Jordaan & the West
Small, unassuming and unmistakably old (1665), Café Pieper features stained-glass windows, antique beer mugs hanging from the bar and a working Belgian…
Must-see nightlife in The Netherlands
Amsterdam
In a former technical school, with a tuck shop serving food, this 500-capacity club has three darkened stages (the main one is in the old bike storage…
Amsterdam
'Islanders' love this hidden-away waterfront place, a lovely spot for Dutch and Belgian beers, cocktails or a glass of wine. There's a fab terrace…
Jordaan & the West
With Delft Blue tiles and a central stove, this bruin café (brown cafe; pub) is a 1642 gem. The name, 'Papists' Island', goes back to the Reformation,…
Amsterdam
A local favourite for generations, the Green Elephant is 19th-century elegance meets modern bohemian, with tiled floors, dark bentwood chairs and leaf…
Jordaan & the West
This luxe bar's location on a low-key stretch of Jordaanian shops and businesses gives it a certain mystique. Its martinis will coax out your inner James…
Amsterdam
Between the Artis Royal Zoo and the Hollandsche Schouwburg, Koosje has a lovely location, where you can perch at the window or on the terrace and sup wine…
Southern Canal Ring
This buzzing choice has designer chandeliers and a lively, laid-back vibe. It's on the neighbourhood's main gay street and is favoured by a mixed crowd.
Amsterdam Noord
Oedipus began with four friends trying out some experimental brewing methods, and its brightly labelled bottles are now an Amsterdam institution. This…
Medieval Centre & Red Light District
Watch the Amstel flow by from the balcony and waterside terraces of this very grand two-level café with soaring ceilings, streaming natural light and…
Amsterdam
Speciality roasters White Label Coffee likes its customers to feel at home. Among the Persian rugs, comfy floor cushions, light wooden furniture and…
Medieval Centre & Red Light District
BeerTemple’s taps, with 35 rotating draught beers, feature mainly American varieties that you’ll be hard-pushed to find elsewhere in the Dutch capital, as…
Jordaan & the West
Toki's interior is minimalist and then some, with painted concrete floors and a terrazzo sitting area. Take a seat in the window and watch the bikes whizz…
Amsterdam
Café Bédier is a post-work favourite with a terrace out the front that is often so crowded on a summer evening that it looks like a street party in full…
Amsterdam
From your morning caffeine fix to an evening tipple, hip cafe-bar 4850 has you covered. It turns out a great coffee along with an impressive selection of…
De Pijp
Natural, all-organic, additive-free wines are the stock-in-trade of this convivial neighbourhood wine bar in a rustic stained-glass-framed shop, where the…
Southern Canal Ring
The team behind Bocca Coffee knows its stuff, having sourced beans from Ethiopia to sell to cafes across the city for more than 15 years. It's now serving…
Amsterdam
Close to the Vondelpark, Café Schinkelhaven's hugely popular candle-topped terrace tables make an irresistible pit stop before heading along…
Western Canal Ring
Sip top-notch tea and Spanish-roasted coffee while nibbling homemade Valrhona-chocolate pralines and pastries at this beautiful little Negen Straatjes …
Amsterdam
This perennially hip, two-level bar attracts a young professional crowd that spills out onto the pavement. It does great cocktails and doubles as a Thai…
Nijmegen
This tiny craft brewery can do no wrong: its location in the basement of the historic Commanderie van St Jan lends it bags of vintage vibe, and its…
Leiden
Leiden's historic waag (weigh station) is now home to one of the town's most popular eating and drinking spots, a bustling place attracting locals of…
Medieval Centre & Red Light District
Its location by the IJ at the northern end of Centraal Station makes this beer specialist ideal while waiting for a train or to pick up bottles to drink…
Amsterdam Noord
In an out-of-the-way industrial area, tiny Walhalla is a relaxed microbrewery that has quickly gained a reputation for its excellent beer. There are a few…
Medieval Centre & Red Light District
Inside the landmark 15th-century Schreierstoren, this atmospheric café (pub) has a historical interior with hefty timber beams and a canal-side terrace…
Medieval Centre & Red Light District
Plastered with posters and vinyl records, the subterranean Poolbar is an easy-going place to shoot pool at its eight tables, or play table shuffleboard or…
Frisian Islands
Thanks to the Dutch love for serious coffee, the island has its very own bean roaster with a tantalising cafe, tearoom and boutique on Midsland’s main…
Frisian Islands
Watch the ferries and fishing boats yo-yo-ing into and out of the port from the elevated, part-glassed-in, part-alfresco terrace of this stylish cafe on…
Amsterdam
On rapidly gentrifying Javastraat, Walter Woodbury’s Javanese-inspired, plant-filled and wooden interior has chesterfield lounges perfect for cosying into…
Amsterdam
Craft beer fans are spoilt for choice, with no fewer than 40 beers from around the world on rotating taps and hundreds more by the bottle. Try one of the…
Utrecht
On a summer day you can drink or dine right at the canal-side facing the brick arched Smeebrug bridge. However, this cosy pub-restaurant's real draw is…
Medieval Centre & Red Light District
Tucked down an alleyway off Grimburgwal, this site has assumed many guises throughout the centuries: a cloister during the 14th, a horse-carriage…
Utrecht
If you're strolling the leafy Buiten Wittevrowen district, seek out super-relaxed Cornelis, serving some of Utrecht's best coffee accompanied by luscious…
Noord Brabant
Hipster industrial chic pervades this former railway repair workshop. A superhelpful beer sommelier can help you find the best brew for your tastes,…
Medieval Centre & Red Light District
A hummingbird by Brazilian street artist L7matrix covers one wall of this hip cafe, with local art also for sale. Small-batch roasts (London's Kiss the…
Western Canal Ring
Fresh-squeezed juices, smoothies and 'warm shakes' (such as pumpkin spice syrup, espresso, stroopwafel, cinnamon and whipped cream) are the standout…
Western Canal Ring
By day, this updated brown cafe is full of people catching the afternoon sun on the terrace. By night the atmosphere turns quietly romantic, with low…
Western Canal Ring
This koffiehuis (espresso bar; not to be confused with a coffeeshop selling cannabis) is one of the best places in the city to get an old-fashioned coffee…
Nijmegen
Duck behind the weigh-house on Grote Markt to uncover this hipster coffee shop, at home in a picture-postcard townhouse with pretty olive-green facade and…
Friesland
Tucked away at the end of the harbour, this home-from-home terras is a peaceful spot to chill out on the grass overlooking a tiny canal fringed with other…
