June 10, 2024 · Culinary Journalist
When you say beer, you say Cafe de ToeterA craft beer bar also offering a wide selection of whisky, run by Maik van Heerd and Arianne Vreeburg. On the Turfsingel in the city.
Years ago, De Toeter crossed the path of the hospitality couple by chance. They were looking for a suitable location when they both fell in love with the traditional brown pub. This was it. They turned it into a beer and whisky pub. With 19 beers on tap, and many more in bottles, plus a choice of around 400 different whiskies. That is Maik’s passion: ‘We started out with 50 varieties on the menu, but that quickly grew to many more. A hobby that got out of hand, so to speak.’
The beer menu truly has everything. Many Belgian beers, but also German, English, American, Dutch, and of course, Groningen beer. For the past few years, they have even been brewing their own beer.
And are you not yet very familiar with specialty beers but would like to know more about them? Beer tastings are regularly organized where you can sample blond, dubbel, Trappist, abbey, craft, IPAs, stouts, sours, and ale beers. In addition, you will be taken on a journey through the history of these beers.
De Toeter is also known for its pub quiz. They started with the first quiz on Wednesday in 2005, but due to its success, a second one was soon added each week on Sundays. Since then, the place has been packed with quiz enthusiasts twice a week. They come up with all the questions themselves.
Opposite the café is the deep water, and it is put to use as well. ‘We thought: if you went to Utrecht or Leiden, there was always all sorts of things happening by the water. We wanted that too,’ says Maik. ‘So we bought an old barge. Sailing was actually an immediate success. Especially with students. After that, another one came along.’ small boat along with some small boats that people could steer themselves, and we still do that today.’
And after a nice afternoon out boating, you can grab a bite to eat in the café. ‘It’s nothing pretentious,’ says Maik, ‘but you can just get a good meal here. Groningen fries and a burger with meat from De Groene Weg, for example, or a good pork tenderloin satay or spareribs. We also have vegetarian dishes like an aubergine steak, breaded cauliflower in miso, that sort of thing.’
Cafe de Toeter is open seven days a week. For more information, visit cafedetoeter.nl.
