On Second Garden Street, there is a corner building with large French doors. When the weather is nice, they open and there is no longer really a boundary between inside and outside. That is Dinette in a nutshell: a café-restaurant that can hardly be captured in one description. Coffee during the day, lunch at the weekend, and in the evening just stay for dinner with cocktails and wine. Until 1 a.m. if you must.
Behind Dinette are five owners: Daan Bonsen, Tijn Nieuwenhuizen, Dirk Mooren, Bloeme Burema and Gina Verheij. No strangers to the Amsterdam hospitality industry. Together they are also responsible for Verlan and Slope 7, two businesses that have already proven that they know how to set up a place that draws people back. Burema serves as hostess, Verheij is in the kitchen. You notice that the owners themselves are actively on the shop floor.
The property is a corner building, and that makes a difference. Two streets, daylight from multiple sides, and those big doors that make the terrace an extension of the business. Inside, it's the details that do it: no polished mess, no concept shoved down your throat. The philosophy is no-fuss, and that's not just a word. It's just set up that way and run that way. You slide in, you order, you stay.
Burema does the serving as hostess, Verheij is in the kitchen. You notice that the owners themselves are actively on the shop floor.
Tweede Tuindwarsstraat is known to locals as one of the Jordaan's most beautiful streets. This is no exaggeration. It is a narrow cross street that manages to avoid the hustle and bustle of Westerstraat and Rozengracht, but is close by. Dinette fits right in: not too big, not too crowded, and with a menu that doesn't force you into an elaborate evening ritual if you don't feel like it. The Parool put the place on the list of 25 best new places in the city in 2025. That says it all.