12 bars worth the trip across Netherlands, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All Netherlands guides.

Tales and Spirits ★ 4.6 · Amsterdam

Lijnbaanssteeg 5-7, 1012 TE Amsterdam

Tales and Spirits on Lijnbaanssteeg is the Amsterdam cocktail boudoir of the old guard, antique cabinets, chandeliers, drinks served in vintage glassware.

Door 74 ★ 4.6 · Amsterdam

Reguliersdwarsstraat 74, 1017 BN Amsterdam

Door 74 on Reguliersdwarsstraat is the Amsterdam speakeasy that opened the city's cocktail wave, by reservation only, behind an unmarked door, art-deco-trimmed.

Hiding in Plain Sight ★ 4.5 · Amsterdam

Rapenburg 18, 1011 TX Amsterdam

Hiding in Plain Sight on Rapenburg is the Amsterdam American-style cocktail bar, big-windowed despite the speakeasy framing, sharp menu, unfussy room.

Café Hoppe ★ 4.5 · Amsterdam

Spui 18-20, 1012 XA Amsterdam

Café Hoppe on Spui has poured Amsterdam jenever and beer since 1670, the brown cafe with the dark-wood interior and the stand-at-the-bar after-work crowd.

Café 't Smalle ★ 4.5 · Amsterdam

Egelantiersgracht 12, 1015 RL Amsterdam

Café 't Smalle on Egelantiersgracht in the Jordaan is the Amsterdam canal-side brown cafe with the postcard terrace, the building going back to a 1780 distillery.

Café Papeneiland ★ 4.5 · Amsterdam

Prinsengracht 2, 1015 DV Amsterdam

Café Papeneiland on the corner of Prinsengracht and Brouwersgracht is the Amsterdam brown cafe from 1642, the apple pie inside almost as canonical as Winkel 43.

Twenty Third Bar ★ 4.5 · Amsterdam

Ferdinand Bolstraat 333, 1072 LH Amsterdam

Twenty Third Bar at Hotel Okura sits next to Ciel Bleu on the top floor, the Amsterdam cocktail bar with the city's most generous view across the city.

Wynand Fockink ★ 4.5 · Amsterdam

Pijlsteeg 31, 1012 HH Amsterdam

Wynand Fockink on Pijlsteeg has poured Amsterdam jenever since 1679, the proeflokaal where you bend over the tulip glass without lifting it from the bar.

Rosalia's Menagerie ★ 4.4 · Amsterdam

Stadhouderskade 6, 1054 ES Amsterdam

Rosalia's Menagerie at Conservatorium Hotel is the Amsterdam high-end cocktail bar pulled from old Havana, aged-rum lineup and a tropical-leaning seasonal menu.

In 't Aepjen ★ 4.3 · Amsterdam

Zeedijk 1, 1012 AN Amsterdam

In 't Aepjen on Zeedijk occupies an Amsterdam building dating to 1475, one of two surviving wooden facades, the brown cafe with the longest backstory.

Café de Reiger ★ 4.3 · Amsterdam

Nieuwe Leliestraat 34, 1015 ST Amsterdam

Café de Reiger on Nieuwe Leliestraat in the Jordaan is the Amsterdam eetcafe with the back-room kitchen, brown-cafe service out front, no-frills dinners to follow.

Café Chris ★ 4.3 · Amsterdam

Bloemstraat 42, 1016 LB Amsterdam

Café Chris on Bloemstraat in the Jordaan has poured Amsterdam beer since 1624, claimant to the city's oldest brown cafe title, the room small enough to know.