Kraantje Lek

Café-restaurant at the foot of the dunes, in business since 1625

Kraantje Lek is a centuries-old café-restaurant set against the foot of the dunes a short walk from Overveen station and the entrances to the Zuid-Kennemerland park. The current single-storey thatched building is later than the original 17th-century inn but feels nearly as old: low ceilings, wooden tables, a coal stove. Outside is a large terrace under mature trees with cycle racks for two hundred.

The food is straightforward Dutch café fare — tosti, uitsmijters, pancakes, soup, bittenballen — and the prices are reasonable. Beer and jenever by the glass. It works equally well for a late lunch after a dune walk or a coffee stop on a cycle outing. Open daily.

things to do restaurant eating out
A story
The name — "the leaking tap" — comes from a 17th-century inn where the proprietor was famous for under-filling the beer glasses. The current building is later, but the establishment has run continuously since 1625, making it one of the oldest cafés in the country. Generations of Dutch hikers have rested here at the start or end of a dune walk.