Barista Wine Bar

Barista is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, serving a small menu of Italian pastries, paninis, pasta dishes and, as the name implies, coffee. It also doubles as a wine bar, with a choice of around 25 wines by the glass.

Barista promotes itself as ‘the first real Italian café restaurant in Amsterdam’. A bold claim given that some excellent Italian restaurants have opened in the last year or so, including De Pizza Bakkers, Tazzina and DiVino. It’s a claim that is not completely without foundation, though.

Italian owner Daniele Palma, the former barista at Palladium near Leidseplein, uses Buscaglione beans for his ristretto, espresso and cappuccino, and works with a foot pump, leaving both his hands free to check that the milk is heated to the right temperature for perfect froth.

As a non-beer-drinker, my main reason to visit Barista was to try its Italian wines. More than 30 are available by the bottle (prices range from €15 to €60), and around 25 of these can be ordered by the glass.

Service from Barista’s Italian staff was charmingly chaotic in the way that only southern Europeans can get away with, but we eventually received a heavy 2006 Primitivo di Manduria. This was followed by a 2008 Falanghina, an intense, elegant white from the acclaimed Feudi di San Gregorio winery in Campania.

Edging towards the top of the wine bar's affordable range (at €5.75 per glass) was a juicy, medium-bodied Sicilian ‘Plumbago’ Rosso, made from 100% Nero d’Avola grapes.

What happened after that is a bit of blur, but I know I cycled home happily and slightly unsteadily. Next time I go to Barista, I’ll pay more attention to the food and less to the wine.