The Coffeeshops of Amsterdam: Coffeeshop Best Friends

Reviewing all the Friendliest coffeeshops, here at Lilly Likes!

First off; there are three Best Friends. Technically, there is the Coffeeshop Best Friends in Centrum, then there is the Coffeeshop Best Friends II and a third one in the south of the city. All three are considered to be local treasures that have managed to avoid the old Amsterdam adage of coffeeshops that fall prey to becoming tourist traps.

Coffeeshop Best Friends is an underground store that sits below a clothing shop. You don’t expect them to sell business suits upstairs when you find this diamond. Just to be clear; we have reviewed dozens of the absolute best Amsterdam coffee shops, and you can read all about them over on our home pages. You can also find all the things there that ought to be on any decent Amsterdam itinerary for your visit. Things like the Kattencafe and the Rijksmuseum are not to be missed.

Now that we have introduced ourselves, let’s get down and dirty with coffeeshop Best Friends. Where is it, what does it sell, and arguably most important of all… what’s the weed like? We went undercover in the guise of your average stoner in an effort to report back.

Atmosphere and Vibe

When you have spent all day biking around Amsterdam, there is nothing nicer than finding a quiet coffeeshop to rest your weary soul for a while. None were more definitely Dutch than the Coffeeshop Best Friends. It was founded by 2 best friends back in 1995 and has since grown to become a beacon to all Amsterdam pilgrims. They wanted to create a safe smoking haven where their tastes in medical grade weed were catered for. Now, they share that haven with all of us.

What can we say about the atmosphere here? It is mostly pink-lit, with some bright artwork that has inspired many a stoner glaze. It has some great lighting, and three different shops for you to choose form… so you can have your pick of atmosphere and vibe if Centrum doesn’t suit you. The other two Best Friends coffeeshops are in Oud-Zuid and Oost… Can you tell we don’t speak Dutch?

We gave coffeeshop best friends a 5 out of 5 for atmosphere and vibe. With three different locations to choose from they have three different forms for you. Pick which you like best and run with it.

Munchies and Drinks

As well as being a hip and trendy place for the natives to pick up from, the Coffeeshops Best Friends are down for some funky munchies to match your stoner vibe. Their menu extends beyond the normal expectations by providing some homemade cupcakes – that are just cake – that are to die for. Someone has gone to lots of effort to decorate these especially and we can’t get enough.

As usual, when it comes to the coffeeshops of Amsterdam, we feel we have set our own expectations that little bit too high. We want sandwiches and the odd backed potato. Instead, we get products aimed at our sweet tooth with no regard for our savoury.

We gave Coffeeshop Best Friends a 4 out of 5 for munchies and drinks. They have a find selection of coffees and cold drinks but their savoury selection leaves you looking for the nearest Febo. There’s nothing wrong with this, as it’s entirely normal in coffee shops in Amsterdam, we just really want a piece!

Product/Edibles (420)

This is the category everyone joins us for… the good stuff! What do the good folk over at Coffeeshop Best Friends have for eating and smoking that sets them apart from all others? we did the research, but you probably want to repeat it, just to be sure…

The menu includes:

  • Lots of fruity weeds – Blueberry Cheese, Strawberry Haze, CBD Strawberry and Strawberry Banana.
  • A variety of Kush – including Kosher and OG.
  • Super skunk – who doesn’t love a genetically altered weed?
  • Gorilla Cookies and some nice Original Bubble Gum from back in the day.
  • They have tobacco joints pre-rolled for your convenience.
  • They have non-tobacco joints pre-rolled for your convenience.
  • They have a bunch of hashish, including Lemon Haze Hash which is the first we have seen in about 30 coffeeshops, so take note.
  • Happy Cakes at only 7.50€

With so much to choose from we are thoroughly convinced that we could spend our whole week just chilling in Coffeeshop Best Friends. As a result, we had no option but to hit them with a 4.5 out of 5. We like it a lot, but we wish there were a few more choices to keep up with the competition.

Café Merchandise

We couldn’t find any online shop even though they have a well-furnished website that includes stellar weed strain information. We know that they sell merchandise in store though, so it isn’t a complete loss. You can pick up lighters, grinders, skin packets, roach boards, joint tubes, filter tips, blunt wraps, or lighters – all inside their coffeeshop. All you need is the tobacco and you are (quite literally) ready to roll.

We gave them a 4 out of 5 for merchandise. We would love to be able to buy some of their specialised products from over here in the UK. Obviously not the drugs, but a baseball cap, grinder or lighter would make a nice souvenir. Especially now, in 2020, when we are all stuck at home.

Lilly Likes Verdict

So what was the Lilly Likes overall verdict for this trio of inspirational spaces in the heart of Amsterdam? Altogether, the 3 different venues for Coffeeshop Best Friends managed to score a respectable 17.5 out of 20. This puts it up there with the likes of Abraxas, the Bulldog, and other full-time favourites of ours.

The good points are the atmosphere and the choice of venues. The cakes and the food are also OK. Where they let themselves down a little is in the menu, which could be fuller, and in a lack of savoury snacks. We’d also love to get some of their merchandise online – but beggars can’t be choosers, as the saying goes.

Until next time… stay safe pilgrims, Amsterdam will still be waiting for us when the pandemic is finished.

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