Meet and Eat: G&T’s really, really nice place

Jun 8, 2012 | by Marije | Food, Spots

About the author

The vodka in my Bloody Mary. My appetizer, main course and dessert. My safe haven, the sunshine at my festivals and the home in homesick. The city that I know so well but love to get lost in.

What’s in a name? Everything. G&T’s is by far the nicest place I’ve been to in a long while. Lots of exiting stuff happens here: from pop-up dinners to theme nights, to Sunday brunches and Mad Hatter’s Teaparties. Meeting new people, enjoying life and trying new things that will make you happy. All of these can be found in an old brown café, painted entirely white, in the hart of the Jordaan.

When I park my bike in the Goudbloemstraat George & Tanya are outside enjoying the summer evening. They invite me in for a chat and a glass of Prosecco. Their place looks great; umbrellas everywhere, white linen on the tables, crystal glasses… Theme for the night: Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, the Amélie of the 60’s. George & Tanya are the most social and fun people ever. Both are Canadian bankers but met in Amsterdam. Back in 2007 George found Amsterdam lacked a good Halloween party so organized one himself, 25 people showed up. In 2010 George & Tanya joined forces and gathered 230 insanely dressed up people in an Amsterdam Noord venue. After this they organized various other parties, just for fun, as they still had their daytime jobs. In 2011 they opened G&T’s and quit their jobs to just use all of their energy (and trust me, that’s a lot) on their creativity.

Bloody Mary’s are a food group

George & Tanya invite people from their network to cook, while they host the bar and make some bloody good Mary’s, their signature cocktail and according to Tanya, a food group. These people are up for anything. If they like your idea, they’ll do it. Fridays there’s usually a pop-up dinner, Saturday and Sunday they do brunch and Sunday night is movie night. But also quizzes, knitting get-togethers, absinthe nights or even corporate meetings (have you ever been to a nice corporate meeting? Here they are!) are on the menu. The crowd that gathers here is a mixture of expats, creatives and cool Amsterdam people, as George describes it.

The moment you step over G&T’s doorstep you feel the amazing vibe in the place. From the panels on the walls to the 100 year old bar with ancient flowery tab, it’s all painted white. The interior exists of all the stuff Tanya couldn’t fit into her apartment; everything hand picked from the market. She inserted a provocative stripper pole which almost serves as a manifestation of what they do at G&T’s: exactly what they like. All of their staff have daytime jobs and vary from musicians to medicine students and business guys who are tired of corporate shit and just like to put their minds on something nice.

Their official name is ‘G&T’s really really nice place (for awesome things, exclusively for the discerning)’. Big name? Yes. It represents their tsunami on ideas, concepts, enthusiasm, their trying not to be pretentious and keeping it real. And if you ask me, bigger things are yet to come.