The Bulldog Energy

Anon. from Netherlands sent 3 Feb 2009
I actually used to work in the hotel next door, and was a regular in the Energy coffeeshop. I see comments about how the staff there are rude and impatient etc, however I would like to point out that actually they are very good people. In an environment where people are under the influence of various drugs, not to mention the fact that some cultures don't seem to appreciate the value of polite mannerisms, i.e. the use of words such as please and thank you, yes it does become somewhat infuriating. So that is perhaps something to bear in mind. If you're going to be visiting the Red Light District, just be aware of yourself as well as others. People will try to sell you illegal drugs, or more so a bag of sugar, and run off with your money (I have seen this many times). It is pretty much inevitable that you will encounter these people, so if they talk to you, the best option is to carry on walking and not engage in any kind of conversation with them, even if it is just to say no. As for smoking pot, that all comes down to personal preference, so unfortunately it's just a case of trial and error and finding a place that sells the stuff you like. Don't be put off by negative comments, take it from someone who lived there for a while, sometimes people have their off days but you'll have to see it first to believe it, so give it a go, you may be pleasantly surprised!

Dambuster from UK visited Feb 08; sent 4 Mar 2008
We visited this coffeeshop twice whilst on our visit to Amsterdam, both times for different reasons. The first visit was during the day. Wasn't too impressed with the un-friendly girl behind the bar, but once served I really enjoyed the pre-rolled White Widow spliffs we bought, bit small but really do the trick and pretty soon I was feeling quite stoned. The seating was quite uncomfortable it reminded me of the seats you find in a bus shelter. The decor was amazing though, resembling a cave, and the fish tank in the wall looking through to the hotel next door was fun to watch while stoned. Also enjoyed listening to the trippy music playing. Our second visit was quite late at night and I was surprised to find it was very very busy and if you didn't know it was a coffee shop, from the outside you could be tricked into thinking it was a nightclub with blaring music and neon blue lights. Only a flying visit though just to pick up some 'shrooms. This time the bloke behind the counter was very friendly and helpful giving me advice on what 'shrooms to buy and how to take them.

Dug from New Zealand sent 1 Jul 2006
Wow what a great cafe. After walking around for a few hours with the wife we stop here for a smoke and a coffee. Well, when we walked in the lady behind the counter was so cool. Got some great Purple Haze there. Got me so stoned we had to stay there and chill for a while. Great music, great people. One of the best in Amsterdam.

Dave from UK visited 19-21 May; sent 10 Jun 2006
Well, I loved this place. Admittedly I didn't buy any weed here (420 and Dampkring had sorted me nicely), but we did buy some 'punnets' (lol) of shrooms, 3rd strongest, but god knows what they were called, Dam-induced memory loss I'm afraid. Anyway, they were great, me and 3 mates spent a fine evening tripping our nuts off, watching the Piranhas, and grooving to startlingly good techno. The barmaid pointed us in the direction of a rave somewhere, unfortunately we were too far gone to manage a crosstown trip by that time. So good we went back with more of our group the following afternoon, bought some more shrooms, grooved to still more top-drawer techno, and chatted merrily to another stunning and very friendly barmaid. Everyone in our group loved it. Great place, and definitely one to add to the list of must-visits when next in town.

Kenny from UK sent 4 Dec 2005
I have to say that this is one of the worst coffeeshops in Amsterdam, when we first walked in the atmos seemed good, but the woman behind the bar was rude and impatient, always staring at us, we didn't buy any weed the first time, but the year after we walked in for a meeting point, and this time decided to buy some herb. I walked down the steep spiral stairs and looked at their menu, I was surprised at how cheap the prices were because we had just been in Grasshopper 2, enough said, but the GH might have been expensive but at least it got me high, I bought 2g of Purple Haze, and a gram of Tai stick (whets it tied too lol!) I went upstairs to wrap one up, I rolled them both pure and none of them did shite! Absolute crap tumbled weed, not worth the bother, and to top it all off the woman behind the bar was rude and impatient again!

Lee from England sent 1 Jun 2005
Don't let the cozy atmosphere of Bulldog Energy or the "cool" staff blind you from the real seediness of this place. My Brother and I asked for a mild pre-rolled joint. The bartender offered to roll one for us and called it a "Purple Haze". After taking our joint and our Coca-Colas to our seat we began to puff away. 10 minutes later we were in the deepest throes of a hellish nightmare. Our hearing and perception were completely distorted and were unable to move. We managed to gather our rucksacks and stumble outside. For the next 10 minutes we were followed by an organised gang of pickpocketers - upto 12 of them making strange whistling and clicking noises to signal to each other. This was a frightening experience which only ended after we ran to the security of the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky's doormen. Even stood there the pickpockets approached looking for an opportunity to snatch our valuables. The previous night we had enjoyed a wonderful smoke at Softland Spuistraat 222. Our advice to other travellers like ourselves is to avoid the Bulldog Energy because they are in cahoots with the criminal pickpockets in the red-light district. The barman who gave us the so-called "mild" joint was 6 foot, black, with a crazy afro haircut. Avoid.

Dave & Janine from UK visited 23/04/05; sent 29 Apr 2005
Got some very good Silver Haze. Nice giggly smoke. Small shop cool music nice touch with fishtank! Like the brass bulldogs on the bar. Friendly staff:)

Sam, Ben, Jon from UK sent 25 Mar 2005
This was the first coffee shop we tried this time round as it was next door to the Bulldog Hotel where we were staying. It’s got some cool seating and loud music (sometimes too loud), usual menu, again no alcohol. They also sell mushrooms if you’re after any, didn’t try ‘em though.

Julian from Spain sent 25 Aug 2003
The Bulldog Energy for me was probably the best coffeeshop that we found, the decoration is original, the music for techno and chillout lovers is of the best and the staff are friendly. As for the grass the White Widow they offer is of the best in A'dam, after two joints it took us about 20 min to walk 100mts to the Hotel!!! All of us laughing our guts out, very impressive. As for the coffee, it's also quite good taking into consideration that north of the Pyrenees you can't drink coffee anywhere. A definite for anybody visiting A'dam.