5 speakeasies in Amsterdam, editor-picked by TableJourney. All Amsterdam nightlife.
Tales and Spirits ★ 4.6
centrum · Lijnbaanssteeg 5-7, 1012 TE Amsterdam
Tales and Spirits has run a cocktail bar and restaurant down a quiet alley off Nieuwendijk since 2011, with an extensive playful list served in vintage and custom glassware alongside seasonal small plates from the open kitchen.
Tip: Walk-ins only, no reservations; arrive close to 17:30 opening to beat the queue. Ground-floor bar is first-come, restaurant tables held for late seating.
Door 74 ★ 4.7
centrum · Reguliersdwarsstraat 74, 1017 BN Amsterdam
Door 74 opened in November 2008 as Western Europe's first speakeasy bar in a former garage workshop off Reguliersdwarsstraat, with an unmarked black double door, classic pre-Prohibition list and a candlelit, low-seated room.
Tip: Reservation by SMS to the bar's number, then ring the bell at the unmarked door beside the Shiva Indian restaurant. Two seatings nightly from 19:00.
Hiding in Plain Sight ★ 4.5
centrum · Rapenburg 18, 1011 TX Amsterdam
HPS, short for Hiding in Plain Sight, runs a cocktail room on Rapenburg near Nieuwmarkt with a tightly written menu that swings between pre-Prohibition classics, tiki and bartender originals, served by an internationally trained team.
Tip: Reservations recommended on weekends; the room seats roughly 35 and fills early. Nieuwmarkt metro five minutes away.
Pulitzer's Bar ★ 4.5
grachtengordel · Keizersgracht 234, 1016 DT Amsterdam
Pulitzer's Bar sits inside the canal-fronted Pulitzer Amsterdam hotel on the corner of Keizersgracht and Reestraat, running a botanical-led cocktail menu in a classic dark-wood, leather-banquette setting with a small canal terrace.
Tip: Entrance through the hotel lobby on Prinsengracht 323, the bar itself opens onto Keizersgracht. Canal-side outside seats are first-come on warm nights.
LAB111 ★ 4.2
oud-west · Arie Biemondstraat 111, 1054 PD Amsterdam
LAB111 occupies a former pathological anatomy lab in Oud-West and runs as an independent cult cinema with the Bar Strangelove cocktail room and a small restaurant attached, drawing cinephiles and after-work drinkers alike.
Tip: Tram 7 to Ten Katestraat then five minutes south; bar opens before the first screening and stays open after the last reel. Cash card preferred.