Eetsalon Van Dobben

It was brought to my attention after spending some time at the Rijiksmuseum, that we were near a place that supposedly had very good bitterballen. And since my first encounter with bitterballen was somewhat suspect the night prior, I was curious to see how another place would make it.
Eetsalon van Dobben is a pretty leisurely 15 – 20 minute walk from Rijiksmuseum, which is to say that it’s fairly conveniently distanced from it, as well as other tourist destinations like Vondelpark or the Heineken Brewery. Upon arriving, its also its own cool destination, being located at the very end of a gigantic street bazaar where you could get all sorts of street food and likely knockoff name brand apparel. It’s also facing a trolley stop, so if you’re completely averse to walking, it could easily be accessed by transit.
But the place itself, is a really chill café/​coffee shop atmosphere. I guess you could go up to the counter to place orders, but my girlfriend and I sat down, and someone came to serve us pretty quickly. The menu isn’t large by any stretch of the imagination, but they did indeed have bitterballen, so we placed our order and enjoyed the relaxed ambiance of the joint.
The bitterballen here was vastly different than the ones I had the night prior; whereas the bitterballen I tried first were almost hollow, and mildly lined with gravy and meat matter, the ones at Eetsalon van Dobben were fully stuffed, yet still piping hot and way more fulfilling. I’m no expert on bitterballen obviously, but if I had to describe it to anyone, I would say that this is how it should be, and not the crap I had at The Alley up in city center.
So overall, I’m pleased with my experience, because I finally felt like I got some good bitterballen in the end. The location is easy to get to, the atmosphere is relaxed, and the service was fine. Take my word for what it’s worth, but if you want to try bitterballen, this is a place I’d suggest.

Great small sandwiches and croquettes. Delicious soups.
Convenient location in Amsterdam Centrum.

Ordered a Van Dobben shrimp croquette. Normally is has like over 5 in shrimps in it. This time: 0. Just bad luck, I guess.
Quick service.
Bathroom: ok.

Dissapointing. From the outside it looks professional and cool, but as you go in you are constantly forgotten by the waiters, the food is uninspired, coffee is below average and in our case they were out of both English breakfast (my favorite) and orange juice (a necessity)… I don’t recommend this location, there are far better places nearby.
I had a chicken wrap, which was dry, boring and could have been pre-​made and bought at the supermarket. My girlfriend had a BLT sandwich that fell apart as soon as you touched it and was generally boring and uninspired.
We’re checking in somewhere else to get a new breakfast pretty soon.

gemütlicher Laden, sehr schön für einen Kaffee oder einen kleinen Snack

If you’re going to eat at Van Dobben, you should definitely go to the original location. This establishment has way more seating and tons of options (carrot cake, cookies, etc) that aren’t offered at the other location, but the actual sandwiches leave something to be desired. We ordered croquet sandwiches and bitterballen, which seemed to still be a bit frozen. Love Van Dobben, but not this location.

Had a wonderful club sandwich and expresso while sitting outside on a sunny day. Good service.

Arrivés dans le quartier de Pijp sans avoir déjeuné aux alentours de 15h, nous nous sommes dirigés vers l’un des rares établissements ouverts (mis à part le McDo à quelque pas de là) à cette heure-​ci.
À la carte, les croquettes (krokets) que nous avons déjà vu sur d’autres menus d’établissements fermés. On se dit donc que ça semble assez local, et on tente !
Une excellente idée puisqu’ici les croquettes sont vraiment bonnes. Frites à la minute, servies (très) chaudes, au choix: entières ou coupées en deux et déposés sur un capuchon de pain blanc (miam !).
On a testé: bœuf, veau, crevette et saté (sauce à la cacahuète). Elles étaient toutes très bonne. Petite préférence pour le veau et le saté pour son originalité.
(les croquettes sont: une sauce béchamel avec divers ingrédients, entourés de panure.)
Côté tarif: 2,75 € la croquette. Rien à redire du tout ! Et le service est au top, sans parler de la très jolie déco. ^^

This location of the Van Dobben Eetsalon has opened a few weeks ago. It is located at the Ferdinand Bolstraat next to the Albert Kuypstraat. You can sit outside to watch the busy street or inside for a less crowded atmosphere. This shop sells of course the famous ‘Van Dobben croquettes’ on bread. They taste nice but yes, you knew that. You know what you get when you order them. They also sell many other sandwiches (cheese, eggs salad, meats). They have all kinds of drink too.
This place is also okay if you would like coffee or tea. They even sell pastries like brownies, carrot cake and pie. So, it is not all about the croquettes.
Prices are fine. The interior is quite cool. It is way better than you would expect if you have seen the other location near Rembrandtplein. This place looks more like a coffee bar than a snack corner.
Whats quite weird, is that they close so early: 6PM! Even though the sign outside says: lunch coffee dinner. Also, the girls already start closing the place around 5. Bringing terrace tables inside and stuff. So that’s a bit lame.