 |
| Next staff meeting will be at Spaarne 66 cafe in Haarlem, The Netherlands. Image: by Craig M, San Diego CA |
Some cafés offer a good cup of coffee. Spaarne66 adds that and a small but delightful decision: Which Haarlem would you like to watch while you drink it? Take a table on the water side and the River Spaarne supplies the scenery. Boats pass close by, light moves across the canal houses, and the historic Melkbrug swing bridge stands beside the restaurant. It is the kind of view that makes a second coffee seem less like an indulgence than an extension of the afternoon.
The river-facing tables are the obvious prize on a bright day, but their real appeal is motion: water, bicycles, pedestrians and boats continually rearranging the picture.
Choose the street-facing tables along Spaarne instead and Haarlem becomes more intimate. Here the pleasure is not the broad river panorama but the daily theater at the restaurant’s front door—neighbors arriving, cyclists gliding past and lunch guests settling in.
The two seating areas feel like different cafés sharing one kitchen: one opens toward the water; the other keeps company with the street.
Inside, Spaarne66 {above), has a warm, comfortable dining room that earns its keep when Dutch weather changes its mind. Breakfast, lunch, drinks and dinner are served, but coffee suits the place particularly well: unhurried, sociable and accompanied by one of the best free shows in central Haarlem.
Spaarne66 has occupied this address under that name since 2007. The Lemmers family established it and operated it for fourteen years; Silvester Out and Sanne de Leeuw became the owners in January 2022 and retained the familiar name. The restaurant’s longevity makes sense.
Location may bring people to the door, but atmosphere persuades them to remain. Our recommendation is simple: arrive with time to spare, inspect both sides, and choose the table that matches your mood. River or street, Haarlem does the entertaining.
Visitor information: Spaarne 66, 2011 CK Haarlem, the Netherlands. Open Monday through Sunday, 9 a.m.–midnight; kitchen until 9:30 p.m
