Cafe Saarein, a corner bar in Amsterdam. van Blerk/Shutterstock
The charming streets and waterways of Amsterdam are awash with distinct and atmospheric places to drink. Amsterdam’s best bars span traditional pubs and jenever tasting houses that are woven into the city’s fabric to experimental cocktail dens, artisan brewery taprooms, waterside beer gardens, panoramic rooftop terraces and plenty of unexpected gems.
Through the centuries of Amsterdam’s seafaring history, merchants and sailors coming into port headed to the taverns of the medieval center. Today its streets and surrounding canal ring spill over with bars, especially the southern canal ring hubs of Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein, and this famously inclusive capital’s premier rainbow-flag-flying street Reguliersdwarsstraat. Beyond the inner city, time-honored and innovative venues fan out through Amsterdam’s character-filled neighborhoods.
Wherever you go, the emphasis is on sociability, sustainability and good vibes. Most places offer a wide range of non-alcoholic options, and many do great food, too. Here’s a taste of Amsterdam’s vibrant bar scene.
1. De Druif
Best for Amsterdam heritage
De Druif is a wonderful, history-soaked example of a bruin café (traditional Dutch pub). The city has around a thousand of these “brown cafés” (aka bruine kroegen, “brown bars”), named for their once-nicotine-stained walls and dark-wood paneling. Near the maritime museum (Het Scheepvaartmuseum), De Druif is one of Amsterdam’s oldest, occupying a 1566 building that gained its first liquor licence in 1631; sailors came here to register for work on Dutch East India Company (VOC) ships.
The small, split-level, barrel-lined interior overflows with gezelligheid – the indefinable Dutch quality of conviviality, comfort and coziness – so settle in for a frothy glass of Amstel and simple dishes including great sandwiches; in true bruin café tradition, it still serves boiled eggs in a wire basket on the bar.
2. De Drie Fleschjes
Best for jenever
Tasting the local firewater is an Amsterdam rite of passage. Just off Dam square, De Drie Fleschjes (the “Three Little Bottles”) is a jewel dating back to 1619, with a wall of 50 barrels making up Amsterdam’s only “drinks organ” and a collection of kalkoentjie (small bottles featuring hand-painted portraits of former mayors).
The precursor to gin, Dutch jenever (pronounced ye-nay-ver, often spelled genever) has been traditionally produced by distilling grains and malt wine, namesake juniper berries and botanicals, from the 16th century. It’s been protected by AOC (Appellation d’origine contrôlée) designation since 2008.
De Drie Fleschjes’s tulip-shaped glasses are served brimming with Bols jenever, in both smooth jonge (young) or intense, aromatic oude (old) varieties; bend over the bar, hands behind your back, sipping deeply to avoid spills. If you’re feeling game, order a kopstootje (“little head butt”): jenever with a beer chaser.
3. Distilleerderij ’t Nieuwe Diep
Best for liqueurs
Within the lush Flevopark in Amsterdam’s Oost (East), surrounded by woodland, the 19th-century pumphouse housing Distilleerderij ’t Nieuwe Diep is a magical spot. The distillery produces around 100 small-batch jenevers, herbal bitters, liqueurs and fruit distillates from organic ingredients. Try them in the white-washed, bare-boards proeflokaal (tasting room) looking through to the copper sills, or, in fine weather, out on the terrace by the reflective pond.
4. Café Papeneiland
Best for Jordaan character
Immediately west of the Unesco-listed canal ring, the former workers’ quarter of the Jordaan is an atmospheric tangle of narrow streets, market squares and quaint bars and restaurants. This enticing neighborhood has a treasure trove of storied bruin cafés like Café ‘t Papeneiland, which opened in 1642 at the intersection of the beautiful Prinsengracht and Brouwersgracht canals. Its name, “'Papists' Island,” refers to the Reformation, when a secret tunnel let local Catholics access a clandestine church below the Prinsengracht on the opposite side. (The tunnel is now used for storage but you can still see the entrance at the top of the basement stairs.)
Papeneiland’s vintage decor of Delft-blue tiles provides a snug setting for borrel (gathering for drinks), accompanied by borrelhapjes (bar snacks) like its popular bitterballen (croquettes, with traditional meat or vegetarian fillings) and house-speciality appeltaart (flaky, cinnamon-spiced apple pie).
5. Flying Dutchmen Cocktails
Best for cutting-edge cocktails
Amsterdam’s serious cocktail scene is spearheaded by movers and shakers Tess Posthumus and Timo Janse, whose flagship bar Flying Dutchmen Cocktails has a spectacular setting in a southern canal ring national monument: the 1662-built Odeon theater. (Look up to see the incredible ceiling paintings by Nicolaas de Heldt Stockade.) Open until 4am, it’s home to the Netherlands’ biggest backbar, with an incredible 900+ spirits. Consummate reinterpretations of classic recipes include the namesake Flying Dutchmen (barrel-aged Bols jenever, lemon juice, speculaas syrup, orange bitters and orange flower water).
In the medieval center at their second location, cocktails are made from 150 different jenevers and old Dutch liqueurs at the aptly named Dutch Courage. (The phrase originates from soldiers fortifying with jenever before battle during the Eighty Years’ War.)
6. Bar Mokum
Best for speakeasy ambience
Tucked beneath the pancake restaurant MOAK in the village-like neighborhood of De Pijp, Bar Mokum’s streetscape-style decor is inspired by the city itself. (“Mokum,” from the Yiddish for “safe haven,” is Amsterdam’s nickname.)
The atmosphere is easy-going, but cocktails using local spirits and liqueurs (like the negroni-style Tortelduiffie with Damrak gin or espresso martini-style Gleuvenrijder with Bols vodka) mean business; you can also book in for cocktail workshops (1.5 hours to mix three cocktails or 2.5 hours for four cocktails plus snacks).
Its award-winning bartender/owner Leroy Soumokil also runs a Japanese-inspired listening bar, Bar Hana Ichiba, spinning vinyl and serving sake and signature cocktails like yuzu-and-ginger or plum-wine highballs near the Bloemenmarkt (flower market), which "floats" in the southern canal ring.
7. Brouwerij 't IJ
Best for craft beer
Bier (beer) is Amsterdam’s most popular order and artisan breweries are booming. Although you’ll find its brews around town, Brouwerij 't IJ has a taproom in its original location, a tiled former bathhouse with a sprawling terrace beneath the huge sails of the 1725-built De Gooyer windmill. Founded in 1985, the city's leading independent brewery is an unforgettable spot to enjoy its standard, seasonal and limited-edition brews (many of which pack a punch). Tours of the brewing operations in English run from Friday to Sunday.
Another Brouwerij 't IJ taproom is at ‘t Blauwe Theehuis, a circular, cake-stand-shaped structure amid the greenery in Amsterdam’s gorgeous Vondelpark.
8. LuminAir
Best for rooftop views
Amsterdam’s low-rise historic core means you don’t have to go to great heights for far-reaching views from rooftop bars, mostly located in hotels but welcoming non-guests.
Right by Centraal Station on the DoubleTree’s 11th floor, LuminAir is a stunning spot for 360-degree panoramas, and projections, installations and cocktails themed around “light” (eg eclipses) and “air” (winds). You can head up here for “afternoon tea in the clouds” (with cocktails, wine and bubbles as well as tea); on a warm Amsterdam evening, its vast outdoor terrace is perfect for a sundowner at dusk as the lights switch on across the city.
9. Pllek
Best for beach parties
Amsterdam might not be on the coast but its waterways are perfect for soaking up the sunshine as well as the festive communal spirit.
Hop on a free, five-minute ferry departing behind Centraal Station to reach the string of riverfront venues at the former derelict shipyard NDSM. All-day hangout Pllek is constructed from old shipping containers, with sand brought in to create its own beach. It’s a fabulous place for sustainable dining (over 75% vegetarian, including 25% vegan, with locally sourced organic ingredients), events ranging from yoga to live acts, DJs and open-air cinema screenings (in English or with English subtitles), or just a drink looking back at Amsterdam’s city-center skyline.
10. Chateau Amsterdam
Best for wine tasting
Although beer has always been Amsterdam’s drink of choice – given the Netherlands’ abundance of breweries and scarcity of vineyards – wine has become wildly popular in recent years.
Post-industrial Amsterdam Noord is the home of Chateau Amsterdam, the Netherlands' first urban winery, which makes wine here from grapes brought in from European wine-growing regions; you can tour the facility, book for a tasting overlooking the barrels, or try seasonal pairings at its restaurant.