Café Gambrinus holds a corner of Ferdinand Bolstraat in De Pijp, named for the folk patron of beer and built for exactly that. It is the neighbourhood brown café that keeps its terrace full from the first warm afternoon of the year.
The café sits at Ferdinand Bolstraat 180 in the Nieuwe Pijp, a short walk south of the Albert Cuyp Market and Sarphatipark. De Pijp grew into one of the best drinking quarters in Amsterdam, and Gambrinus has anchored its corner for decades while newer spots came and went. The De Pijp metro stop is two minutes away, which makes it an easy first or last stop on a bar crawl through the district.
This is the bar for a drinker who wants a proper Dutch café rather than a concept. The dark wood, the long bar and the wraparound terrace read as classic brown café, and the kitchen runs longer hours than most, so a late plate is always possible. Skip it if you want cocktails, because the heart of the list is beer.
The room is warm and worn in the right way, with regulars at the bar and a terrace that catches the afternoon sun on the wide Ferdinand Bolstraat pavement. Yelp and Tripadvisor reviewers keep returning to the same note, friendly and attentive staff, and the café earns its reputation as a place that remembers faces.
Order from the taps first. Gambrinus pours a broad Dutch and Belgian beer selection alongside the standard pilsners, and the kitchen turns out hearty plates built to sit beside a glass, from bittergarnituur to a full dinner. Pair a draught with the bar snacks for an early-evening stop, or settle in for a meal if the terrace seat is good. The café opens daily at 11am and runs to 1am, with the weekend window stretching to 3am, per the venue's listed hours.
The crowd is De Pijp itself: market traders winding down, locals meeting for a beer after work, and visitors who wandered south from the Albert Cuyp. It pulls a return-trade, neighbourhood crowd rather than a tourist rush, which keeps the room feeling lived-in even in high summer.
Who it is for: a relaxed afternoon beer in the sun, a late kitchen when other places have closed theirs, and anyone who wants a real brown café within reach of the market. Best time to go is a sunny weekday afternoon for the terrace, or a Friday evening when the De Pijp wind-down crowd fills the bar.
A practical note: the terrace is the prize on a warm day and the corner tables go first, so arrive before the after-work rush. For the wider field, our guide to the best craft beer bars in Amsterdam sets this café against the city's dedicated tap houses, and the Amsterdam bar guide maps where to drink across the neighbourhoods. De Pijp planners should read our pillar on the best bars in De Pijp, and beer drinkers can compare the tap wall at Arendsnest in Amsterdam.
Sources: Café Gambrinus Facebook page (2026); Yelp Café Gambrinus reviews; Tripadvisor Cafe Gambrinus reviews; RestaurantGuru Gambrinus Amsterdam listing.
