Why Bakers & Roasters matters.
Bakers & Roasters is a pioneering international brunch café where De Pijp's multicultural dining culture meets Julian Kirwan and Sergio Seibert's New Zealand and Brazilian heritage, the emergence of Amsterdam's specialty coffee movement and a distinctive interpretation of Southern Hemisphere café hospitality.
Set along Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat near Ferdinand Bolstraat and a short walk from Marie Heinekenplein, the café occupies a quiet residential corner between De Pijp's nineteenth-century apartment blocks, the commercial streets surrounding the Albert Cuyp district and the northern approaches to Museumplein. The original premises occupy a former automobile workshop, whose conversion introduced a colorful, informal restaurant environment inspired by the founders' international backgrounds. Large street-facing windows illuminate a compact dining room furnished with closely arranged tables, upholstered seating and decorative details recalling midcentury café interiors. An open kitchen brings food preparation into the dining area, with a prominent display of freshly baked cakes contributing to the lively atmosphere of the narrow interior. The result is a welcoming neighborhood restaurant whose converted commercial premises, colorful surroundings and animated dining room capture the sociable character of Amsterdam's independent brunch culture.
What defines Bakers & Roasters.
Bakers & Roasters is best known for helping establish the international all-day brunch format within Amsterdam's restaurant culture through the partnership of New Zealander Julian Kirwan and Brazilian Sergio Seibert. Their professional relationship originated after a chance meeting during an evening in West Hollywood, where a shared interest in food, travel and hospitality developed into plans for an independent restaurant. Kirwan brought the influence of New Zealand's established café culture, whose substantial breakfasts and sophisticated coffee service had become defining elements of urban hospitality in Auckland and Wellington. Seibert contributed the culinary traditions and informal social character of Brazil, establishing the complementary influences that would shape their eventual enterprise. The partners subsequently lived and worked in London, where exposure to the city's competitive restaurant industry helped develop their understanding of contemporary breakfast service. Their original ambition centered on establishing a restaurant in the British capital, but visits to friends in Amsterdam introduced the possibility of developing the concept within a smaller and less established brunch market. The couple relocated to Amsterdam in 2011, beginning the practical development of a café that would combine their respective national food traditions with influences acquired through international travel. Their project entered a city whose breakfast establishments had traditionally emphasized simpler morning meals, leaving considerable room for the substantial cooked breakfasts associated with New Zealand and Australian cafés. The first Bakers & Roasters opened in De Pijp in May 2013, introducing a dedicated daytime restaurant built around international breakfast cooking, specialty coffee and house-made baking. Demand exceeded the founders' initial expectations, requiring additional employees within days of opening and establishing the restaurant as a rapidly developing neighborhood business. The original operation also became associated with Amsterdam's emerging specialty coffee movement, which was beginning to expand beyond the conventional espresso service of established Dutch cafés. Kirwan and Seibert initially sourced coffee beans from London, drawing upon the more developed specialty roasting culture they had encountered during their years in Britain. Their approach connected the quality of the coffee directly with the restaurant's culinary program, establishing both as essential components of the business. Continued demand encouraged plans for a second location, leading the founders to explore neighborhoods beyond the increasingly competitive streets of De Pijp. The expansion ultimately brought Bakers & Roasters to Kadijksplein in Amsterdam's eastern city center, where a larger outdoor terrace introduced a different relationship between the restaurant and its surrounding neighborhood. The second establishment preserved the original breakfast concept, allowing the company to develop a recognizable character across two contrasting urban settings. The founders also expanded their hospitality interests through Los Feliz, a California-inspired Mexican restaurant in De Pijp, extending their entrepreneurial activity into evening dining. Their developing business adopted a more substantial organizational structure under Matariki Hospitality Group, supporting the management of multiple restaurant concepts. The company subsequently transitioned from importing specialty coffee to working with Dutch roasters, reflecting the maturation of Amsterdam's independent coffee industry. Bakers & Roasters introduced its own TAHI signature blend, extending the founders' involvement from coffee service into the development of a distinctive house product. The original De Pijp location continued to operate primarily through walk-in dining, with the popularity of its breakfast service establishing a recognizable culture of morning queues and extended weekend brunches. The Kadijksplein restaurant developed a complementary reservation system, introducing greater flexibility within the company's expanding hospitality model. Bakers & Roasters' significance emerges from this progression from an international partnership and independent neighborhood café into an influential Amsterdam brunch institution whose growth accompanied the city's transformation into a destination for specialty coffee and contemporary breakfast dining.
Julian Kirwan and Sergio Seibert's culinary program translates the substantial breakfast traditions of New Zealand into a repertoire shaped by Brazilian ingredients, North American influences and the multicultural character of contemporary Amsterdam. The founders' central contribution is a recognizable café format in which cooked breakfasts function as complete meals, supported by specialty coffee, freshly prepared produce and an independent bakery. The Kiwi Brekkie expresses the New Zealand foundation through free-range eggs, bacon, sausage, breakfast potatoes and vegetables, combining the structure of a traditional cooked breakfast with the fresh accompaniments characteristic of contemporary Australasian cafés. Its garlic spinach, creamy mushrooms and house-made tomato relish introduce a stronger emphasis on vegetables and carefully developed condiments, distinguishing the preparation from a conventional fried breakfast. The restaurant's vegetarian counterpart incorporates grilled halloumi and house-made chile jam, demonstrating how the same substantial breakfast structure accommodates different dietary traditions through changes in its principal ingredients. Brazilian and wider Latin American influences enter through preparations built around beans, maize, avocado and fresh chile, connecting the founders' personal backgrounds with ingredients associated with the Americas. Huevos rancheros provides a particularly clear expression of this relationship, using a crisp tortilla, black beans and eggs to introduce Mexican breakfast traditions into the New Zealand café structure. The Navajo Eggs develop a more contemporary international combination through slow-cooked barbecue pork, mango salsa and chipotle cream, bringing North American smokehouse flavors into a breakfast preparation organized around poached eggs. These dishes establish the restaurant's culinary character through the adaptation of familiar breakfast formats to the ingredients and seasoning traditions of several countries. The kitchen's broader approach emphasizes the substantial portions and accessible preparations associated with the founders' original ambitions, preserving the informal character of a neighborhood café. Its bakery provides a complementary expression of this hospitality tradition through cakes prepared on the premises, connecting the restaurant with the home-baking culture important to both founders' family backgrounds. Carrot cake, red velvet cake and chocolate preparations form part of a continuing repertoire whose prominent presentation reinforces the relationship between daytime dining and freshly made pastry. Coffee contributes a distinct technical dimension through the TAHI house blend, developed to support the restaurant's commitment to carefully prepared espresso and filter coffee. The company's use of double-shot espresso service reflects the influence of New Zealand's coffee culture, where substantial espresso-based drinks and skilled preparation are central to the contemporary café experience. Its relationships with Lindenhoff and Dick Schaap connect the kitchen with Dutch agricultural producers, including suppliers of free-range eggs, responsibly raised meat and fresh vegetables. This procurement establishes a practical connection between the restaurant's international culinary influences and the agricultural resources of the Netherlands. Fresh juices, fruit-based preparations and brunch cocktails extend the daytime dining program, preserving the founders' interest in a relaxed hospitality experience organized around the complete morning meal. Bakers & Roasters' culinary distinction rests on this coherent interpretation of international breakfast culture, combining the substantial cooking of New Zealand cafés, the ingredients of the Americas and the technical standards of contemporary specialty coffee.
How Bakers & Roasters fits.
Bakers & Roasters works as the breakfast starting point for an exploration of De Pijp's commercial traditions, nineteenth-century urban reform and industrial heritage, connecting the neighborhood's celebrated street market with its historic public park and the former brewery that helped shape its northern boundary.
Begin at Albert Cuypmarkt, the extensive outdoor market occupying Albert Cuypstraat between Ferdinand Bolstraat and Van Woustraat. Established in 1905, the market developed into one of Amsterdam's most important centers of everyday street commerce, reflecting the growing population and commercial activity of the surrounding working-class district. Its 260 stalls make it the largest daily outdoor market in the Netherlands, with traders selling fresh produce, fish, clothing, flowers and prepared foods. Traditional Dutch specialties, including freshly made stroopwafels and herring, connect the market's contemporary activity with established local food traditions. The market's position within a dense residential neighborhood preserves the close relationship between commercial life and the streets of De Pijp. Continue to Sarphatipark, the landscaped public garden named for nineteenth-century physician and urban reformer Samuel Sarphati. Sarphati contributed to Amsterdam's development through initiatives involving public health, education, industry and urban planning, establishing an important legacy within the city's period of industrial expansion. The park's formal monument to its namesake dates to 1886 and occupies a raised position surrounded by water and ornamental fountains. Its landscaped paths, mature trees and substantial pond provide an important green space within the densely built neighborhood, with lawns and recreational facilities supporting everyday community activity. An 1884 pumping station maintains the park's water levels because the grounds occupy a lower elevation than the surrounding streets, preserving a direct relationship between the landscape and Amsterdam's historical water-management infrastructure. Conclude at Heineken Experience, the former brewery complex occupying Stadhouderskade along the northern edge of De Pijp. The industrial landmark originated in 1867, when Gerard Adriaan Heineken developed the brewery that would become central to one of the Netherlands' most internationally recognized companies. The complex preserves substantial elements of the historic brewing operation, connecting the development of industrial production with Amsterdam's expanding nineteenth-century commercial economy. Its transformation into a visitor attraction introduced exhibitions examining the brewing process, the company's history and the evolution of its international brand. The surviving industrial architecture establishes a distinctive contrast with the surrounding residential streets, illustrating the role of large manufacturing enterprises in the development of the modern city. The progression connects De Pijp's enduring street-market traditions with the civic ambitions of nineteenth-century urban reform and concludes at an industrial landmark whose history reflects Amsterdam's international commercial development.
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