What is a brown café?
Where the name comes from
The brown café is named after its colour: wood panelling, ceilings and walls turned brown by generations of tobacco smoke. Smoking indoors has been banned in Dutch cafés since 2008, but the colour has stayed. The decor follows a well-established pattern: a wooden bar, Persian rugs on the tables, Delft tiles, low lamps, old photographs and sometimes a billiard table. Music is quiet or absent: people come here to talk.
A brown café is neither a restaurant nor a nightclub. People drop in at any time of day, for a coffee in the morning, a beer in the late afternoon or a jenever in the evening, and the crowd mixes neighbourhood regulars with visitors. Do not confuse it with a coffee shop, which sells cannabis and does not serve alcohol.
Gezelligheid, the spirit of the place
The word that keeps coming up to describe a brown café is gezellig, a Dutch adjective with no exact English equivalent: warm, convivial and cosy all at once. A packed room on a winter evening, strangers sharing a table, a landlord who knows his regulars by their first names: that is gezelligheid. It explains why these cramped rooms stay full while so many larger bars have opened around them.
Etiquette: ordering, drinking, snacking
A few pointers so you do not hesitate at the bar:
- Ordering: in most brown cafés you order and pay at the bar. On terraces and in larger rooms, staff often serve at the tables; watch what the people around you do.
- Paying: contactless cards are accepted almost everywhere, and some cafés refuse cash. Service is included; rounding up the bill is still appreciated.
- Beer: the standard draught is a lager (pils) served in a small glass, with the head of foam levelled off with a spatula. For abbey or craft beers, see our guide to craft breweries in Amsterdam.
- Jenever: Dutch genever, the ancestor of gin, is drunk from a small tulip glass filled to the brim. It comes as jonge (young, more neutral) and oude (old, maltier). Served with a beer on the side, it becomes a kopstootje.
- Snacks: most brown cafés serve bitterballen with mustard, cubes of cheese or ossenworst. Some also offer sandwiches, soup or homemade apple pie. These specialities are described in our guide what to eat in Amsterdam.
- The terrace: in good weather, every café puts a few tables or benches out on the quay. Terrace hours are regulated by the city and explained in our guide Amsterdam at night. Taking your glass beyond the terrace is not allowed: drinking in the street is banned in much of the centre, as explained in our guide to alcohol and cannabis in the street in Amsterdam.
Around Central Station and Dam Square
Café Karpershoek (1606)
Opposite Central Station, on the corner of Prins Hendrikkade, Café Karpershoek (Martelaarsgracht 2) presents itself as the oldest bar in Amsterdam: it claims the year 1606, when the house took in sailors of the Dutch East India Company. It is a "talking café" without loud music, serving beer, bitterballen, apple pie and poffertjes. The terrace looks out on the constant flow of bikes and trams. Open daily from 10am to midnight.
In 't Aepjen (16th century)
At the top of the Zeedijk, In 't Aepjen (Zeedijk 1) occupies a house with a 16th-century wooden facade, one of the last two wooden houses in the centre. According to tradition, sailors sometimes paid their bill here with a monkey brought back from overseas, hence the name ("at the little monkey"). The room is crammed with old bottles, prints and paintings. The café opens daily from noon. The Zeedijk then runs along the edge of the Red Light District down to the Nieuwmarkt.
Wynand Fockink (1679)
In the Pijlsteeg, an alley just behind Dam Square, Wynand Fockink (Pijlsteeg 31) is not strictly a brown café but a proeflokaal, a distillery tasting room. The distillery dates from 1679; Wynand Fockink took it over in 1724. You drink standing at a bar lined with antique bottles, choosing from genevers and liqueurs with old-fashioned names such as Volmaakt Geluk ("perfect happiness") or Bruidstranen ("bride's tears"). Tradition has it that you take the first sip bending over the glass as it stands on the bar. Open daily from 3pm to 9pm; the shop next door sells the bottles.
In de Wildeman
A few minutes from the station, In de Wildeman (Kolksteeg 3) is a beer bar set in a former distillery, with dark wooden decor. It serves 18 draught beers, constantly changing, and around 250 bottled beers. Open Monday to Thursday from noon to midnight, Friday and Saturday from noon to 1am; closed on Sundays.
Café 't Mandje (1927)
Further down the Zeedijk, Café 't Mandje (Zeedijk 63) was opened in 1927 by Bet van Beeren, a woman who lived openly as a lesbian; it is one of the oldest LGBTQIA+ bars in the city. Closed in 1982, it reopened in 2008, then again on 1 June 2025 after a renovation. Open Tuesday to Thursday from 4pm to 1am, Friday and Saturday from 3pm to 3am, Sunday from 3pm to 1am; closed on Mondays.
From the Spui to the Rembrandt House
Café Hoppe (1670)
On the Spui square, Café Hoppe (Spui 18-20) has been serving drinks since 1670. It combines two rooms: the older one, at number 18, is a protected monument; the second, at number 20, was added in the early 20th century. The D66 political party was founded here, and its terrace looks out onto the square. Open Sunday to Thursday from 9am to 1am, Friday and Saturday from 9am to 2am.
De Sluyswacht (1692)
On the corner of the Jodenbreestraat, right opposite the Rembrandt House, De Sluyswacht (Jodenbreestraat 1) occupies the former lock-keeper's house, built in 1692 according to the café (its facade bears the inscription "anno 1695") for the man who operated the neighbouring lock. The little house leans visibly, and its terrace, which wraps around it, looks out over the Oude Schans and the Montelbaanstoren tower. Open Monday to Wednesday from noon to midnight, Thursday from noon to 1am, Friday and Saturday from noon to 2am, Sunday from 1pm to 8pm.
Brown cafés in the Jordaan
The Jordaan, a former working-class district, is the brown café neighbourhood par excellence. Three addresses sum up its character.
Café 't Papeneiland (1642)
At the northern tip of the district, on the corner of the Prinsengracht and the Brouwersgracht, 't Papeneiland (Prinsengracht 2) occupies a house built in 1642. In the 17th century, a tunnel linked it to a clandestine Catholic church at number 7; its entrance is still in the cellar. The café, opened in 1896 under the name De Blauwe Druif, later took the name "papists' island". Inside: Delft tiles, an antique stove and homemade apple pie, which Bill Clinton came to taste during a visit to Amsterdam. Open daily from 11am to 1am, until 2am on Friday and Saturday.
Café 't Smalle (around 1780)
On the Egelantiersgracht, 't Smalle (Egelantiersgracht 12) goes back to Pieter Hoppe, a German who arrived around 1780, took over a wine business here and then opened a liqueur distillery. The room is tiny, and the waterside terrace is much sought after in good weather; the floating pontoon that extended it from 1987 was removed in May 2023. Open Monday to Wednesday from 2pm to midnight, Thursday from 2pm to 1am, Friday from 1pm to 1am, Saturday from noon to 1am and Sunday from noon to 11pm.
Café De Twee Zwaantjes (1921)
On the Prinsengracht, De Twee Zwaantjes (Prinsengracht 114) is the singing café: since 1921, regulars have been joining in with Dutch popular songs, the "levenslied". The interior has changed little since the early days, and the canalside terrace looks towards the tower of the Westerkerk. Open Monday to Thursday from noon to 1am, Friday and Saturday from noon to 3am, Sunday from noon to 1am.
Summary table
| Café | Address | Area | Since | Opening hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karpershoek | Martelaarsgracht 2 | Centre, station | 1606 (according to the café) | Daily 10am-midnight |
| In 't Aepjen | Zeedijk 1 | Centre, Zeedijk | 16th-century house | Daily from noon |
| Wynand Fockink | Pijlsteeg 31 | Centre, Dam | 1679 | Daily 3pm-9pm |
| In de Wildeman | Kolksteeg 3 | Centre, station | Former distillery | Mon-Thu noon-midnight, Fri-Sat noon-1am, closed Sun |
| 't Mandje | Zeedijk 63 | Centre, Zeedijk | 1927 | Tue-Thu 4pm-1am, Fri-Sat 3pm-3am, Sun 3pm-1am, closed Mon |
| Hoppe | Spui 18-20 | Centre, Spui | 1670 | Sun-Thu 9am-1am, Fri-Sat 9am-2am |
| De Sluyswacht | Jodenbreestraat 1 | Nieuwmarkt | 1692 | Mon-Wed noon-midnight, Thu noon-1am, Fri-Sat noon-2am, Sun 1pm-8pm |
| 't Papeneiland | Prinsengracht 2 | Jordaan | House from 1642 | Daily 11am-1am, Fri-Sat 11am-2am |
| 't Smalle | Egelantiersgracht 12 | Jordaan | Around 1780 | Mon-Wed 2pm-midnight, Thu 2pm-1am, Fri 1pm-1am, Sat noon-1am, Sun noon-11pm |
| De Twee Zwaantjes | Prinsengracht 114 | Jordaan | 1921 | Mon-Thu noon-1am, Fri-Sat noon-3am, Sun noon-1am |
Opening hours and prices checked in October 2026; hours may change on public holidays.
Practical tips
- When to go: on weekday afternoons the rooms are quieter; on Friday and Saturday evenings, the best-known ones fill up quickly.
- In a group: the rooms are small; with more than four or five people, choose cafés with a large terrace (Hoppe, Karpershoek, De Sluyswacht) or come in the early afternoon.
- Eating: a brown café is fine for a snack, rarely for dinner; for a proper meal, see our guide where to eat in Amsterdam.
- Age: alcohol is only served to people aged 18 and over; keep an ID with you.
Going further
To string several brown cafés together, the most pleasant walk links the Brouwersgracht to the Egelantiersgracht: follow the route in our guide to the Jordaan district. Bitterballen, ossenworst and jenever are covered in our guide what to eat in Amsterdam, and the rest of the night, from clubs to night buses, in our guide Amsterdam at night.
