Meet the People of Amsterdam. Here we will showcase a different Amsterdam native every week. Every Amsterdam native will share a little about their lives, their favorite spots, and what makes Amsterdam so special to them. Take it all in. After all, the People of Amsterdam know Amsterdam best. This week: Yeliz Çiçek, Deputy Editor in Chief Print & Digital at Glamour.
What’s your favorite spot in Amsterdam?
My favorite spot is the Museum Quarter. You can find me there almost every weekend, especially in the summer when the garden of the most beautiful museum of the Quarter, Rijksmuseum, is open. It’s a small piece of Jardin du Tulleries in Amsterdam. You can grab a coffee at the bar and hang out in the garden. For my work I need to keep up with new things that are happening in the music, fashion and art scene. So whenever there is a new exhibition in one of the museums, I visit it. I’m more the modern art kind of girl, so Stedelijk Museum is more my cup of tea, although the ambiance and building of the Rijksmuseum is the most beautiful of them all. When it’s winter and the garden of Rijksmuseum is closed, I go and get my coffee at Conservatorium Hotel, around the corner of Museum Square. You get homemade pastries with your coffee, and can catch up on your reading there.
Where can you find the best coffee in town?
I start my work day at Scandinavian Embassy, the best coffee place in de Pijp, the neighborhood I live in. I have to say that I also go there for the homemade “kanelbulle” – they are magnificent.
Where to go for a Sunday brunch?
For brunch I recommend Little Collins. I go to the one in de Pijp, but there is also a location in West. They have the best hangover food. They have different things on the menu. I want time at the perfect egg dish, it had Turkish sausages ( I am half Turkish), halloumi, eggs and fresh flat bread. They have a small but very nice wine list, so on Sundays you tend to hang out a bit longer than you want to.
Where to go to dancing all night long?
I love 90’s R&B, but can also enjoy some danceable house/tech. I’m not a regular at specific clubs, I just look in to which parties there are in town. The Loft tends to have a good program with some good house parties. And also Shelter. But I enjoy some good old R&B better, so parties like Friday Freshness or Bills, Bills, Bills or my thing.
What’s your guilty pleasure when you’re hungover?
The burgers at Butcher, or a fresh Lahmacun (Turkish pizza). You can find a great one in my street.
What’s your favorite store to go shopping?
Azzurro Due has a great selection of fashion labels, like Celine, The Row, Vetements and Off-White. But when I want to shop a little more privately, I go to de Bijenkorf. The women’s department gets better and better. I also go there for inspiration, to see what is new and how pieces look in real life.
Where can you get the best cocktails in town?
Espresso Martini! I order it EVERYWHERE. They make a good one at the W Lounge, at Five Brothers Fat and my favorite restaurant, Wijmpje Beukers! They really put some love into it.
Where do we get the best rooftop view of Amsterdam? What’s special about that spot?
Definitely the rooftop of Soho House.
