All the Best Coffee Shops you Know And Love – Rated by what Lilly Likes!
Hello and welcome, to yet another thrilling installation in the Lilly Likes Amsterdam Coffeeshops series. We rated some of the smokiest coffeeshops in the city to make sure us pilgrims know where to trek to, next time we make our annual visit.
As usual, we like to enlighten new guests before we get stuck in. This means that regular visitors to the site can skip this paragraph and go straight on to the next. Those that are just joining us – welcome! Lilly Likes Amsterdam have covered loads of exciting destinations around the city, often with a fun spin or a taste twisted towards the weird. Have a peek at our article on the Kattencafe, or on the ever-popular Cannabis Museum. Some of our blogs are tailored towards finding the perfect gift, and some are just for fun.
So do join us next time you have a spare few minutes to browse. Until then, we wanted to talk about the Dolphins coffeeshop. This trippy coffee stop has been voted as one of the best cafes in the city by the likes of the Amsterdam Tourist Information group, and Lonely Planet. On Foursquare, this place is listed as a dispensary over a coffeeshop, but it all points to the same thing. A damned good smoke in a cute little coffeeshop that everybody loves.
Atmosphere and Vibe
Is dolphin-chic a thing? Because we feel like that is the best way to describe this place. It manages to convey an underwater, trippy vibe through painted bubbles and dolphins carved out of wood. Fish murals adorn the walls, and foam rocks make focal points. They have gone for a sort of cave-at-the-bottom-of-the-ocean theme that, to be completely honest, is just about the biggest pile of cheese we have ever come across.
For some reason, it comes off as a little obsessive and weird. We don’t know if it is the bold blue of an underwater world that is splashed everywhere, or if it is the shells inlaid into everything. What we do know is that this place has the potential to seriously mess with someone who has smoked themselves paranoid.
We guess it’s a matter of taste. In this case, two floors and a great menu does nothing to stop you walking around this place with a giant question mark above your head. Just… Why? Despite all the décor, everyone here is smiling. Go figure. Oh, we almost forgot they have a giant submarine.
4 out of 5. We don’t get it but everyone who goes there seems stupendously happy with the fact that it doesn’t make sense.
Munchies and Drinks
The menu, on the other hand, features actual savoury produce… and this is what we love about it. 9 out of 10 coffeeshops in Amsterdam that we review have a brilliant cakes/sweets menu, a fantastic drinks menu, and don’t cater to the savoury side of things. This means that, even if the place is magnificent, you have to leave to go get ‘real’ food. The Dolphins sells tostis (Dutch toasties) so you can stay here all day if you want to.
We have heard that they have the best hot cocoa in town. We feel a trip coming on to test this theory for ourselves. The other comments in reviews are regarding how good the space cookies are. There is also a story about them making marijuana milkshakes on occasion, but we couldn’t find any confirmation of this. Maybe it’s seasonal?
5 out of 5 for munchies and drinks. Awesome.
Products and Edibles (420)
Of all the menus in Amsterdam, you will find that the Dolphins menu is the most colourful, by far. It almost looks like a kid’s menu – though obviously kids aren’t allowed. Besides being fun and friendly, the menu is a little limited by comparison to other coffeeshops. If you like quality over choice, however, then it’s not a bad place.
You will find:
- DLPHN Diesel, Kush, or Haze – their three Indica strains. You can get a premium selection of the three, as well.
- Tesla, a strong Sativa that is renowned as being one of the fruitiest weeds, often compared to Jasmin flowers.
- White DLPHN, which is their most popular among reviewers.
- A Flower Power Hash Strain, as well as Marrakesh Express and Zina hashish.
- They have pre-rolleds both with and without tobacco. As a really nice touch you can buy a four pack of small sized pre-rolleds.
- A range of exclusive specials in terms of edibles. The Saffron and the Dutch Tulip (we think) are milkshakes. The Space Muffins are home made, but we have heard people talking about the space cookies here as well.
So they have enough of a choice that you don’t need to go elsewhere to cover every base.
We gave them a 4 out of 5 in the products/edibles (420) category. More choice would leave us a bit happier.
Café Merchandise
Unlike other cafes, we couldn’t find the Dolphins website, at all. We know it exists because we have been there – but we aren’t able to find so much as a Facebook page. A lot of the more off-the-beaten-track coffeeshops of Amsterdam like it this way. They deal in weed and coffee and leave the merchandise to the tourist trap locations. The Dolphins is anything but a tourist trap… we’re not sure what it is, to be honest, but it’s not selling anything online.
As for in-store, they have roach boards, skins, the usual range. Alas, this means we can’t give them more than a 3 out of 5.
Lilly Likes Verdict
Altogether, we think we have managed to capture the essence of the Dolphins. It’s part underwater cave, part submarine enclosure, and part ‘dafuq?’ If you can handle all that when your high as a kite, then this is exactly the right place for you. We almost forgot to mention the 80’s music. As you can imagine it is all a bit mind-blowing. On the other hand, if you’re the strait-laced type then what the heck are you doing in Amsterdam?
