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Amsterdam's Pubs, Clubs and
Brown Cafes
Going out in Amsterdam can be a 24-hour
experience. PubClub has it all right here. Just click on your preference
to go there quickly, or read about all the party possibilities Amsterdam
has to offer:
Beer prices are 2-3 euros in the pubs and more expensive in the clubs.
• Happy Hour
• The University
• The Leidseplein
• The
Rembrandtsplein
• Clubs
• After
Hours and Private Parties
Happy Hour
If there is one thing the Dutch enjoy, it's discussing the day's activities
over a drink. Feel free to join them, although your day may have only
consisted of taking in a museum or recovering from yesterday's hangover.
The happy hour hangout is in the Spui. Its landmark is one of the best
bars in town, regardless of the time of day, Cafe Luxembourg.
A perfect example of the Dutch "brown cafe," where years of smoke have
turned the walls brown, Cafe Luxembourg has a crowded patio, a long
dogleg bar and tables with Dutch newspapers for the culturally inclined.
Sunday afternoons, it's THE place to be in town. You can also bookmark
Luxembourg for a good meal.
After work and Sunday
afternoons, Cafe Luxenbourg is
where the locals play.
One block up Spuistraat is a newer bar (with a newer clientele) called
Dante's (below photo). It attracts a younger professional crowd
which packs around the bar by the door. Down a small set of stairs is
a quieter bar and a restaurant offering quality eats.
Dante's attracts
a young, hip happy hour crowd.
The unchallenged Kaiser of the Spui is the Hoppe. It's the oldest
bar in town, which in this place is really saying something. The crowd
is a mix of young, old and older, all mixing it up with lively conversation.
The University
Yes, Virginia Tech, there is a university in Amsterdam. It is located
adjacent to the Spui and has a couple of bars good for hanging out with
foreign students.
After dark, most students head to the Leidseplein or the Jordaan area.
The Jordaan is a quiet, residential area with a few bars where
locals tend to stick to themselves. Tourists are not exactly discouraged,
but are rarely welcomed with open arms in the pubs. The situation is
different in the clubs (for more on the Jordaan, see the After Hours
And Private Parties section).
The Leidseplein
If all the coffeeshops and space cakes have dulled your senses, the
Leidseplein will bring them back to life, perhaps even send them into
overdrive.
This section of town, which consists of a town square fed by a pair
of main streets, is lined with pubs, clubs, restaurants and street entertainers.
On a sunny afternoon, cafe tables pack the area; at night, people fill
the role. In the summer, youthful and eager tourists flock here like
pigeons.
So, if you wanna flock in Amsterdam, this is the place.
On the corner is an imposing-looking four-level British-style pub which
is worth a visit just to take a tour of the place. But the real action
occurs elsewhere. One of those places is Le Berry. It's hit-or-miss
with the crowd, but when it's on, it's as good as any place in town.
Le Berry serves beer in large, frothy mugs in addition to the tiny Hineys
and during happy hour (4-9 p.m.) they are 2-for-1.
The aroma of Amsterdam can be enjoyed at The Bulldog coffeeshop,
which sits prominently in the square. It's a better hangout than its
cousin in the Red Light District because it attracts a more hip crowd.
There's a bar next to the coffeshop which makes it convenient to go
back and forth between the two.
Around the corner from The Bulldog, just past the movie theater, are
two small pubs. One is almost always empty and is hardly worth noting.
The other treats every day like Bastille Day. Cafe Bastille is
wildly popular among locals and is packed six days a week (Monday is
the only day you can see the walls in the place). Be sure to arrive
before 10 and find a good place to perch.
Soon it will be elbow-to-elbow, with people seemingly stacked in rows
from the bar to the wall. It's also one of the few popular pubs in town
with no doorman. Our photo of is of a nearly empty Cafe Bastille for
two reasons: One, we wanted to show what the inside of the place actually
looks like and two, it was so crowded later in the evening that we couldn't
find the elbow room to even snap a picture.
 For
a pleasant surprise, go around the corner to Cafe Surprise. It
is loaded with young Dutch singles, but gaining entrance takes a bit
of resourcefulness. To sneak past the two doormen – yes, it has
two – arrive before they do, maybe an hour after the pub opens.
Once inside, you are treated like a Kaiser. When you leave, tip the
doorman two guilders instead of one so he is sure to remember you. On
Sunday nights the place is absolutely SRO.
After hours, go across the street from Café Surprise to the Café
Lang Leve de Lol to party to until the next morning. If you feel
like rolling the dice with the nightlife, the Holland Casino
offers American and French roulette, blackjack and other games of chance.
It is one of Europe's largest casinos and caters to the well-dressed,
proper crowd. There is a cover charge and no sneakers are allowed.
The Rembrandtsplein
With the exceptions of Bastille, Surprise and the Jordaan area, when
locals want to go out (which is often), they head to the Rembrandtsplein.
There are so many bars here, you will fall down dizzy if you try to
notice them all.
Peter Beense is typical of
the small and cozy, yet rowdy, pubs.
It's best to begin your journey down the side streets. Just around
the corner from the center area is Peter Beense and Cafe Bolle
Jan on Korte Reguliersdwarsstraat. Peter Beense has the most intimidating-looking
doorman in town but he's really a teddy bear. Inside is a lively young
crowd.
If you've arrived too late to get in one of these excellent but tiny
local pubs, try the t'Pandje next door. It's not as busy and
has a great staff and an accommodating doorman.
One street over (Reguliersbreestraat) Cafe Popular has no doorman
but does have a local singer for entertainment. It is known for its
rowdy, middle-aged crowd of regular customers. Many locals start here
before heading elsewhere in the plein.
Three Sisters is
an elegant cafe and bar for trendsetters.
Down another side street, the Bayside Beach Club brings a taste
of the beach to the city. Its inviting atmosphere attracts a young,
good-looking crowd and is better later in the evening. For those who
want to be a little light in the loafers instead of in sandals, there
are gay bars on both sides and across the alley.
Most of the post-midnight action is centered around the center of the
plein. At Hof Van Holland, (a favorite of Mr. Amsterdam, by the
way), locals sing out Dutch songs and elbow visitors until they, too,
join in. Cafe Monaco is a PubClub favorite. It mixes a sophisticated
atmosphere with a friendly staff and great music (although it's quite
loud at the far end of the bar).
More upscale crowds can be found at the Ritz and 3 Sisters.
If you are still standing when these places close, follow the after-hours
crowd to Jantjes V down one of the main street entrances to the
plein. Be sure and befriend a local either as you leave one bar or on
your way to this one, as it will considerably increase your chances
for entry. Bribing the doorman works occasionally.
With all these choices, pub-hopping is a ritual, so be sure the doormen
get to know your face.
The Clubs
Dance clubs in Amsterdam are loud, wild and huge. They don't open
until midnight but stay open until 6 in the morning.
The most famous – indeed, perhaps the most renowned in all of
Europe – is called iT! Located in the heart of the Rembrandtsplein,
it has everything from the class of society to drag queens and bisexual
Dutch girls with their good-looking male escorts. If the later is what
you are seeking, go Saturday night. Its entrance policy, once nearly
impossible to penetrate, is now almost open-door.
You may not even make it to iT because Sinners In Heaven practically
blocks the entrance. The owner is the former boyfriend of Dutch TV star
Leontine Ruiters. It's where the soccer stars go when they are in town
and other celeb types. Thursdays are Hip-Hop nights. To get in, go early
and dress well.
Wagenstraat 3-7 (630-13-75)
Sinners will be
in heaven at this late-night dance club.
Time is Amsterdam's newest nightclub and is best on Sunday nights.
Club Melkweg is a former Hippie hangout that, while it still
hosts the Cannibus Cup in November, is one of Amsterdam's most popular
clubs. It stays on top of world music trends and attracts a mixed, fairly
young crowd. A multi-functional facility, it also has a bar, restaurant,
movies and top bands during the week.
Lijnbaansgracht 234 (531 81 81)
Arena is a hard-to-get-into club. Also a budget hotel and a restaurant,
it's a bit out of town but hosts hot music groups and clubs nights on
Saturdays.
S. Gravesandestraat 51 (850 24 20)
Mazzo is a small club with a relaxed door attitude with an"
older" club crowd.
Rozengracht 14 (626 75 00)
For live music, Aknathon is has world music on weekends - African,
Latin, etc. This is where people who spent their afternoons in the the
coffee shops go at night.
Nieuwezijds Kolk 25 (624 33 96)
After Hours and Private
Parties
Amsterdam has a thriving "special" party scene where you can dance
until noon. Being "special," however, doesn't come cheap. Cover charges
usually start at fl25 and can go up to, well, they name the price (so
far, fl75 has the record for a remake of New York's Studio 54. The standard
rate for the "in-crowd" parties is fl35-50).
On the plus side, these events attract crowds in the hundreds to thousands,
so you won't be drinking alone.
A few clubs, such as Escape, are used for these bashes. For information
and to buy tickets, visit Outland Records (Zeedijk 22) or Club Wear
House (Herengracht 265). Lately, the normally placid Jordaan area has
become a haven for the party/rave scene; look for flyers posted by the
progressive music organization Circus Hoffman.
 Next
stop on the Party Bus: Post Party!
Coffeeshops
Red
Light District
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