The Rookies

Set close to Leidseplein, the Rookies looks more like a beachside café-bar than a coffeeshop. The change is a refreshing one, what with most coffeeshops going for the dark and seedy combination that apparently suits the mood of pot smokers. There's even a hotel nearby, along with a bar and a restaurant right across the street. This coffeeshop was opened in '92, and acquired its namesake as it was among the youngest in the coffeeshop business. Looks can be deceiving, because the Rookies, which looks like a bar and feels like a bar, does not actually serve alcohol. However, that takes nothing from its popularity, as it is thronged by tourists, hikers, expats and businessmen quite frequently.