Located in a canal house of dark gray bricks with white trim, Café Morlang looks out over the herringbone paving-stone sidewalk onto the Keizersgracht (Emperor’s Canal) in the heart of the Canal Ring section of central Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Little candles protected in glass, one per step, lured me up the staircase to the two lanterns on the landing at the entrance.

Inside this comfortably chic café / restaurant, with its red and white candles, vases of giant pussy willows above two marble fireplaces, and well-stocked bar, I received a friendly greeting and was escorted to a plushy seat. With the bilingual Dutch/English menu in hand, I began to thaw out and assemble the components of a tasty and leisurely lunch.

Try This: Start to warm up with the delicious chestnut cream soup, with walnuts and roasted chestnuts. Then decide if you’re more in the mood for a late breakfast or an early lunch: For the former, go for the Uitsmijter—fried eggs with ham and Dutch matured cheese; for the latter, order the veal croquettes with course mustard mayonnaise and gherkins on brown wheat bread. Either way, you’ll want to end your meal with a warm, powdered, chocolate-chip muffin with vanilla ice cream and berry syrup, served on a slate plate.