Wisdom, warmth and hospitality: Amsterdam grandmothers open a new café

Grandmother brings local residents, students and hotel guests together around one table at
The Social Hub Amsterdam City

Oat milk lattes, comfort food and unsolicited advice, all served up by grandmums. You can now enjoy all this at Grandmother, the new café in The Social Hub Amsterdam (Wibautstraat 129), where grandmothers put their own unique spin on the traditional café experience. Here, the grandmothers aren’t the ones being looked after, but the ones calling the shots. Following its success in Barcelona, Grandmother is now bringing the café concept to Amsterdam, where it is opening its second branch.

A neighbourhood pub with an international feel

The Social Hub Amsterdam City brings together different worlds: from students and freelancers to hotel guests from all corners of the globe. Through Grandmother, The Social Hub also aims to strengthen its ties with Amsterdam-Oost. The café is open to everyone, including those who aren’t staying or working there. It offers a place where local residents and international visitors can meet in a natural way.

Roelof Gjaltema, General Manager at The Social Hub Amsterdam City: “Grandmother belongs to and is for the neighbourhood. You don’t have to stay or work at The Social Hub to pop in here. This is our front door to Amsterdam-Oost. If the neighbourhood comes here for a coffee and stays for some soup, we’re doing it right.”

Bolder, not older

If the thought of a grandmother brings to mind knitting, biscuits and a fixed bedtime, you might need to rethink your image of Grandmother. These grandmothers have tattoos, strong opinions and at least as much of a sense of humour as they do a sense of hospitality. They serve comfort food and pour cocktails with names like ‘White Lies’ and ‘Darling’.

At Grandmother, good food isn’t complicated, as long as it’s made with care. On the table you’ll find comfort food just like you remember from the old days, only with a slightly more distinctive twist thanks to local produce. Whatever’s fresh that day determines what you’re served. That same care goes into the drinks too: speciality coffee for early birds, carefully selected wines and cocktails inspired by classics from Grandma’s drinks cabinet. And every now and then, a DJ spins a track from behind the soup pot.

At Grandmother, real grandmothers take centre stage: not as people who need care, but as hostesses who welcome others and make sure everyone feels at home.

Grandmother The Social Hub Amsterdam City is open Monday to Friday from 7.00 am to 8.00 pm and at weekends from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm.