Strandpaviljoen Buiten

Coming from the south, the first beach club after last week's Barbarossa that seems somewhat open for business is Strandpaviljoen Buiten. It is clear that the main season is over, and on a cloudy day like today that means it is difficult to find breakfast. That is not a complaint, though: it's always a joy to go to Buiten. It's laid back atmosphere, friendly personnel, and good food make this one of the best beach clubs in Scheveningen. Giving the appearance it was mostly constructed from driftwood, this place offers a cozy space to rest after a long beach walk on a windy autumn day. I want to go inside to check if they're really open - the lights are on and everything, but you never know - but Billie Stormzy wants to play in the small playground first. He climbs its steps, but then discovers there is no slide when he's up on the wooden structure, so I have to pick him up and put him down on the sand. Then he wants to try both swings: a dark blue one that offers support for very small children and a light green one that doesn't. He names their colours and keeps repeating this: "Blue. Green. Blue swing. Green swing." After a while he agrees to go and see if we can get breakfast.

There are two men sitting on the beach club's verandah, enjoying their breakfast, but when we arrive one of them gets up and turns out to be the waiter. He welcomes us and we also pick a place next on the verandah, overlooking the rest of Buiten's terraces and, beyond that, the sand and the sea. Quite a few surfers are in the water today and the waves look indeed ideal for them. Buiten is mostly quiet - while we are there, only a few more guests will arrive: two women walking their dog, and a middle aged couple who seem to be on a short vacanty together: both extremely good looking and clearly well to do, they talk about places abroad they would like to travel to. 

I order the taco breakfast, since it looks promising, but the waiter returns after a while to tell me that, unfortunately, it is not available. I opt for scrambled eggs (€8), with avocado and fresh tomato salsa - I still try to not to eat too much avocado, but the other options (such as bacon and cheese) don't appeal to me right now. Billie Stormzy wants to sit on my lap: he's not very active right now, looking at the beach and the sea, relaxing. When we came here, he preferred to be carried: "Baby now," he declared, meaning he wasn't going to walk.

When he discovers I ordered egg, he looses interest in the orange juice (€5) we're drinking together. Becoming more active, he starts to loudly scream "egg!" every once in a while. To calm him down a bit, I give him some cookies from the bag we always carry with us when we're out with him, containing diapers, spare clothes, and other necessities. Meanwhile, I finish the orange juice on my own - it's very fresh, and very good.

The same goes for the food, once it's brought, nicely presented on a rectengular plate: the fried eggs in a circular tower; the avocado in slices next to it and the tomato salsa in a small bowl. The tomato salsa comes with a lot of garlic, which gives the whole thing a nice bite, but it's good that it is kept separate so that Billie Stormzy, who really only wants the egg, is not bothered by the rest. You could choose between a croissant and toast, and I picked the former: Billie Stormzy claims most of it though, but there is still enough for both of us. He's very active now, jumping up and down while I feed him bits of egg and he munches on the croissant.  

When we've finished the scrambled eggs, I order an oatmilk macchiato with an extra shot of espresso (€5,50), while Billie Stormzy has some more cookies. He also has a bit of the milk foam on top of my latte, which he always enjoys. Then, it's time to go. "Let's pay," I tell Billie Stormzy and he replies: "yes!" When I get my card, he takes it from my hand and runs towards the waiter who is approaching us with his portable card reader. Billie Stormzy expertly places my card on it and pays the bill, much to the amusement of the waiter. Then we get up and leave, Billie Stormzy jumping up and down with excitement now, running down the terraces and onto the path towards our bicycle.  

Also on Breakfast at the Beach: Jump back in time to when I visited this place with Rihanna Gaga in 2014