Dual-natured, the woody and classically ancient Van Puffelen, on a particularly mellow stretch of canal, offers both a startling array of herbed and spiced jenevers in its role as a proeverij ("tasting house") and, in addition, it has a huge restaurant section in which to settle the belly. The menu is of modern café variety, but it's the daily special -- duck breast with passion-fruit sauce, to name one -- that draws the many regulars. Red meat tends to be done rare, so let them know if you prefer medium to well done. Things can indeed get somewhat boisterous here, but one can always escape to the more secluded and intimate mezzanine or, in the summer, the terrace. Reservations are essential for the restaurant (also essential is a visit to their "liquor vat" washrooms).