For years, the NDSM site has had an appeal that is hard to describe. Warehouses, graffiti, the IJmond in the background. And in the middle of all that sits IJver: an industrial café-restaurant that lets you in from early morning until late at night. Not a tourist tent, but a place that runs on a combination of good flavors, lots of beer and the raw character of the area.
Behind IJver are Tim Jongens and brothers Reinout, Sikko and Arne Kleijn. In the kitchen is Herman Klukkert, who sets the lines as chef and culinary consultant. The cuisine is seasonally driven and moves between Dutch and French, but the most striking aspect of the menu is the grilling techniques. Everyone knows charcoal barbecue, but Hibachi BBQ is also present here: a Japanese method of grilling on a flat iron plate at high temperature. This gives a different texture and flavor than a classic grill, and you can taste it.
The space is exactly what you expect on NDSM: industrial, large, and surrounded by art. Outside is a sunny terrace that fills up in the summer, and there is a covered heated terrace so you can still sit outside in November without freezing your fingers. The building itself can be joined with an adjacent shed for large events. Think private dinners, walking dinners, buffets or full room rentals. So IJver is not just a restaurant, it is also an event venue that you can customize to your liking.
Nineteen beer taps, a heated outdoor patio and a kitchen that runs on charcoal barbecue.
NDSM can be reached via the ferry behind Central Station, which makes the crossing itself a bit of an outing. Once across the street, walking to IJver takes a few minutes. The combination of the location, Klukkert's cuisine, that number of beer taps and event space makes IJver more than your average pub-restaurant. It's exactly the kind of place that has stood North in good stead for ages: down-to-earth, raw and yet attentive to what's on your plate.