De Blauwe Engel

Strawinskylaan 143, Amsterdam, Netherlands

De Blauwe Engel is basically a Zuidas institution. It’s a WTCafé in the World Trade Center, which sounds corporate, but it’s actually the kind of place where you can roll in for a coffee, stay for lunch, and accidentally end up at the Friday afternoon borrel. That’s not a hypothetical. The Friday drink is kind of legendary here. It starts picking up around five, and by seven there’s a DJ. You’ve probably started, stranded, or ended your night here at some point without even planning it. The drinks situation is solid. They’ve got an impressive beer list and eight beers on tap, which pair dangerously well with a borrelplank. So if you’re into sharing snacks and trying different beers, this is your spot. It’s not trying to be anything fancy, it’s just a reliable place to hang out on a weekday. They’re open Monday through Friday, from 10:00 to 01:00. Closed on weekends, so plan accordingly. If you want the full picture, they’ve got a menu covering lunch, dinner, drinks, and bar snacks, plu…