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The Amsterdam Ice Café (Amsterdam)
| 2008-12-15 By Myra Prinsen There is one place in Amsterdam where the temperature is set at 10 degrees below freezing - Xtra Cold Amsterdam, the Ice Café on the Amstel. Would be visitors, however, seem undeterred by the icy interior. On the contrary, the café is now firmly established as one of the city’s hotspots.  © Xtra Cold Amsterdam Some may indeed like it hot, but some like it cold and both options are on offer at Xtracold Amsterdam where renowned Dutch interior designer, Jan des Bouvrie, uses contrasting themes of fire and ice, warm and cold and crimson and blue to divide the venues two main spaces of the Ice Café and its accompanying lounge. It’s crimson that dominates the reception area where guests are first welcomed and the temperatures are pleasant enough. The seating is soft and comfortable, the lighting is warm and intimate and guests can choose from a broad range of soft and alcoholic drinks and a range of nibbles such as olives, cheeses, sausages, warm nachos and toasties. It’s here in the cosy lounge area that some guests must begin to mentally prepare themselves for the ‘ultimate ice experience' that awaits on the other side of the lounge door.  © Myra Prinsen Xtra Cold beers and vodkaFrom time to time, a spot of bravado will prompt a guest to bare their torsos as they step inside. The more sensible, however, take advantage of the wardrobe situated just by the Ice Café entrance: shiny grey thermal coats in all sizes, with matching hats and gloves. There’s even a row of moon boots laid on for any female guests who may have arrived in less than suitable shoes. As the name suggests, everything in the blue-dominated Ice café space is made of ice: the bar, the walls, the chairs and many of the decorative features. Although the seating arrangements may not offer the comfort levels of the lounge, guests get are compensated with a unique experience. Even the glasses that you drink from are made of ice. The drinks menu is also not as extensive the lounge bar and choices are limited to a range of extra cold beers that acquire optimum taste at 0°Cand a choice of vodka cocktails that can cope with the constant minus 10°C temperatures.  © Foto met dank aan Xtra Cold Amsterdam 60 tons of iceThe idea for the Ice Café stemmed from a trip to Asia where the owners happened across a similar project in Beijing. Ice sculptors are more commonplace in Asia and the two Dutch entrepreneurs, impressed by the way in which artists would use chainsaws, ice picks and hammers to transform blocks of ice into works of art, set about creating something similarly beautiful in Amsterdam. Although the priority was to establish a viable commercial business, the owners also saw the project as an opportunity to raise awareness of ice sculpting to the Dutch public. Energy consumption was also a big consideration and, thanks to modern techniques, the Ice Café uses no more than a standard bar or café. The Amsterdam Ice Café is now a few years old and, already, more than 60 tons of processed ice has been used. Moreover, the interior has already been thawed and redesigned on several occasions as the ice needs to be replaced around twice a year. Although the decorative features are changed during each revamp, the interior always retains the core elements of Jan des Bouvrie’s original concept. Access to the lounge is free. Entrance to the Ice Café is € 15 (13,60 GBP). |
