On Boomstraat, on a corner in the Jordaan, R. de Rosa has been in business for almost three years. The café opened in June 2023 and filled a gap that many Jordaan residents themselves might not have even named: a place to go at any time of day, without feeling like a coffee shop or a restaurant. Just a cafe of the neighborhood, for the neighborhood.
Behind the name R. de Rosa is an owner who deliberately chose a corner building on one of the Jordaan's narrowest streets. The space is not large. But small is not a disadvantage here. Wooden furniture, muted lighting, a bar that invites you to linger for a while. The interior is in keeping with what has characterized the Jordaan for decades: low ceiling, window frames that overlook the pavers, and the neighbor's voice that you can hear without inviting him in. The atmosphere was not created. It's just there.
What sets R. de Rosa apart from most cafes in the area is its daytime schedule. On Mondays and Saturdays, you start there as early as ten o'clock with breakfast. This is followed by lunch every day starting at noon. Mid-afternoon, at three, the bar snacks appear: chips, olives, small snacks with a glass of wine. And in the evening, starting at six, there is a hot meal. One continuous program, from morning to evening. The wine list runs like a thread throughout that day, and that's clearly not an afterthought.
R. de Rosa doesn't think in big concepts. It thinks in: what does a person need when he turns the corner after a long day.
The advance of R. de Rosa was followed by a second location in November 2023: The Little Berry, in East. It opened in early December 2023 after renovations. Two cafes in six months: that says something about how well the concept is landing in the city. But Boomstraat remains where it started. A corner building in the Jordaan, a lot smaller than its ambitions, and just right.