Ice cream. Coffee. Sandwiches.

Part of the neighbourhood.
Part of your life.

Ice cream, coffee and homemade sandwiches, in a place that is easy to stay in. Four years old or eighty, you belong at one of our tables.

Explore the Menu Visit Us
1

Catch one of the nine at our tables. A photo or a story, whatever you like.

2

Post it and tag @bitterkouddenhaag, so we can see it.

3

Collect all nine, show them to us at the counter, and your next scoop is on the house.

Our Story

A place people grew up with.

Bitterkoud has always been part of the neighbourhood. Children came for their first scoop. Teenagers stayed after school. Parents returned with their own children.

Today, we’ve kept everything people have always loved, our ice cream, our welcoming atmosphere, and added great coffee and fresh food for every moment of the day.

Read more about us →

Our Menu

Simple things, done well.

View full menu →

Ice Cream

Made fresh. Always changing. Always delicious.

View flavours →

Coffee

Served all day. Hot or iced.

View drinks →

Toasties

Freshly made every day. Simple ingredients, big flavour.

View toasties →

Sweet Toast

Nutella, or peanut butter and banana. After school, every school day.

View the menu →

Cold Drinks

Refreshing drinks and homemade specials.

View drinks →

Affogato

Espresso poured over ice cream. Both worlds, one glass.

View the menu →

Fresh Every Morning

We start every day the right way. Fresh gelato, fresh bread, fresh coffee.

Made for Everyday

Breakfast, lunch, after school or just because. We’re here for your everyday moments.

Part of the Neighbourhood

We’re not a destination. We’re your local. And we like keeping it that way.

The little ones (and the dog)

Bitter, until the first scoop.

Families are the whole point of this place. From babyccinos to first cones to sorbet for the good boy waiting outside, everyone orders something here.

Babyccino

Warm frothy milk for the smallest regulars. Foam moustache practically guaranteed.

Kids’ sandwich

Peanut butter, jam or chocolate spread. The eternal top three, respected.

The first scoop

A big moment deserves a small ceremony. Strawberry recommended; shirt washable.

Dog sorbet

Yes, really. For good dogs only, so, statistically, all of them.

Around Bitterkoud

Moments.

See more moments →

Careers

Want to spend your days making people smile?

We’re always looking for friendly people who love good coffee, great ice cream and even better conversations.

Join our team →

Visit Us

Come by.

We’d love to welcome you for coffee, ice cream or something in between.

Oostduinlaan 119
2596 JK Den Haag
Every day · 08:30 – 21:00
@bitterkouddenhaag
Plan your visit →

Our Menu

Simple things, done well.

Ice cream churned in house, coffee, and homemade sandwiches. These are the classics; the flavours rotate and the board keeps changing, so there is always a reason to come back.

These are the classics. There are more than 15 ice cream flavours in the case and they rotate, so there is always something new to try, plus more on the board than we can fit on this page.

Everything is available to take away: 1 litre and ½ litre tubs to take ice cream home, and paper cups with lids for coffee, or for a few scoops on the go. Prices at the counter.

Ice Cream

25 flavours in rotation · around 15 in the case at a time, so ask what we churned this morning
  • After Eightmint and dark chocolate. After dinner, or well before
  • Birthday Cakesprinkles included. Candles optional
  • Cookies & Creamcrumbled biscuit folded into sweet cream
  • Caramel Pecantoasted pecans, soft caramel
  • Key West Lemon Pielemon curd, biscuit crumb, a little sunshine
  • Kinder Buenohazelnut, wafer, milk chocolate. You know the one
  • Passion Fruit Panna Cottasilky cream, sharp passion fruit
  • Mango Sorbetripe mango and nothing else. Dairy-free
  • Pistachioslow-roasted Sicilian nuts. Green-brown, never neon
  • Salty Caramelburnt sugar, sea salt, no restraint
  • Stracciatellafior di latte with shards of dark chocolate
  • Strawberry Cheesecakestrawberries, cream cheese, biscuit base
  • Stroopwafelthe Dutch classic, folded in
  • Yogurt & Forest Fruitstangy yogurt, a swirl of berries
  • Mango Yogurtyogurt meets ripe mango
  • Spekkoeklayered Indonesian spice cake, in ice cream form
  • White Chocolatesweet, creamy, gentle
  • Raspberry Sorbetbright and a little tart. Dairy-free
  • Dark Chocolate Sorbetintense, dark, dairy-free
  • Strawberryfruit first, everything else second
  • Vanillareal pods. The honest classic
  • Milk Chocolatesoft, round, familiar
  • Lemon Sorbetsharp, clean, honest. The palate reset. Dairy-free
  • Coffeemade with our own espresso
  • Malagarum-soaked raisins in sweet cream
  • 1 Litre & ½ Litre Tubstake the good stuff home

All 25 flavours

  • After Eight
  • Birthday Cake
  • Cookies & Cream
  • Caramel Pecan
  • Key West Lemon Pie
  • Kinder Bueno
  • Passion Fruit Panna Cotta
  • Mango Sorbet
  • Pistachio
  • Salty Caramel
  • Stracciatella
  • Strawberry Cheesecake
  • Stroopwafel
  • Yogurt & Forest Fruits
  • Mango Yogurt
  • Spekkoek
  • White Chocolate
  • Raspberry Sorbet
  • Dark Chocolate Sorbet
  • Strawberry
  • Vanilla
  • Milk Chocolate
  • Lemon Sorbet
  • Coffee
  • Malaga

The full line-up. Around 15 are in the case on any given day, so there is always one you have not tried yet.

Coffee

By Young Coffee · hot or iced · paper cups with lids for the road
  • Espressoshort and to the point
  • Americanothe long one
  • Cortadosmall, balanced
  • Cappuccinothe classic, done properly
  • Flat Whiteour most-poured cup
  • Lattegentle, milky, easy
  • Mochaccinocoffee, meet chocolate
  • Tea & Chai Lattefor the non-coffee table
  • Matcha Lattehot or iced
  • Iced Americano & Iced Lattesummer regulars
  • Iced Coconut Lattelighter, sweeter
  • Iced Matcha & Matcha Coconut Lattegreen and cold
  • Iced Mango Matchathe fruity one
  • Affogatoespresso over ice cream
  • Espresso Frappéblended, ice cold
  • Babyccinofor the smallest regulars ☺

Toasties & Sandwiches

Homemade, made to order · the board changes, ask what is new
  • Kimchi Tosti (V)the one people come back for
  • Goat Cheese & Honey Chili Tosti (V)sweet, sharp, a little hot
  • Egg Salad Sandwich (V)simple, done well
  • Tuna Sandwichthe dependable one
  • Spicy Salami Tostifor the bold lunch
  • Ham & Cheese Tostithe one you grew up with
  • Cheese Tostiaged, melted, unbothered
  • Peanut Butter & Banana Toastafter school, every school day
  • Nutella Toastno further explanation needed

Sweet Things

Fresh in every morning
  • Croissantplain, buttery, correct
  • Banana Breadthe afternoon fix
  • Cookiechocolate chunk, soft middle
  • Smashed Croissant & Ice Creamoff the grill, with a scoop on top

Cold Drinks

From the fridge
  • Still & Sparkling Waterthe basics, chilled
  • Coca-Cola & Coca-Cola Zeroyou know these
  • Fanta & Spritethe childhood pair
  • Fuze Teaeasy and cold
  • Milkshakesmade with our own ice cream
  • Dog Sorbetyes, really. For the good ones ☺

“Take a seat, stay a while.”

Our Story

A place people grow up with.

Bitterkoud isn’t trying to impress. It simply becomes part of people’s routines, rooted in one of The Hague’s most loved gelaterias, now with great coffee and fresh food for every moment of the day.

The place where you stop after school. Where your grandparents buy ice cream. Where students grab coffee. Where families meet on Sunday. Where neighbours know each other. Contemporary, but never intimidating.

bit·ter·koud

/ˈbɪ.tər.kʌut/

adjective · Dutch

  1. Bitterly, properly, unmistakably cold. As in: the weather this city is famous for.
  2. The one thing our gelato has in common with a Dutch winter, and the only thing.
  3. A name chosen by people who believe ice cream is not a summer thing. It’s an always thing.

Grew up with us

One place, a whole life.

You, at

4
Strawberry years
4

Your first scoop.

Strawberry, obviously. Half of it ends up on your shirt. Nobody minds, least of all us.

12

After school, every school day.

The bench outside becomes headquarters. One scoop stretched across an entire afternoon of very important conversations.

17

The nervous first date.

Two cones, a slow walk around the block, and a reason to come back next week. It worked, by the way.

22

Laptop, deadline, flat white.

The corner table with the good light. We keep it laptop-friendly on purpose, stay a while, we mean it.

29

The coffee before work.

Seven minutes, same order, first names. The kind of ritual that quietly holds a week together.

36

Back with your own kids.

They order strawberry. It ends up on their shirt. The circle closes, and the bench outside is still there.

What changed, what did not

New vibe. Same ice cream.

We changed the look and the feel of the place, and we added coffee from Young Coffee and homemade sandwiches to the counter.

The ice cream did not change. Same recipes, same hands, same taste you remember from years ago. New surroundings, same memories.

See what is on today →

A place you’ll keep coming back to.

The Space

Natural daylight, oak and steel.

Warm whites, handmade textures, fresh flowers on the tables. The atmosphere isn’t “summer”. It’s all seasons.

Come see for yourself →

How we work

Quietly confident.

Ice cream churned daily. Coffee without the lecture. Homemade sandwiches, made to order. Simple things, done well, every single day.

See the menu →

Around Bitterkoud

Little moments, big deals.

First scoops, foam moustaches, grandad’s usual, the dog waiting politely outside. Families are what this place is made of, here’s what that looks like.

Family edition

Bitterkoud Bingo.

Nine things that happen at our tables every single week. Collect them all and the ninth scoop is on us.

1

Catch one of the nine at our tables. A photo or a story, whatever you like.

2

Post it and tag @bitterkouddenhaag, so we can see it.

3

Collect all nine, show them to us at the counter, and your next scoop is on the house.

Colourful balloons against a blue sky

Birthdays & big moments

Come and celebrate with us.

Birthday parties for the little ones, a class that finished the term, or any afternoon worth marking. Tell us the date and how many are coming, and we will put the tables together.

Plan a celebration

The little table

A table their size, crayons behind the counter, and a babyccino that arrives with ceremony. Small guests are the main guests.

Flavour of the month

Before a seasonal special goes on the board, you get to taste it. We decide together, guest tasting hours announced on the wall and online.

The spaarkaart

Old-fashioned on purpose: a paper card, a real ink stamp, and the tenth scoop on the house. Keep it in your wallet or leave it with us behind the counter.

Blue Monday jars

The gloomiest Monday of the year gets gelato jars. January is long; the neighbourhood shouldn’t face it unarmed.

Thirsty Thursday

A weekly excuse. Homemade sodas and iced coffees take the spotlight, students, this one leans your way.

The window seat rule

Reading, working, watching the street, the window seats belong to whoever stays longest. We’ll keep the coffee coming.

Come in, stay a while.

Our Team

The people behind the counter.

A place only feels like your local if the people in it make it that way. Ours know the regulars by name, remember the usual order, and still get a kick out of handing a four year old their first cone.

Alexandra Butykai, Location Manager at Bitterkoud

Location Manager

Alexandra Butykai

The location manager sets the tone of a place. Alexandra keeps the case full, the coffee dialled in and the room welcoming, from the first flat white of the morning to the last scoop of the evening.

If you have a question, a request, or an idea for a flavour, she is the one to ask. Come and say hello.

Come and meet us →

Part of something bigger

One counter, one family of places.

Bitterkoud is part of the YOUNG Hospitality family. That means real training, room to grow, and the chance to move across the group as it grows, without ever losing the neighbourhood feel of this room.

Discover YOUNG Hospitality →

Join the team

Roles we usually look for.

See how to apply →
  • All round service staff
  • Barista
  • Front of house
  • Weekend and holiday team
  • Open application

Mostly it comes down to the same thing: people who like people. Experience helps, warmth matters more.

Say hello

Want to be part of the counter?

Send us a short message with who you are and when you can work, or walk in and ask for the manager.

Work with us

Visit Us

Come by.

We’d love to welcome you for coffee, ice cream or something in between. Dogs welcome, there’s sorbet for them too.

Oostduinlaan 119
2596 JK Den Haag
@bitterkouddenhaag
Laptop friendly Dogs welcome Student discount Take away ready
  • Monday08:30 – 21:00
  • Tuesday08:30 – 21:00
  • Wednesday08:30 – 21:00
  • Thursday08:30 – 21:00
  • Friday08:30 – 21:00
  • Saturday08:30 – 21:00
  • Sunday08:30 – 21:00
Directions

Getting here

On foot or by bike

We are on Oostduinlaan, in the heart of Waalsdorp, with the dunes and Clingendael a short ride away. Racks right outside, so your bike stays in view from the window seat.

By tram

The nearest stop is Riouwstraat, a short walk from the door. If it is raining, the coffee will still be hot when you arrive.

Take away

Order at the counter: paper cups with lids for coffee and scoops, and 1 litre or ½ litre tubs to take ice cream home.

Our locations

Open now

Den Haag

Benoordenhout

Oostduinlaan 119 · open every day 08:30 – 21:00

Directions →
Coming soon

Den Haag

Prinsestraat

Renovation starting. Watch this space.

Coming soon

Rijswijk

YOUNG House

A new home for Bitterkoud in Rijswijk.

Coming soon

Coming to the coast

Beach Club

Scoops with sand between your toes.

Coming soon

Amsterdam

YOUNG.Coffee

Bitterkoud, served inside YOUNG.Coffee Amsterdam.

We’re not a destination. We’re your local.

Journal

Notes from the counter.

Small stories about gelato, coffee and the neighbourhood. Published whenever there’s something worth saying, no more, no less.

Gelato

Gelato vs. ice cream: the actual difference

Less fat, less air, served warmer. Three small differences that change everything about how it tastes.

Gelato is churned slowly, so far less air gets whipped in, think 20–30% overrun instead of up to 100% for industrial ice cream. Less air means more density, and more density means more flavour per spoonful.

It also carries less butterfat. That sounds like a downside until you learn what fat does on your tongue: it coats it. Less fat, less coating, so the pistachio actually reaches your taste buds instead of hiding behind cream.

And we serve it a few degrees warmer than ice cream. Cold numbs taste; slightly-less-cold doesn’t. That’s the whole trick. Not magic, just craft, done daily behind our counter.

The Neighbourhood

Why we serve ice cream in winter

Our name literally means “bitterly cold”. We didn’t choose it by accident.

Every autumn, somebody asks when we close for the season. We don’t. Ice cream is not a summer thing, it’s an always thing. Hot chocolate needs marshmallows; December needs stracciatella. We stand by this.

Winter at Bitterkoud means the case stays full, the coffee stays hot and the tosti grill keeps going. The neighbourhood doesn’t hibernate, and neither do we, the door’s open every day, whatever the sky is doing.

Besides: fewer tourists, more window seats. Winter regulars know this is the best season of all.

Flavour of the Month

How the flavour of the month gets chosen

Short answer: you choose it. Long answer: you choose it, with tastings.

Before a seasonal special earns a place in the case, it goes through the neighbourhood. We announce guest tasting hours on the magnet wall and online, churn small test batches, and listen, properly listen, to what comes back.

Sometimes the winner is obvious. Sometimes it’s a fight between two camps that we settle with a second tasting, which nobody has ever complained about. Democracy has rarely been this delicious.

Want a say? Keep an eye on the magnet wall, or just tell whoever’s scooping. Every suggestion gets read. Even the one about pickle sorbet. Especially that one.

Coffee

Coffee, without the lecture

We take the coffee seriously so you don’t have to. Here’s what that means in practice.

Our beans are roasted for sweetness, dialled in every morning, and poured by people who practise. That’s the serious part, and it happens before you walk in.

The unserious part is everything else. Order a flat white, an iced latte, or “just a normal coffee”, all correct answers. No filter here, by the way: espresso based, hot or iced, and a matcha bar for the non-coffee table. Nobody here will quiz you on origin notes unless you ask, in which case, pull up a stool: we can talk about this for a genuinely concerning amount of time.

Morning ritual, afternoon deadline fuel, or the excuse for a catch-up: the cup’s the same quality either way. That’s the whole policy.

Stories, scooped fresh.

Careers · Work with us

Want to spend your days making people smile?

We’re always looking for friendly people who love good coffee, great ice cream and even better conversations. Experience helps; warmth matters more.

Who we are

The modern local.

Bitterkoud grew out of one of The Hague’s most loved gelaterias. Today we are the neighbourhood spot in Waalsdorp: ice cream churned daily, coffee, homemade sandwiches, and a door that is open every day of the year.

We’re not trying to impress anyone. We’re trying to become part of people’s routines, and that only works with a team that genuinely likes people.

Our full story →

Why work with us

Some jobs are just better than others.

Real craft, real training

Gelato-making, coffee dialling-in, sourdough on the grill. You’ll learn skills you keep for life, taught properly, not on a laminated card.

Fair hours, honest pay

Schedules published ahead of time, no surprise shifts, and pay that respects your work. Simple things, done well, that applies to us too.

Part of the YOUNG family

Bitterkoud belongs to the YOUNG Hospitality family of restaurants and cafés. Grow here, or grow across the family, both count.

The neighbourhood factor

You’ll know your regulars by name and coffee order within weeks. Handing a four-year-old their first cone never stops being the best part.

Free coffee. Obviously.

Coffee on shift, gelato tastings when new flavours land, and a staff discount that your friends will discover suspiciously fast.

All seasons, all moments

Summer terrace energy, winter soup calm. No two days feel the same, and the ice cream doesn’t hibernate, neither does the fun.

Who we look for

People people, mostly.

Barista

Coffee served without the lecture. We’ll teach you the dialling-in; you bring the good mornings.

Apply →

All round service staff

Front of house, first scoops, good mornings. The best job title in Den Haag, arguably.

Apply →

Weekend & Holiday Team

Saturdays, Sundays and school holidays. Perfect for students, there’s a discount in it for your friends too.

Apply →

Open application

Don’t see your role? Convince us. The best people rarely fit a template anyway.

Say hi →

Ready?

Send us your CV. A favourite flavour is required.

A short email with who you are and when you can work is enough. Or walk in and ask for the manager, the coffee’s on us either way.

Send your CV

Legal

Privacy Policy.

How we handle personal data on this website, in plain language. Short version: we collect almost nothing.

Who is responsible

Bitterkoud, part of The Young Hospitality Investments B.V., Oostduinlaan 119, 2596 JK Den Haag, The Netherlands, is responsible for the processing of personal data described in this policy. Questions about your data: hello@bitterkoud.com.

What this website collects

This website is a static page. It has no accounts, no forms, no tracking pixels and no analytics. We do not set cookies and we do not build profiles of visitors.

When you load the page, our hosting provider (Vercel Inc.) processes the technical data every web server needs in order to deliver a page: your IP address, browser type and the pages requested. This data is used only to serve the website, keep it secure and measure aggregate traffic, and is retained for a limited period in server logs. Fonts are loaded from Google Fonts, which means your browser sends a request to Google when the page opens; Google states it does not use these requests to track users.

When you contact us

The buttons on this site open your own email app. If you email us, for example to apply for a job or to plan a celebration, we receive whatever you choose to send: your name, email address, CV and message. We use it only to answer you and, for applications, to run the hiring process.

  • General enquiries are kept as long as needed to deal with your request.
  • Job applications are deleted no later than four weeks after the process ends, unless you agree that we keep them for up to one year.

We do not share this information with third parties, except our email provider (Google Workspace) which stores our mailbox, or where the law requires it.

Legal basis

We process contact and application data on the basis of your request (pre-contractual steps) and our legitimate interest in answering enquiries and hiring staff. Technical hosting data is processed on the basis of our legitimate interest in running a secure website.

Minors

We do not intend to collect data from visitors under 16 without parental consent. If you believe we have received such data, email us and we will delete it.

Your rights

You can ask us to access, correct or delete your personal data, to restrict or object to its processing, or to receive a copy of it. Send your request to hello@bitterkoud.com. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens).

External links

Links to Instagram, Google Maps and other websites lead to services with their own privacy policies, which we do not control.

Changes

We may update this policy when the website changes. The current version is always the one on this page.

Last updated 3 September 2026

Legal

Disclaimer.

The small print for using this website.

General

This disclaimer applies to the website bitterkoud.nl, operated by Bitterkoud, part of The Young Hospitality Investments B.V.. By using this website you agree to it. We may change the content of the website and this disclaimer at any time without prior notice.

Information on this site

We do our best to keep the menu, prices, opening hours and other information accurate and up to date, but we cannot guarantee that everything is always correct or complete. Flavours change with the season and the mood of the kitchen. Obvious errors, such as typos in prices, do not bind us to any agreement. The information on this site is general and is not professional advice of any kind.

Allergens

Our ice cream, coffee and toasties are prepared in a small kitchen where milk, nuts, gluten, eggs and soy are present. Allergen notes on the menu are indicative. If you have an allergy, please tell the team before ordering.

Liability

Bitterkoud, part of The Young Hospitality Investments B.V. is not liable for any direct or indirect damage arising from the use of this website or the information on it, including damage caused by inaccuracies, omissions or interruptions, except where mandatory law provides otherwise. Use of the website is at your own risk.

Intellectual property

All texts, photographs, logos and other material on this website belong to Bitterkoud, part of The Young Hospitality Investments B.V. or its licensors. You may view and print pages for personal, non-commercial use. Any other use, including copying or publishing our photographs, requires our prior written permission.

External links

This website links to external websites and services. We have no control over their content, availability or privacy practices and are not responsible for them.

Availability

We do not guarantee that the website will work without interruption or errors, and we may suspend or take it offline at any time.

Applicable law

Dutch law applies to this website and this disclaimer.

Last updated 3 September 2026

Legal

Cookie Policy.

This website does not use cookies. That is the whole policy, but here is the detail.

No cookies, no trackers

bitterkoud.nl does not place cookies on your device and does not use any analytics, advertising or social media tracking. There is nothing to accept or refuse, which is why you have not seen a cookie banner.

What the site does store

Nothing. Your choice of favourite flavour on the welcome screen lives only in the page while it is open and is forgotten when you close it.

Third-party requests

Two external services are contacted when the page loads, purely to display it:

ServicePurposeCookies
VercelHosting and delivery of the websiteNone
Google FontsLoading the typefaces used on the siteNone

Links to Instagram and Google Maps only open those services when you click them. Once there, their own cookie policies apply.

If this changes

If we ever add a feature that needs cookies, for instance online ordering, we will update this page and ask for your consent first where the law requires it.

Questions

Email us at hello@bitterkoud.com.

Last updated 3 September 2026