The Dutch borrel: from a glass of bitters to the grazing board

Friday, half past four. In an office in Amsterdam the laptops close; in a living room in Ede the neighbours arrive. On the table: glasses, a bowl of hot bitterballen and a board piled with cheese, sausage and grapes. Both are a borrel, and the word has a surprisingly long history.

Where does the word borrel come from?

A borrel was first simply a small glass of strong liquor. The Etymological Dictionary of Dutch, found in the Etymologiebank of the Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, the Dutch Language Institute, records the word in that sense as early as 1685.

Where the word itself comes from is less certain. The dictionary offers two options. Borrel may be a diminutive of the Middle Dutch borre or borne, meaning ‘spring, fountain; spring water, drinking water’. Or it comes from the verb borrelen: ‘to well up, to show bubbles’.

For that second explanation the dictionary quotes a lovely passage from 1778. To test whether brandy was any good, you poured it into a long bottle and shook it hard. The ‘blaasen of borrels’, the bubbles that rose, should not vanish quickly. The longer they lasted, the better the brandy. That is why the dictionary finds a rising air bubble a plausible first meaning.

Today a borrel is also the gathering itself: you go to a borrel, or you throw one, for a birthday, an opening or on a Friday afternoon with colleagues.

The bittertje, forerunner of the borrel

Before the borrel there was the bittertje. According to the Genootschap Onze Taal, the Dutch language society, drinking ‘een bittertje’ can be seen as the forerunner of ‘de borrel’. Most bitters are jenever or brandy with something bitter added.

That little glass came with a snack. The Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal explains that the drink, a glass of jenever or herbal liqueur, was called a bittertje because of its slightly bitter taste. The snacks served with it were known as bittergarnituur. One of them, the deep fried ball, was given the name bitterbal.

The word bitterbal is older than you might think. According to Onze Taal, it appeared in the newspaper Algemeen Handelsblad on 17 February 1923. Even so, the Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal says bitterballen seem to belong mainly to the years straight after the Second World War. A cookbook from 1951 still had to explain that they were ‘kleine ronde croquetjes’, small round croquettes.

From cheese cubes to the grazing board

The classic borrel snacks are simple: peanuts, cubes of cheese and sausage. That is how the Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal lists them, adding that only a big bowl of piping hot bitterballen gives the Dutch the ultimate party feeling.

The borrel board, the Dutch take on grazing boards, now even has its own abbreviation. Early in 2024 the magazine Onze Taal wrote about student slang full of shortened words. There, a borrel board with bitterballen is ‘een bopla met biba’s’.

A board offers more than a bowl of peanuts: savoury, fresh and sweet side by side, with something for everyone. Chef David Nagib of Maximus Catering in Ede makes grazing boards with salami roses, rolled cheese, grapes and nuts, artfully finished with edible flowers. A vegetarian or vegan board is always possible. Boards start at € 12.50 per person including VAT, for 8 people or more.

Expecting pregnant guests? Take a quick look at the cold meats on the board. What they are better off skipping is explained in pregnant at a party.

The vrijmibo: the borrel at work

At work the borrel has a name of its own: the vrijmibo, short for vrijdagmiddagborrel, Friday afternoon drinks. The Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek, a dictionary of contemporary Dutch, describes it as a borrel that a company or other organisation holds for its staff on Friday afternoon, to close the working week and ring in the weekend. Any borrel held weekly or monthly on a Friday afternoon can go by the same name.

The dictionary quotes a text from 1997 in which the vrijmibo appears alongside the domibo: the Thursday afternoon borrel, a sign of ‘an even more relaxed attitude to life’.

Sociable company drinks still often mean drinks with alcohol, writes the Trimbos Instituut, in a blog about alcohol and work. Alcohol should not be the norm at work, Trimbos argues, and a good atmosphere and team spirit are possible without it. It calls an alcohol free workplace, including alcohol free drinks gatherings, the safest option. If that goes too far, staff and employer can agree on rules together, such as a limit of one or two drinks.

A board at the office makes the vrijmibo easy: everyone helps themselves and nobody has to cook. Chef David Nagib makes grazing boards for companies in Ede, in Amsterdam and across the rest of the Netherlands, so catering in Amsterdam is no detour. If the day starts with a meeting, a lunch with filled rolls fits right in.

The borrel at home

At home a borrel is the easiest way to have people over. There is no seating plan and no menu in courses, and guests come and go as it suits them. That is exactly why it works so well for a birthday, a housewarming or the neighbours after a street party.

Ask about allergies and dietary needs when you send the invitation. Which allergens appear on a label is covered in the 14 food allergens, and what to serve guests who skip meat or gluten is in vegetarian and gluten free guests. If the board will stay out all evening, read how long food can sit out too.

Tips for a good borrel

A good borrel is about balance: something savoury, something fresh, something warm and plenty to drink without alcohol. These points will help.

• Put savoury and fresh side by side: cheese and cold meats, but also vegetables, fruit and a dip.
• Plan something warm next to the cold board, such as a bowl of bitterballen.
• Make sure there is something for everyone: a vegetarian or vegan corner, and where needed something gluten free or nut free.
• Make the alcohol free choice as festive as the rest, with mocktails, alcohol free beer and water with fruit or herbs.
• Anyone who still has to drive or cycle should choose alcohol free. The Voedingscentrum calls that a safe choice.
• How much you need per guest depends on the time of day and whether a meal follows. Talk it through when you order.

On alcohol itself the Voedingscentrum, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, is clear: its advice is not to drink alcohol. The Gezondheidsraad, the Dutch Health Council, concluded in 2026 that alcohol does not fit a healthy lifestyle, and there is no safe amount. For children and teenagers the rule is simple: no alcohol under 18. So make a glass without alcohol a normal part of your borrel.

Planning a borrel in Ede, Amsterdam or elsewhere? Call chef David Nagib on +31 6 14336361, see the grazing boards or, for Friday drinks at work, business catering.