Harmani Coffee & Brunch

Roasting on site, pouring freddo

Harmani roasts its own coffee in De Pijp, in the south of Amsterdam, and frames the whole business around it: roast, grind, serve, in that order. The origins on the shelf run wide, from Ethiopia Limu with its spicy wine character, citrus acidity and soft berry tones to Guatemala Huehuetenango with sweet aromatics and nuts, an earthy, syrupy Sumatra, a clean Papua New Guinea of berries, cedar and malt, and an El Salvador bringing milk chocolate, lemon peel and black sugar. Costa Rica, Colombia Supremo and Honduras fill out the range.

The prepared drinks built on that house-roasted coffee lean Greek. Freddo espresso and freddo cappuccino are the signatures, both iced and both built the Greek way rather than as a cold version of a hot drink. An oat milk latte covers the softer end.

Peinirli, bougatsan and a brunch menu

Food carries as much weight as the coffee. The Greek-leaning brunch runs on peinirli, the Greek-style filled bread: Classic with tomato sauce, cheese and bacon; Greek with tomato sauce, feta, onion, olives, fresh tomatoes and green peppers; Special adding mushrooms and egg; and Loaded with minced beef and Harmani spices. A fried egg or halloumi can be added to some of them.

Pastry is the other half. Sweet croissants come plain, praline and pistachio, and the bougatsan is the house signature. Savoury croissants go further: Golden with scrambled eggs, cheese and bacon, Mushroom Feta with poached egg, feta cream, mushrooms and a spinach blend on multigrain, and Salmon with scrambled eggs, rucola, avocado and chives. Beyond the pastry counter there are yogurt bowls with fresh fruit and Harmani granola, breakfast burgers with fried chicken and caramelised onions, and burrata salads with cherry tomatoes and pickled onions.

Order a freddo and a peinirli

A first order should show both halves of the room. Freddo espresso is the clearest signature; freddo cappuccino is the softer version with milk texture worked through it. For food, peinirli explains the concept faster than anything else, and the Greek version with feta, onion, olives, tomatoes and green peppers is the one to take if you want the Greek reference intact. The Special, with bacon, mushrooms and egg, is the heartier alternative.

Then finish on pastry. The bougatsan is the item with the house name attached to it, and the pistachio or praline croissant is the simpler sweet route. If the visit is brunch rather than coffee, the Mushroom Feta croissant bridges the two, since it is a pastry doing the work of a plate. The representative table is straightforward: a freddo, a peinirli, and either the bougatsan or a sweet croissant to close.