The Dolphins Coffee Shop

Anyone looking for somewhere warm, pleasant and relaxed to spend a leisurely afternoon need look no further than The Dolphins Coffee Shop in Amsterdam. We were looking for a coffee shop we hadn't tried before, so basically one that wasn't The Greenhouse or Hunter's Coffee Shop, and some friends recommended The Dolphins to us because of its underwater decoration. We weren't disappointed. On the ground floor there are comfy sofas, armchairs and lots of cushions to make customers feel at home, and it's here you can really appreciate the feel of the place owing to the dreamy maritime 3D decoration. It creates a relaxed and calm atmosphere, and there's also free internet access.

The upper floor is more intimate and is less roomy, and has a few small tables. At midnight however, the ground floor closes and customers have access to the upper floor for half an hour more.

The Dolphins Coffee Shop is a small but welcoming little shop with two floors, located just next to Leidseplein, one of the central squares and easily reached by metro, on foot or by bike as was our case. It's open from 4pm til 12am, apart from on Fridays or Saturdays, where it's open until 2am.

There are several dolphin statues on the walls and hanging from the ceiling in keeping with the underwater theme, and the bar is lit up by colourful fish lamps. There are about half a dozen coffee tables upstairs, and just as many comfy armchairs to go with them, in typical café style.

The music varies in genre, but it's always relaxed and never too loud. There are small tvs showing sports channels and other entertainment programs.

The bar offers a good selection of weed and things to eat and drink. They don't sell alcohol of course, and you can't eat anything you've brought with you. The 'Space Cake' is the coffee shop specialty, but be careful you don't eat too much of it, since I had psychological problems when I tried it the last time I was in Amsterdam. The price of marijuana is 12 to 25 euros.

In terms of drinks, they have a good variety of coffees, milkshakes, juices and hot chocolates, and we heard that their coffee is among the best in the city.

The staff are very friendly and let you know when there's half an hour to go til closing time so that you can finish up without rushing.

The Dolphins also sells its own type of marijuana called White Dolphin, which is very popular with its regulars and makes the shop a unique place.