Green Pawn CAFÉ: A DUTCH DINING EXPERIENCE

My friend Noor recently introduced me to a small café in Zaandam city called 't Groene Pandje (It's Green Pawn in English).

​It's Green Pawn is a café that looks more like a little, green house from the outside, but the inside fits the description of an eating establishment quite well. Right at the front, there's a long wooden table that seats about 8-10 people, and the cutest little light-bulbs hang right above it. We sat at the back, though, where lamps are used for lighting instead, and where there are smaller tables that seat a range of 2-6 people each. 

Seeing as we were there for lunch, we decided to try out their sandwiches.
I'm slowly realizing that bread is kind of a big deal here in the Netherlands, and the Dutch seem to have found many creative ways to enjoy it!

Noor ordered the Carpaccio and Things sandwich (country bread served with Carpaccio, pesto cream, lettuce, roasted pine nuts and aged Beemster cheese), and I went for the Peachy Chicken sandwich (country bread served with smoked chicken breast, crispy bacon, peach slices and peach mayonnaise). I'm one of those people who always orders something 'safe' - i.e. that I'm at least familiar with, but I wanted to try something a bit different this time, so trying peach with chicken was my way of stepping out of my comfort zone.
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For drinks, however, I stayed true to my vanilla milkshake, while Noor ordered a pistachio yoghurt shake. 

Finally the food arrived, and we tucked right in! 🍴😃

Thankfully, the Peachy Chicken sandwich did not disappoint. The sweet and sour tastes blended together perfectly. And it went down really well with my vanilla milkshake. 😊

After our meal, we took a short break to let the food digest, lol, and then Noor suggested that we have dessert, too! 
Seeing as we were too full to each have our own dessert, we decided to share one. We settled for a whipped cream Napoleon chocolate-covered cream puff. Coming from a sweet tooth, I can safely say that that was a great way to end the meal. 😉

It's Green Pawn café also has a courtyard and a terrace boat that seats 60 people. They are both ideal spaces where you can enjoy a drink or a meal with a friend on a summer's day, and catch up as you make the most of the warm weather. Hot drinks served here cost about €3 on average, while the milkshakes cost about €5 each. The sandwiches we had cost about €10, and desserts are about €7.

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at It's Green Pawn café, and I highly recommend it to anyone planning a visit to Zaandam in the near future.

Its opening hours are: 
Mon-Fri: 10:00am - 6:00pm
Sat: 09:00am - 5:00pm
Sun:10:00am - 5:00pm

- ✗O✗O.