Ever been on "kroegentocht" (Dutch for bar hopping) in the Netherlands? In my previous post I mentioned one of the pubs we've visited last Saturday in Utrecht. But one bar doesn't constitute for "hopping" bars, so here are some of the spots we visited.
The first joint we visited was Little Dublin which was packed inside, so we had to sit on the "terrace". Something I wanted to postpone till Summer, but hey we were already there and already ordered some drinks so we made it work. Cappuccino was my first drink of the evening as my hands were hurting from the cold, because I underestimated the temperature and didn't layer enough. The coffee was underwhelming and lukewarm, but did warm me up a little.
After finishing my coffee we proceeded to the next spot, that one of us found online and even though this place was also packed, we were able to stand in the warmth inside. More details of this pub are described in this post.
When our glasses were empty and the craving for some fries kicked in, we left and got a bite to eat. After that, the small terraces along the canals came into our view and we wanted to give those a try. It seemed that the bars connected to the terraces also had a walk-in possibility and one of the first we decided to give a try was a total surprise.
We weren't prepared for what we were walking into, as BoulesBitesBar Utrecht happened to be a location to enjoy Jeu de Boules with a drink and food with family, colleagues, friends or other groups. There even seemed to be a birthday celebrated that evening.
The ambiance was playful, laidback and rustic. As we didn't know what we were walking into, we were unaware that we needed to book online if we wanted to play boules. We were mainly there for the company and the drinks and the rules required us to use our memory abilities so it wasn't that much of a bummer.
The service was friendly and the drinks were overall alright. The Hendrick's gin and tonic was good - only a little watered down due to the ice (whenever we make it ourselves it's stronger) - the mojito was weak, but the martini was above expectations. It was an appetizing drink, where the flavor of the vanilla and liqueur came through. After that we went to another terrace, but I decided to focus more on the company and because of the cold stopped taking pictures.