Until the early 16th century, the Rokin was a waterway and dock for inland shipping. Ferries departed from here for Utrecht, The Hague, Rotterdam, Arnhem and various German cities. Most of the waterway was eventually filled during the 1930s.

The foundation stone of the building which now houses De Nissen, Rokin 95, was laid in 1646. Commissioned by the merchant Ameldonck Leeuw, it is built in the Dutch Classical style.

This beautiful building has always been the home of merchants, and always used to store their wares. Together with numbers 93 and 97 next door, Rokin 95 was for generations owned by the Brusses, a family of tobacco dealers. Numbers 93 and 95 were connected by a series of passageways. Immediately above De Nissen is an historic sampling room still in its original condition, where to this day tobacco is tested and graded.

Our premises are right in the heart of Amsterdam, and so in truly historic surroundings. If walls could talk, ours would have so much to say about the city's turbulent history. For example, it was directly opposite De Nissen – on the site now occupied by the Park Plaza – that the Miracle of Amsterdam occurred in 1345.

A dying man was being given the last rites. But he immediately threw up the host which had been administered. His wife then tossed it into the fireplace. The next morning the wafer was found intact amidst the cinders. A miracle had occurred and a chapel was built on the site to commemorate it. This is just one of dozens of significant events in the history of Amsterdam which have taken place on and around this spot.

That history also lives on inside De Nissen. Hundreds of antique objects, many of them craftsmen's and tradesmen's tools, adorn the walls and ceilings of the restaurant.