As planned, we gave Soundgarden a try on Saturday.
The weather being rather nice, we arranged to meet up earlier, at 15:30. Why? Because we wanted to sit outside where there's limited space. Best to turn up just after opening time.
Andrew, Alexei and me were almost on time. I blame the kids or that. I was ready to leave home before 3 PM. Traffic was a nightmare, too. Which is why we took the no. 17 rather than the no. 2 tram.
Mikey and Lucas were already sitting outside. Freshly-poured beers in front of them. Just as well we got here early as most of the tables are already occupied. Soon the kids have brought me a bottle of La Chouffe.
Soundgarden is slightly unusual as it backs directly onto a canal. Which gives it a nice view. And also means that customers can arrive by boat. Which is exactly what happened not long after we got there. How cool is that?
Unlike the garden itself. Which was pretty warm. Too warm for my liking. And with almost no shade. That's a mark against the pub.
The inside was totally empty. Which meant I could take lots of nice photos without people getting in the way. I won't bother trying to describe how it looks. I'll let the photos do the talking.
So how did our evaluation go? Well, the beer is more expensive than Checkpoint Charlie. On the other hand, the spirits are cheaper. The music is pretty good. But that's also true of Checkpoint Charlie. The ouside space is, overall better at Soundgarden.
Not a whole lot to choose between the two pubs, really. But it's all about feeling. Where feels right? Where do we feel at home?
It's too early to say yet. More trials are needed. Like next Saturday.
Soundgarden
Marnixstraat 164-166,
1016 TG Amsterdam.
https://www.cafesoundgarden.nl
Interesting that the "No WiFi" sign is in English. Do they get a lot of tourists visiting, or just assume that their Dutch customers will all understand it?
ReplyDeleteI reckon both.
DeleteOscar
I will forgive a lot of sins in a bar when it's an easy walk instead of a pain on transit (or worse, driving).
ReplyDeleteI remember being out for dinner in Amsterdam with a Dutch friend and the menu was in Dutch and English. I tried to order using the Dutch words and my friend and the Dutch waiter bust out laughing. My friend said 'What are you doing? No-one tries to speak Dutch!'
ReplyDelete