Best-of list · City Guide
The best bars in Amsterdam Centrum — from canal-side jenever houses to serious cocktail bars in the city's historic centre. Our editors' definitive guide.
The short answer
10 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.
The best bars in Amsterdam Centrum sit in the oldest part of the city — a web of canals and gabled houses where the best bars in amsterdam centrum range from proeflokalen pouring traditional Dutch jenever by the thimble to modern cocktail bars running programmes that would hold their own in London or Copenhagen. We have spent considerable time in this neighbourhood across different seasons, and the list below reflects where we would actually go back to — not just where the tourist map points.
Centrum is divided roughly into distinct drinking zones. The area around Spui and Leidseplein pulls a different crowd than the quieter streets of the Grachtengordel. The bars below span both — the ones that hold up regardless of which part of Centrum you happen to be in.
How we picked
Amsterdam Centrum is the most historically layered bar neighbourhood in Europe. The combination of jenever houses that have been pouring since the 17th century, brown cafés that smell like the 1970s in the best possible way, and cocktail bars running programmes that reflect the city's current ambition gives Centrum a range that you will not find in the Jordaan or De Pijp. Start at Wynand Fockink for the jenever experience, move to Tales and Spirits for the cocktails, and end at Café Hoppe on the Spui when the evening has earned a simple beer.
Sofia covers European bar culture with a particular focus on the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scandinavia. She has been drinking in Amsterdam long enough to have opinions about which brown café has the best jenever list.
Last reviewed 2026-05-26 · The editors recheck hours and closures against current local coverage.