When summer hits in Amsterdam, the city really comes to life. There is nothing the locals like to do more than find a beautiful, canalside or waterfront terrace and have a drink, lunch or dinner while with a view on the water. Thanks to its northern location and extra-long summer days – the sun sets at 22:00 at the start of summer – soaking in the last of rays and watching the sunset with a beer while marvelling at Amsterdam’s 17th-century canal belt is one of the city’s favourite pastimes. Amsterdam’s cafe culture and incredible roster of bars make finding the perfect waterfront drinking spot incredibly easy, but some are much more impressive than others. Here are some of the best.
De Waterkant
Meaning ‘the Waterside’ in Dutch, De Waterkant sits along the wide broad Singelgracht Canal at the point that it meets the Lauriergracht. De Waterkant. The bar is actually built into the ground floor of a huge multi-storey car park, which provides shade for the enormous terrace and outdoor seating area. De Waterkant is the perfect place to come if you want to have a tropical vibe in the centre of Amsterdam: The bar is Surinamese themed and offers a range of the country’s specialities, such as Parbo beer, spit-roasted chicken, gadi gado and chicken roti rolls. Even on a sunny day when the terrace is completely full, you will find locals sitting on the edge of the canal ring, dangling their legs over the edge, cocktails in hand.
Where: Marnixstraat 246
Opening Times: Sun to Thurs 11am – 1am; Fri & Sat 11am – 3am
Noorderlicht
NDSM Wharf is a fairly odd place. Arriving by ferry from Amsterdam Centraal, the first thing that you will probably notice is an abandoned submarine bobbing just off the shore, a Botel (that’s right, it’s a boat hotel) and a bunch of graffiti-covered, once abandoned all trams that are now people’s homes. Dig a little deeper though and you will find some real gems in this once desolate, former industrial hub. Of all the areas in Amsterdam, this is possibly the most creative. You will find the city’s best street art dotted around the area (the world’s biggest street art gallery/museum is currently being built here) and inside one NDSM hangar, you’ll find Kunststad (Art City), with studios for 200 artists and designers. Festivals are regularly held in the huge outdoor spaces and many of the bars.
One of Amsterdam’s more unusual cafes, even by NDSM standards, Noorderlicht (which translates into English as ‘the Northern Lights’) is essentially a huge greenhouse filled with colourful, mismatched thrift store furniture. They have a good selection of local beers and a range of vegan and vegetarian dishes, although the menu is pretty omnivorous. Upstairs you will find a cool hangout space with pool tables but the real attraction of Noorderlicht is its waterfront terrace. Noorderlicht also occasionally hosts live music on weekend evenings.
Where: NDSM-Plein 102
Opening Times: Sun to Fri 11am – 12am; Sat 11am – 4am
Hannekes Boom
Despite just being a short walk from Amsterdam Centraal Station, Hannekes Boom feels hidden away, like discovering a secret known only to locals rather than the hoards of tourists that fill the canal-side terraces of the city centre. This local hangout on the banks of the Oosterdok resembles a colourful, ramshackle beach hut from the outside. Built entirely from salvaged and recycled materials, its waterfront, the sand-covered deck is one of the city’s best beer gardens that regularly hosts barbecues and live music. If it wasn’t for the historic city surrounding you and the hulking oxidised copper hull of the NEMO science museum standing opposite, you could be forgiven for thinking that you are at a beach-side cafe rather than one of Europe’s busiest tourist hubs.
Where: Dijksgracht 4
Opening Times: Sun to Thurs 11am to 1am; Fri & Sat 11am – 3am
Roest
This hugely popular bar hidden away in Amsterdam-Oost is blessed with a huge canal-side terrace, complete with an urban beach. Like Hannekes Boom and Café de Ceuvel, everything at Roest looks like it was acquired from a thrift store or salvaged from a junkyard before being cobbled together by the bar’s owners, giving the whole bar an eclectic, DIY vibe that matches perfectly with its surroundings, filled with derelict warehouses and industrial units.
Where: Jacob Bontiusplaats 1
Opening Times: Tues to Thurs 5pm -11pm; Fri 5pm – 1am; Sat 12pm – 1am; Sun 12pm – 11pm
Tolhuistuin
Originally housing the Shell worker’s canteen between 1941 and 2011 when the company occupied the entire Overhoeks area, the Tolhuistuin is now a restaurant, bar and event space. There are gigs and concerts taking place most evenings and the upstairs is home to a huge cafe. With a huge beer garden out front, a secret garden which often hosts live events behind and a balcony that is perfect for sunset cocktails while looking over the IJ towards central Amsterdam, there aren’t many spots in the city better for enjoying an evening drink. Plus, it’s easy to reach: The free ‘Buiksloterweg’ ferry from behind Central Station will drop you off outside the door in just three minutes.
Where: IJpromenade 2, Amsterdam Noord
Opening Times: Daily 10am – 10pm
Pllek
Sitting right on the banks of the River IJ in NDSM, it’s possible that Pllek is one of the best-located drinking spots in Amsterdam. It may just look like a stack of shipping containers piled haphazardly on the edge of the shipyard. That’s because this is essentially what Pllek is. However, step inside and you’ll find an airy, industrial-chic interior with furniture made from salvaged shipping and maritime junk. Step out through its glass facade and you’ll find yourself on a man-made beach, complete with sun loungers and picnic benches, giving you the impression that you’re on the Costa Del Amsterdam. As well as serving food from morning until late, Pllek regularly hosts events on its outdoor terrace such as gigs, DJs and film nights. Even if you don’t plan on seeing much else in Amsterdam Noord, it is worth coming here to hang out on a sunny day, although the beach can get pretty full once summer hits.
Where: T.T. Neveritaweg 59
Opening Times: Sun to Thurs 9.30am – 1am; Fri & Sat 9.30am – 3am
Café de Ceuvel
This Bohemian, eco-conscious, waterfront cafe is built on the site of a former shipyard from salvaged material, such as 80-year-old bollards from the port of Amsterdam and a lifeguard pavilion from Scheeveningen. The larger De Ceuval organisation that oversees the area aims to revamp the contaminated land to create green working spaces for the neighbourhood’s creative businesses.
The green, sustainable kitchen of Café de Ceuvel serves local beers and delicious vegetarian food where many of the ingredients on the menu are grown in the on-site aquaponics greenhouse. Other examples of their dedication to clean technology are their use of solar power, heat exchangers, and reuse of its kitchen and toilet waste through treatment, composting and filtration. They hope to inspire everyone around them to go green. As well as providing delicious food, de Ceuvel also has an extensive programme of events such as recycling workshops, litter picking, pop-up shops, film screenings and parties, making it the perfect hangout in Amsterdam Noord.
Where: Korte Papaverweg 4
Opening Times: Tues to Thurs 11am – 12am; Fri & Sat 11am – 2am; Sun 11am – 12am
