P19 Cafe: Texel, NETHERLANDS

5 days ago · 4 min read · De Koog

Going back into my photo history that I have archived for posting... and there are some really quite fond memories of our past life in Europe. It really does seem like it was a distant memory of a different life... not sure if it was necessarily better or worse, but it was definitely different.

Anyway, a little memento of a trip to the Dutch island of Texel... a beautiful place that we visited in our finishing years in Europe. And on this particular late afternoon, after cycling around for ages... and the little one was a particularly strong maniac biker! We settled into a beach pavilion for a well deserved lunch... tanking up some more energy for the long ride back to the airBNB!

In Texel, there are many beaches to visit... and a few of them have a dedicated eating pavilion snacks and stuff... some of them have larger boulevards with more shops and stuff. So, quite a different experience to the more simple and isolated beach experiences of Australia!

The Space

P19 was a decently large cafe... lots of outdoor seating for the late summer visit. Warm, and not too windy... perfect for a lazy early afternoon lunch!

The Menu

A large selection of European lunch/breakfast/dinner options were on offer... and surprisingly not too expensive, given that Texel is a pretty popular tourist destination!

Even though this was a Western European tourist place and more expensive than the rest of Europe... I am still surprised that is comparatively still cheaper than Australia! Wow, Australia really had gotten quite expensive in the intervening decades when we were away!

The Food

A corn-fed chicken for me... beautifully prepared on a bed of parsnip and potatoes, with beans and carrots. Quite delicious, and sort of unexpected for a Dutch place! A side of chips would have rounded this out quite nicely, but I wasn't sure how big the plate was going to be... plus, I would have to still cycle a bit to get home!

The little one had a pretty decent Spaghetti Bolognese... a staple dish that is usually going to be a good one for kids. And it gave her enough energy to keep her little legs pumping away at the pedals!

Around this time, my older daughter was starting to move away from the kiddie meals and was ordering adult meals with mixed results. Generally, she would like what it was... but the servings would often just be too big... which was yet another reason for me to order my meal on the smaller side, as I would have mopping up duty afterwards!

So, a nice side of chips... that I had wanted, but a pretty decent hamburger with a bit of bacon as well!

... and for my wife, a really quite nice mixed salad! Honestly, I have no idea how she managed to bike further on such a light meal!

The Experience

There is something quite nice about eating an early dinner in a wind-sheltered area outdoors in the warm dying Sun at the beach... Especially after a long day of biking, and general exercise. It was a nice end to a day of touring around, a perfect holiday day!

The staff left us well enough alone, and the food was quick and pretty decent... and for a touristy sort of place, not eye-gougingly expensive. Worth going to for a perfect end to your beach day!