Look, BAM! You were waiting for this. The terraces TOP 12 of Rotterdam. We went to them more than 200 terraces in and around the center of Rotterdam. We not only looked at price / quality, but also whether the covid can be used safely, whether you can sit in the sun and whether the service is fun. The terraces are in random order. We will only know the real number 1 in a month.
Hotel New York
A terrace that we will not skip this spring is that of Hotel New York. The nice thing is that you always have to wait and see what it will look like, because the setup changes quite often. This spring you can choose from three terraces: the main terrace behind the historic building, the NY Basement terrace at the side of the hotel and finally our favorite: the spacious lawn, located on the cup of the Cup.
The wait staff may take a little longer to reach you, but you have enough space to have a safe drink and a fantastic view over the river and the city. And last but not least: an excellent wine list, fresh seafood and friendly staff.
Terrace: three spacious safe terraces with different atmospheres: choose your favorite!
Service: very professional but they have to serve a large area so sometimes you have to ask for attention
View: magnificent view over the city and the Maas
Address: Hotel New York, Koninginnenhoofd 1, 3072 AD Rotterdam
Kaapse Brouwers in the Fenix Food Factory
If you take the Hoerenloper (as the pedestrian bridge) from Hotel New York, you leave the Kop van Zuid and enter Katendrecht, better known as 'the Cape'. As soon as you step off the bridge, you are almost on the spacious terrace of Kaapse Brouwers, makers of the best beer in Rotterdam. In recent years there has been a lot to do around the Fenix Food Factory, the collective of which the brewery is also a part, but in the meantime the dust has fallen somewhat and the wealth of gastronomic exceptionalities has shifted one building.
In addition to the tastiest beer, you can also get all kinds of other products in the warehouse and, as usual, enjoy everything on a concrete block on the special raw terrace. The terrace is also spacious enough to keep a distance of one and a half meters from each other. Only difference with two years ago: it is a bit more raked, because this new shed is located under a brand new residential complex. Oh well, the raw edges of Rotterdam are always on the move. Fortunately, the Cape Brewers assure us: "You can still enjoy the best beer in the Netherlands with your legs hanging above the Rijnhaven."
If you are in Katendrecht anyway, immediately walk around the warehouse to the Deliplein, the bustling heart of the Cape. There is a difficult-to-describe atmosphere of a Paris circus topped with theatrical fish sauce and a social perfume of coffee beans and newspapers. Well - hard to describe, so.
Terrace: incredibly spacious, free and unique
Service: fine, although it is best to go out on your own
View: raw and Rotterdam view of the Rijnhaven and the Kop van Zuid
Address: De Kaapse Brouwers, Nico Koomanskade 1025, 3072 LM Rotterdam
Cafe Sijf
Jugendstil café Sijf on the Oude Binnenweg is probably the most beautiful café in Rotterdam. Anyway, we are not talking about the inside, but about the terraces. And the terrace of Sijf is always pleasant. The chairs are slightly more comfortable than the bar stools, and it is sometimes a bit crowded, but the corner terrace on the south often has sun. Especially on the left side of the cafe, on the Jacobusstraat, you can supplement your vitamin D from time to time. The selection of drinks and snacks is wide and excellent and the staff are smooth and friendly.
If it is full at Sijf, there are still plenty of alternatives. Classic but often overcrowded café across the street, Melief Bender, is a household name in Rotterdam. Further west you will find beautiful terraces on the New Binnenweg, towards the south you will find the Witte de Withstraat, We would advise against walking only to the north. The terraces on the Schouwburgplein are large, busy, cheerless and moodless.
Terrace: not the most comfortable of furniture and not particularly spacious, but very cozy
Service: professional, friendly, fast
View: the cozy Oude Binnenweg and the less sunny terrace of Melief Bender on the other side ... and you can take a look at the beautiful interior every now and then
Address: Bar Restaurant Sijf, Oude Binnenweg 115, 3012 JB Rotterdam
Baudouin
If you walk from the Oude Binnenweg in the direction of the Nieuwe Binnenweg, you will always come across a block of terraces at the beginning. Those terraces are from Stalles, Bar3 and Rotown. They are fun, everyone seems to meet each other here 'by accident' and the offer is also excellent (service a little less). The big disadvantage is that you often have to squeeze through these sidewalk terraces. The owners will certainly do their best, but we do not see a corona-safe terrace happening here ...
A bit further on it is a lovely place to be, at the Belgian Biercafé Boudewijn. The terrace is just a bit wider and the café is especially recommended for beer lovers. The menu is simple, reasonably priced and generally just delicious. Boudewijn has set up the terrace extra wide to comply with the corona measures: "We are even considering installing mudguards everywhere." Look, we'd like to hear that.
Terrace: well cared for and reasonably spacious; corona proof
Service: friendly and professional
View: you don't have to sit here for the view, unless you want to watch visitors to the adjacent coffee shop
Address: Boudewijn, Nieuwe Binnenweg 53a-b, 3014 GD Rotterdam
Wunderbar
"We have already heard from several boas and municipal people that we are a relief in terms of corona measures." The Wunderbar is proud of how safe they have made their interior and patio. The alternative café, part of the cultural sanctuary WORM, is therefore full of creatives who simply turn the corona measures into something fun. The beer and soft drinks here are German, the daily special is cheap and delicious and the terrace is one of the most spacious on the Witte de With Street.
Moreover, the terrace has the option to divert around the corner, towards the quiet Boomgaardstraat. While elsewhere on the pleasant street there is a lot of squeezing around the terraces, at the Wunderbar it is better to find your own spot and keep your distance.
Tip for the thirsty visitor: make yourself well known to the staff who crawl out of the window of the cafe, otherwise you might be skipped.
Terrace: nice and messy, plenty of expansion options around the corner and thus one of the more spacious terraces on the Witte de With
Service: sometimes a bit slow because they have to crawl out of a window
View: the diverse audience at the Witte de With and sometimes a strange cultural indulgence from WORM
Address: Wunderbar, Boomgaardsstraat 71, 3012 XA Rotterdam
Ownership
Not in the mood for creative flutter and would you rather sit on a terrace on a stand? That is also possible on the Witte de Withstraat! Wijnbar Het Eigendom is a beautiful, cozy bar with - you will never guess - an enormous choice of wine. So good, in fact, that Het Eigendom regularly ends up in the lists of best wine bars in the Netherlands. By the way, the bar is not ballistic; pleasant is a better word.
The Property has a beautiful, small south-facing terrace with good service. It fills up a bit faster than at larger cafes in the area. Also good to know: the tastiest Surinamese sandwiches in Rotterdam can be obtained from the neighbors Warung Mini.
Terrace: very small, well maintained, but especially with the corona measures very quickly full
Service: helpful and effective
View: here you mainly have a view of people, just like at the Wunderbar
Address: Wine bar Het Eigendom, Witte de Withstraat 45-B, 3012 BM Rotterdam
The White House
The quays of the cozy historic Oude Haven are actually a succession of terraces with something for everyone. Cocktails, barbecue, vodka and oysters; it's hard not to find a place where you feel at home. Still, given the distance, we feel less inclined to take a seat on the busy Spaansekade and our eye goes to the spacious terrace of Het Witte Huis on the Geldersekade.
On the other side you have slightly fewer hours of sunshine, but the terrace at the bottom of the oldest skyscraper in Europe feels less like a 'tourist trap' and is therefore a lot more relaxed. In addition, there is enough space to keep your distance from other guests. The service is good and punctual and the offer is fairly standard and more than sufficient for an eatery. Moreover, you have a nice view of the historic ships in the Old Port against the background of the Cube houses.
Terrace: the messiest and most spacious terrace on the Oude Haven and therefore the safest
Service: sometimes a bit understaffed, but welcoming
View: beautiful view of the Willemsbrug, the Oude Haven and of course the White House
Address: Café | Dining room Het Witte Huis, Geldersekade 1C, 3011 WB Rotterdam
Goblet
The Nieuwemarkt is such a strange square between shopping blocks that feels like a part of a city within another city. It is a world in itself, near the Binnenrotte, with all kinds of nice little shops and eateries. A favorite of the editors are Boguette's delicious Vietnamese baguettes. The Nieuwemarkt is also the place with one of the best-known and most pleasant terraces in Rotterdam: Bokaal.
The café has quite a bit of space in front of the terrace and takes the corona rules seriously. A disadvantage is that the cafe is popular, so it quickly becomes one big party. And then the question is… how safe can it all be kept? Assuming all those worries aren't necessary, you're in the right place here, in the heart of the city, with an excellent menu and a good selection of specialty beers.
Terrace: reasonably spacious, can sometimes become unsafe and cozy; partly heated and otherwise well protected from the wind
Service: young and hardworking
View: here you can mainly people watch, although the environment is not ugly at all
Address: Bokaal Rotterdam, Nieuwemarkt 11, 3011 HP Rotterdam
Did you know that you: After the bombing, two architects were allowed to show here how Rotterdam should be rebuilt. Stand with your back to the entrance of the cafe and look towards Erasmus University College. To the right of it you see two different architectural styles. With and without (Amsterdam) gables. The then municipal council opted for that court without a gable end. And so the reconstruction of Rotterdam went without gables.
The Viskantine
On the banks of the Coolhaven there is one such restaurant where you can occasionally hear Rotterdammers praising their trumpet out of nowhere: the Viskantine. The frame restaurant is a kind of annex of the restaurant De Machinist, which is located further away (they also have a nice terrace, by the way), but with a focus on - you never guessed it - fish.
It is also cool that the Viskantine is set up as a kind of beach tent. So you can just eat fresh fish while tossing your bare feet in the sand.
With the Viskantine, De Machinist has a fairly large plot of land at the Coolhaven at his disposal and thus also has all the possibilities for corona-proof dining.
Incidentally, the kitchen is a lot wider than oysters, razors and cod alone. De Viskantine also offers plenty of meat dishes, vegetarian dishes, wheat beer and of course… wine.
Terrace: real old-fashioned beach tent atmosphere; purpose-built for corona time
Service: friendly, smooth and professional
View: about the Coolhaven / Rotte: partly fun, partly also new construction
Address: De Viskantine, Willem Buytewechstraat 45, 3024 BK Rotterdam
A La Plancha
When we talk about fish restaurants - do you know where you can also sit beautifully by the water? A La Plancha on it North Island. The terrace is located on the abutment of the old Willemsbrug and therefore protrudes straight into the Nieuwe Maas. The restaurant once started as a popup restaurant to attract more visitors to the island, but it has now permanently settled on this special spot in the Maas.
In addition to a fantastic view of the Rotterdam skyline and the boats on the Maas, the inner person also wants something. The core of the menu is fresh fish, without too much frills, prepared on a hob (La Plancha, after all.) And where there is fish, there is wine, so it is also abundantly available. It is no coincidence that our editor-in-chief likes to come here. PAY ATTENTION! This terrace is only open in good weather! Check the facebook page from the restaurant to see if they are open.
Terrace: An old bridge foot in the Maas: practical, nice and messy and no-nonsense
Service: Fervent and passionate; unfortunately no real mermaids and men
View: Great view over the Maas, the Willemsbrug and the center
Address: A La Plancha, Maaskade 74, 3071 NC Rotterdam
Aloha
From A La Plancha you can already see it behind the Willemsbrug: the old tropical swimming paradise Tropicana. The wonderful building is nowadays a breeding ground for companies that work on a circular economy, sustainability and alternative use of materials under the collective name BlueCity. Maybe one of them best views on the city from the terrace you will find here: Aloha.
The 'Low waste food bar' is completely in line with the other companies in BlueCity. The dishes and drinks are local and seasonal and the ingredients are unprocessed. In addition, as many residual products as possible are used in a different way to minimize waste.
Terrace: Raised from the tropical debris of Tropicana; very atmospheric
Service: Attentive and interested
View: Beautiful and wide view over the Maas and the Noordereiland
Address: ALOHA, Maasboulevard 102, 3063 NS Rotterdam
Damn
In a wonderfully detached building that looks as if it should not be detached is the very cozy journalist café Verhip. The menu is classic and complete, with the satay and the bouncer as highlights. Verhip's terrace on the south and west is spacious. Moreover, the freestanding eatery can use the terrace flexibly, because there is enough space. Sometimes there is even a stage in front of the striped canopies of the square building.
The terrace is spacious and the menu is good, but the best thing about Verhip is the cheerful and energetic staff. It is difficult to leave this cafe unsatisfied, especially when you have had the sun on your head all afternoon.
Terrace: spacious, often sunny and corona-proof
Service: Rotterdam, effective and very friendly
View: you have a wide view, but there is not always much to see ... although you can peek at the Euromast
Address: Eetcafe Verhip, Sint-Jobsweg 21, 3024 EH Rotterdam
More than enough tips seems to us! Do you have a good terrace tip yourself? Let us know via info@mustsee.nl and maybe the ...
TERRACE RULES
Opening hours between 12:00 and 18:00
Mandatory reservation (can also be done at the door)
Max 2 people are seated at the table
A mouth mask is mandatory when visiting the toilet indoors
And enjoy (seems to be healthy!)
