Hotspot: Sijf Rotterdam
Bar Restaurant Sijf on the Oude Binnenweg in Rotterdam goes modern and has launched a new menu full of trendy dishes, paired with matching beers. We wanted to know more.
Sijf?
Isn’t that the brown café in the city center where you drink a specialty beer with your mates on Saturday afternoon? With bitterballen on the side, perhaps a Sijf ball. And where the male keep a strategic eye from the terrace on how the female makes her way through the shopping crowds on the busy Binnenweg? Correct. But Sijf is going to do things differently. With a new menu.
Okay, tell us more.
Well, Sijf naturally sells the most hectoliters of beer per square meter in Rotterdam. Hello, 85 different beers on the menu and 10 on tap—that’s no small feat. And many of those beers also pair wonderfully with something other than a bitterball or a piece of aged cheese.
With what, then?
With a salmon poké bowl, for example, with avocado, edamame, cucumber and lime mayonnaise. Alongside it, a Weihenstephan from the Bayerische Staatsbrauerei, the oldest brewery in the world. Not bad at all. Or how about a deconstructed steak tartare that you mix yourself on your plate, with a Duvel on tap? You won’t get that in Belgium, I can tell you.
Fish ‘n chips
For bar-food lovers, the new menu features delicious fish ’n chips made with hake and cod, with remoulade, of course, plus lemon and red wine vinegar. It is served with a Punk IPA from BrewDog, the brewery founded by two wild Scottish guys who bought a castle in 2007 and make all kinds of uncompromising beers from there.
Autumn bock with coffee notes
It gets really enjoyable with a bapao bun filled with crispy pork belly, paired with an autumn bock from Scheveningen Brewery. Sijf’s house brewer makes a seasonal beer for them every quarter, and with this year’s autumn bock—with coffee notes—you’ll be licking your crispy pork belly fingers, trust us!
Going home happy
If you still have room after all these pairings, finish with a grand dessert of homemade mango ice cream, a vegan Bounty and a slice of lemon meringue pie. Order a White Label Espresso Stout (10.5%) from Emelisse Brewery with it; it has been aged in Rémy Martin cognac barrels. You are guaranteed to go home happy.
Sijf
Oude Binnenweg 115, Rotterdam
Image: Do Nossent
Also read:
- Hotspot: Take a holiday in your own country at Boótoe
- 4x the best breakfast spots in Rotterdam
- Food guide: non-stop feasting in Ghent
