one of them passed me a joint of Lemon Haze as soon as I walked in. My first thought was, "well, this beats every 8am on a Monday I've ever had."
superb! Never stayed at that hotel but enjoyed many a night at the Luxer just a bit further south down Warmoesstraat. A bit on the pricey side but worth every penny. 24-hour bar and a private side alley gated off from the main street where you can smoke weed day and night. Many was the time I would be in that alley with a beer and spliff post-2am feeling slightly smug at all the confused tourists not understanding why they can't get in anywhere now but there's people at "that hotel" drinking and smoking
Such great days.
It's so easy to laugh, it's so easy to hate - it takes guts to be gentle and kind...
Thanks everyone, especially HitTheNorth for this extraordinary video
I've been visiting Amsterdam regularly since 1988 but only really began obsessively trainspotting coffeeshops some 10 years later, when I started the ACD.
I think someone said that video is from around 1990, when there were an enormous number of coffeeshops. To be fair, many of them weren't particularly good but we have lost some real gems. Lots of places shown there are very familiar but lots more I have no idea about.
Many long lost coffeeshops are listed in the ACD and I've added a few more since watching that video. I see there is a separate 'Guess the coffee shop' thread running but I would really appreciate any attempts to identify and put addresses to some of the more obscure shops shown here.
I might post some frames from the video of places that are baffling me for a much more challenging 'Guess the coffee shop'. In the meantime, can anyone put addresses to any of these?
First Choice - I think I remember seeing this one years ago. It was on Nieuwe Nieuwstraat near El Guapo (now Terps Army). Anyone know the address?
The Phantoms
Batouta
Bulus
Planeet
De Rivier
Club 237
Euro
Smokum - I have seen this listed as 'Cointuurbaan 185', which could be a misspelling of Ceintuurbaan.
No Way Out
New Key West - not the one in Haarlem.
Talking of Haarlem, there's a shot in the video of Empire. Is this the one in Haarlem or another one in Amsterdam?
Also in the video is a La Roca that doesn't appear to be either of the ones we know about. In fact it appears to be what became Dread Rock, which was also once 'Dreadlock'.
There's also a Grasshopper that I don't recognise.
Lots more too but that's enough to be going on with.
Lemming wrote: Thu 21st Aug 2025 04:04 pmFirst Choice - I think I remember seeing this one years ago. It was on Nieuwe Nieuwstraat near El Guapo (now Terps Army). Anyone know the address?
I looked closely at the video and at 3.26 you can just about make out the sign for El Guapo, next door but one to First Choice. There is a shop with a Lucky Strike sign in between. El Guapo/Terps is 32 Nieuwe Nieuwstraat. The Lucky Strike building, bears a large no. 30 on street view meaning First Choice must've been 28 Nieuwe Nieuwstraat. I think.
HitTheNorth wrote: Thu 14th Aug 2025 03:47 pm
Does anyone have a copy of this BCD map? And even better, fancy scanning it in?
As it happens, I do. It isn't in the best condition after having been on many a trip back in the day & is stuck together with cellotape with various (mostly inaccurate) notations also on it.
I can maybe figure out a way to get images of it in better quality....
