Pllek
Good stuff
Huge pebble beach for kids to play
Located in the midst of NDSM, with lots of street art and industrial machinery to check out nearby
Beware
Indoor space is rather hushed
Baby changing facilities are hidden
Very little to separate the beach from the waters of the IJ
The full details
I arrived at Pllek feeling rather optimistic. It often gets listed as one of Amsterdam’s kid-friendly places to eat and drink. It has a beach and my little ones love digging. What’s not to love? However the experience was underwhelming.
I had to go around the side from the main door to find a ramped entrance. The big toddler was asleep so I scooped up the small toddler to take a look inside. The atmosphere was hushed and intimate. Two women who looked like mother and daughter smiled at us but still it felt like we had broken the mood. I ordered a mint tea and an appelsap from the bar whilst holding the small toddler so he didn’t run away and cause unwanted ruckus. I wasn’t given a tray so I grappled with the hot tea, glass bottle of juice and small wriggly person and retreated outside.
We had the outdoor area to ourselves. On a cold March day with the wind whipping in from the IJ it felt a little bleak. Big toddler woke up and they both had a good old time quarrying pebbles inside a large canister.
Little toddler did a poo. There was no changing table in the bathroom so I started to unroll his changing mat on the floor. Fortunately there was a cleaner in the bathroom at the time and he told me that they did in fact have a changing table! It turns out it was behind a door marked “CREW ONLY”. The lighting was also extremely romantic so it’s possible I didn’t do as thorough a wiping job as would be ideal - sorry little one.
I acknowledge this is sounding pretty negative. I think there are probably circumstances under which Pllek would be a lovely place to take your kid. There was one family there when we visited and they had school-aged children so I think once children are a little older it could be great. I also imagine that in the summer when the beach life is in full swing the experience would be totally different. We will return in a few months and let you know!
