Discover Benelux | Delft & Dordrecht | Perfect Winter Destinations
World famous in Delft
Since its opening in 1988, Kobus Kuch in Delft has been the cosiest café in Delft, achieving world fame for its legendary homemade apple pie. A visit to Delft is not complete without a visit to Kobus Kuch. Located on the picture-perfect Beestenmarkt, one of Holland’s most beautiful squares, this café is famous both in Delft and on an international scale. As welcoming as its heated front terrace are the smiles greeting us from the bar and the authentic interior, creating the feeling of stepping into an old Dutch living room. Kobus Kuch refers to the fictional eponymous character who become a national hero during World War Two for his music and cab-
TEXT: CHARLOTTE VAN HEK | PHOTOS: KOBUS KUCH
aret. “Joost, the café’s first owner, was nicknamed Kobus Kuch by his mother,” co-owner Coriene Meeder explains. Original postcards of Kuch still hang on the café’s walls, filling older guests with nostalgia. Kobus Kuch has steadily made it into the Netherlands’ Café Top 100 in recent years, as well as featuring in TripAdvisor’s Café Top 10. It is not hard to see why. “We always say that Kobus Kuch is a family business, without the actual blood lines,” Meeder laughs. “Everyone loves working here, it’s something that shines through.” When you say Kobus Kuch, you think apple pie. The café serves 60,000 of them
every year, freshly baked at Kobus & Saartje, the picturesque pie shop next door. Other pies are served at the weekend. Kobus Kuch has the greatest setting one could ask for: Delft. “We take great pride in our city,” Meeder enthuses. “Together with other entrepreneurs, every week we organise ‘Blue Sunday’, a day full of activities in cafés and shops to show our guests just how much of a treasure Delft is.” www.kobuskuch.nl You can also find Kobus Kuch and Blue Sunday Delft on Facebook
Where everybody knows your name TEXT: CHARLOTTE VAN HEK | PHOTOS: CAFÉ DE OUDE JAN
Loved by locals, praised by tourists, cherished by everybody: the traditional Dutch Café de Oude Jan has been Delft’s delight for decades, making the oldest square of the city an even brighter place to visit. Having the city’s Old Church as its neighbour, it is hard to miss Café de Oude Jan. With its cosy corners, mixed crowd and inviting atmosphere, we are basically drawn in. “De Oude Jan is a place for everyone,” starts co-owner Jon Cornelese. “Over here, the builder talks to the banker, and the butcher to the barman.” The café has a solid base of local guests, popping in after work or, of course, on a Saturday afternoon. “Besides drafting beer, our barmen- and women - spend a lot of time chatting to our guests,” Cornelese laughs. Not turning off its lights until late at night, days at Café de Oude Jan are long and filled with good beer, cosy banter, great music and remarkably excellent food. Although De Oude
Jan is a true beer-café (it even brews its own beer ‘Onwijs Blond’), lunch comprises of delicious and freshly prepared delicacies. Just another reason to stay firmly put. De Oude Jan’s history is as bustling as its present. In the early 1980s, archaeologists conducted excavations on the café’s square, only to find the leftovers of a medieval brewery originating from approximately 1210, making it
the oldest brewery in the Netherlands. In 1906, the building started to serve as a coffee house, until 1938 when an alcohol licence was granted. “Café de Oude Jan has been around forever, and still feels the same as 70 years ago – in the best way possible.” www.oudejan.nl
Issue 36 | December 2016 | 37