Cannabis or Cappuccino in Coffee Shop De Kuil?

Coffee Shop De Kuil looks very much like a bruin café but is a coffeeshop aka hash bar.

Bruin (brown) café is the Dutch answer to what a Londoner would call pub. It is the place where people from the neighbourhood gather, gossip, snack and drink. The name brown café refers to the dark, often wooden interior and the smoke stained walls. This is the place to go if you want to drink coffee.

Coffeeshop can mean only one thing in the Netherlands; hash bar. It is a place where cannabis is openly smoked and sold. You may think that buying and selling marihuana is legal in the Netherlands. I can assure you this is not true. Selling and buying is decriminalised, that’s all. Every person over eighteen is allowed (tolerated to be more precise) to possess thirty grams of soft drugs. A coffeeshop can stock five hundred grams of weed and can sell five grams to one person over 18 years of age per day.

Coffeeshops offer several kinds of weed and hash. Ask for the menu and choose your dope. Prices vary according to quality, with an average of €5 per gram. Beware of local skunk as it is quite strong. Ask the staff for the strength and general effect of the dope of your choice, if you are a beginner. They can also supply bonks and rolling papers.

You will probably have noticed that coffeeshops do not have their own websites and that the word cannabis is not found on the menu or anywhere in a coffeeshop. The reason is that some years ago coffeeshops were advised (read; forced) to scrap the word. This was a big problem for De Kuil, as they were called Cannabis Café. They adopted a new name; 420 Café, but no one seems to use this.

Super Silver Haze

De Kuil is housed in an old building with a beamed ceiling, a small seating area in front and a long bar along the wall. At the far end is the dealer’s counter and this is where you ask for the menu. The music is a good mix of classic rock. De kuil has a friendly bring-your-own food policy, which is great because Oudebrugsteeg has a good selection of take-aways. Grab a window seat and stare at the pastry shop across the road while you are getting high. If it all gets to much, get out and buy one of these tantalising cakes or focaccia covered in olives and rosemary and dripping with melted cheese.

De Kuil’s location is very central, close to Dam Square. They open at 10 am and close at 1 am, and stay open until 3 am on Friday and Saturdays.

Coffeeshop De Kuil, 420 Café
Oudebrugsteeg 27
Amsterdam
Open daily from 10.00 – 01.00

photo credits: personal collection