Amsterdam Coffeeshop Directory Forums

Not_the_monk wrote: Thu 21st Aug 2025 11:34 pm

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....

Fantastic! What a godsend it was. Thanks so much for uploading that. I remember sitting in coffeeshops with my mate, planning where we were going next, looking at all the ads, chasing cup winners - what a wonderful journey of discovery it was

Haha we did exactly the same!!

So many blasts from the past in this thread by the way. La Canna, omg I actually stayed in their "hotel" on one of my first trips to the city. It was.... something. I remember both being staggered at the minimum buy they had being like 2.5g, and being extremely under the influence of mushrooms on their pool floor. That area was madness back then, in both a good & a bad way.

De Graal, now that was a loss. Spent many an hour in there playing chess. What was that hash called they always had, lovely fudge like texture? Pic below is of the downstairs room maybe a year before it closed.



So many other places we've lost. I'll have to look through old piles of non-digital photos to see if I have any interesting ones, I'm sure I have some of Global Chillage somewhere. I also have a (highly notated) copy of the Rough Guide to Amsterdam, published late 90's I think, the bits describing & partly reviewing a bunch of the coffeeshops are quite interesting, I'll see if they'd be palatable photographed over the weekend.

Oh. Maybe too soon. But can we include the original Batcave?

Not_the_monk wrote: Thu 21st Aug 2025 11:34 pm

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....

That's pretty amazing! Love the added notes. Shame coffeeshops aren't allowed to participate in this kind of thing anymore.

Does anyone know whether other municipalities allow coffeeshop advertising or is it a nationwide ban?

Just perving on a Mellow Pages on Ebay and it has these pictures in its slideshow thingy:

Pink Floyd or The Wall I assume: Dunno. Any ideas? The Doors: Oude Hoogstraat - with coffeeshops Josephine Baker and Karel Appel visible on the right. You can also just about make out the sign for Free Adam behind them (it's yellow):

HitTheNorth wrote: Sat 23rd Aug 2025 09:32 am Just perving on a Mellow Pages on Ebay and it has these pictures in its slideshow thingy:

Pink Floyd or The Wall I assume:
Screenshot 2025-08-23 at 09.21.02.png

Dunno. Any ideas?
Screenshot 2025-08-23 at 09.23.04.png

The Doors:
Screenshot 2025-08-23 at 09.23.34.png

Oude Hoogstraat - with coffeeshops Josephine Baker and Karel Appel visible on the right. You can also just about make out the sign for Free Adam behind them (it's yellow):
Screenshot 2025-08-23 at 09.23.57.png

I've seen that Ebay listing before and it's a crazy crazy price at $211 isn't it as much as I'd love a Mellow Pages, I just could never pay that. I do wonder whether those photos come with it? I'm guessing they're not actually part of the Mellow Pages guide are they?

Coffeeshop Fancy Free
Martelaarsgracht 4-6, 1012 TP Amsterdam
Haarlemmerstraat 64, 1013 ET Amsterdam


https://www.coffeeshopdirect.com/fancyfree.html


This is my favourite of all long gone coffeeshops. I don't know why as I never got to go in one but Lemming's photo on the directory from 1989 is my favourite coffeeshop photo. The sun booming down on the white facade makes it look very inviting. Would have loved to have had a latte and a spliff sat in the sun on that terrace.

Here's a screenshot of the sign from the Haarlemmerstraat location from HitTheNorths youtube find.
Bit more digging around the interent and I've found a few things.

Couple of old cards:

Postcard:

Wow, Fancy Free looks incredible, 50s American diner vibes.

Lemming wrote: Thu 21st Aug 2025 04:04 pm 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'.

After some help from Reddit on the r/amsterdam subreddit, someone has said they think it is now the Black Tiger Bar in the RLD. So possibly before the Black Tiger Bar it was the 3rd location of La Rocka?

I think he's right to be fair as the buildings look exactly the same. Even with the little bit of pronounced brickwork between the two windows.

I've managed to do a crappy side by side of a screenshot from the youtube video and a screenshot from the closest angle I could get on google street view.

What do you think?

It's definitely the location of the Black Tiger Bar, Lemming. Someone on reddit has just posted the Dutch version of Companies House I think! A new defunct chain for the directory

La Rocka 3(?) - Oudezijds Achterburgwal, 23

https://www.kvk.nl/bestellen/#/332187840003

Lemming wrote: Thu 21st Aug 2025 04:04 pm 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.

Coffeeshop First Choice
COFFEESHOP "FIRST CHOICE"
AMSTERDAM
NIEUWE NIEUWSTRAAT 20
https://www.kvk.nl/bestellen/#/332250770000/

The Phantoms
THE PHANTOMS BAR
AMSTERDAM
WARMOESSTRAAT 35 - 37
https://www.kvk.nl/bestellen/#/332574760000/

Batouta
Struggling with this one

Bulus
KOFFIEHUIS BULUS
AMSTERDAM
GOVERT FLINCKSTRAAT 104 - 106
https://www.kvk.nl/bestellen/#/332855600000/

Planeet
COFFEESHOP PLANEET
AMSTERDAM
VAN DER HELSTPLEIN 8
https://www.kvk.nl/bestellen/#/332022610000/

De Rivier
Struggling with this one

Club 237
CLUB 237
AMSTERDAM
ROZENGRACHT 237
https://www.kvk.nl/bestellen/#/350133520001/

Euro
Struggling with this one

Smokum - "I have seen this listed as 'Cointuurbaan 185', which could be a misspelling of Ceintuurbaan." Here's another spelling, Lem typos galore with this coffeeshop I'm sure you right with it being Ceintuurbaan.
COFFEESHOP/BAR SMOKUM
AMSTERDAM
BEINTUURBAAN 185
https://www.kvk.nl/bestellen/#/332622900000/

No Way Out
Struggling with this one

New Key West
CAFE NEW KEY WEST
AMSTERDAM
HAARLEMMERSTRAAT 83
https://www.kvk.nl/bestellen/#/332390810000/

***Disclaimer*** I don't know if this is correct information but I reckon so. Seems very legit and originally came from came from a Dutch source.

Found this image of the interior of Paradise - my bete noire of coffeeshops...

Tbf it looks better than I remember it. My memory of it was as though they'd tried to recreate the vibe from that Jamaican shack Bond goes to in Dr No.

free_phil_spector wrote: Mon 25th Aug 2025 10:26 pm Tbf it looks better than I remember it. My memory of it was as though they'd tried to recreate the vibe from that Jamaican shack Bond goes to in Dr No.

To be fair it does look quite nice inside. Reading the old forum thread for it, it seems that it had a dreadful reputation because of crap and over expensive weed and hash. Same as La Canna really. Always the palm tree Coffeeshops that are the crap ones. Smokey on Rembrandtplein is still the same with the palm trees

They are/were in brilliant locations so could get away with having crap weed and hash for “passers by”. If La Canna or Paradise was still there now, I’d buy the cheapest pre roll on the menu and smoke my own stash just for the location.

avfc-herbalist wrote: Tue 26th Aug 2025 09:31 amTo be fair it does look quite nice inside. Reading the old forum thread for it, it seems that it had a dreadful reputation because of crap and over expensive weed and hash. Same as La Canna really. Always the palm tree Coffeeshops that are the crap ones. Smokey on Rembrandtplein is still the same with the palm trees

They are/were in brilliant locations so could get away with having crap weed and hash for “passers by”. If La Canna or Paradise was still there now, I’d buy the cheapest pre roll on the menu and smoke my own stash just for the location.

Yeah they were tourists traps basically. I think my problem with Paradise was with the staff. First time they were just really rude but on a subsequent solo trip it was proper sketchy. Felt like something dodgy was due to go down soon and they didn't want me or any other customers in there. I never went back anyway.

Here's an awesome video about the story of Sarasani, a coffeeshop in Utrecht that pre-dates a lot of shops in Amsterdam. Crazy story about the legendary owner and his eventual demise at the hands of police. Fascinating tale.

https://youtu.be/9zmm6jI3eZU?si=pf10Op1wdftq9Fra