Bars for men

Amstel Fifty Four

Amstel 54 from 16.00 hours

This is one of the old and trusted establishments in the Amsterdam gay scene: open to public since 1964. It has been restyled in the summer of 2007, to make it more open and light than it used to be. The public is a mix of Dutch gay men (on average somewhat older public), who like to sing a long Dutch popular music. Maybe a little bit noisy, but good fun.

Cafe De Barderij

Zeedijk 14 from 16.00 hours

Brown cafe with mixed clientele, rather middle aged and Amsterdam originals. Loud sing-along-music with Dutch and gay classics. Unique selling point is the little niche - the "tickle room" - in the back, with view on several canals and a sluice. Modest prices.

Cafe Reibach

Brouwersgracht 139

Cafe Rouge

Amstel 60 from 17.00 hours

Spotless interior, dominated by red wallpaper, autographed tidbits and an unnatural big bouquet of roses. We were not impressed by the atmosphere, despite the valiant attempts of the dj to make it a party. Good place if you are with a group of friends and wanna make a fun night by yourself.

Camp Café

Kerkstraat 45 from 15.00 hours

A bar or a restaurant? Difficult to classify. Anyway, a bar where you easily can start your evening out. On late summer afternoons you can start with a drink on the terrace, continue with a dinner (reasonbly cheap, decent quality) and have some after dinner drinks before you go off to other places. Crowd mainly tourists.

Club Stereo

Jonge Roelensteeg 4 From 15.00 hours

Is it a bar or a (mini)club? In any case, there is a small dance floor, there are performances and DJ’s. The crowd is mixed, but mainly gay men.

Cosmo Bar

Kerkstraat 42 from 24.00 hours

Downtown

Reguliersdwarstraat 31 from 10.00 till 20.00 hours

This is your ordinary gay coffeeshop (no pot here!). The coffee is okay and so are the drinkers. The apple pie doesn't meet Grandma's standard and isn't the main point of interest. Maybe you want to focus on the magazines, maybe on the other guests. A nice place to see and be seen.

De Engel van Amsterdam

Zeedijk 21 From 13.00 hours

Small café with small terrace along the Oudezijds Kolk. Nice easy atmosphere with mixed crowd. We like this one!

Entre Nous

Halvemaansteeg 14 from 20.00 hours

Don't come too early, but wait for the crowd late at night. Mostly Dutch sing-a-long music, but don't let that frighten you off. It really is very easy going.

EVE - recentely opened

Reguliersdwarsstraat 44 from 10.00 hours

Formerly known as ARC. Review will follow soon.

Exit Cafe - closed because of a dispute followed by bankruptcy

Reguliersdwarstraat from 23.00 hours (happy hour between 01.00-02.00 hours)

Popular hang out for the 20's and 30's crowd, who like to meet up and enjoy a fun night while listening to music from the eighties to the present. Before 1 o'clock rather quiet, during happy hour the party starts. The bar tenders are exciting, especially when they show their six packs!

Getto

Warmoesstraat 51 from 16.00 hours (Mo closed)

Bar with dj, food, special nights (women, bingo, tarotcards reading). It's trendy and hip for a very mixed crowd.

Habibi Ana

Lange Leidesedwarsstraat 4-6

The first Arabian gay bar in town! Small, but still light and airy interior, with Maroccan details. Not a typical set up for a gay bar: garden benches and small rattan stools, give it almost a lounge feel. On friday and saturday from 22.00 hours and on sunday from 18.00 hours a dj will play popular Arabian dance music. Mixed Arabian and Dutch crowd. A mediterranean pearl in the Amsterdam gay scene.

Havana

Reguliersbreestraat 17-19

It's an on-off story with this bar. Earlier this year it re-opened and we visited it once or twice. The bar looked somewhat cheaply redecorated (the cheaper DYI paint and so on) and the place was lacking a vibe. A few months later it closed down "temporarily" to re-assess it's strategies and look for additional financial backing. So closed for the moment.

Het Wapen van London

Amstel 14 from 16.00 hours (Mo closed)

Friendly staff and friendly prices. Slightly confusing place: the name might suggest a British pub, but it's more a hangout for the Czech colony in Amsterdam.

Hot Spot

Amstel 102 from 20.00 hours

This must be a nice bar, provided you're 18 or so, not really out and you want to go for a drink with your schoolmates. The staff is definitely gay, that's nice, most of the visitors are gay, that's nice too, the music is loud and campy, we like that, but still we can't tell you what's hot in this bar..

Krokodil

Now known as Mon Ami (see futher down).

Lellebel

Utrechtsestraat 4 from 20.00 hours

Small cozy bar with stage annex dance floor, drag queen contests, karaoke, jazz nights and wonderfull authentic art deco lights. Before entering check the Barbi & Ken collection in the window.

‘t Leeuwtje

Reguliersdwarsstraat 105 From 15.00 hours

New arrival

Ludwig II - recently opened

Reguliersdwarsstraat 37 from 14.00 hours

For many years this was the home of the famous April bar. New management (from the locally famous Jimmy Woo club), new staff and a dramatic overhaul have resulted in a new bar: Ludwig II. The interior is great, it resonates today’s design and is very welcoming. Ludwig II offers an outside area, a bar to have a drink and an area with a dj. Music could be a bit loud for a chat. Ludwig II is not as sensational as Neuschwanstein and the bar probably not as legendary as the Bavarian king, but that shouldn’t spoil your night out.

‘t Mandje

Zeedijk 63 From 17 (during the week) or 14.00 (weekend) hours

Reopened after 25 years this oldest gay/lesbian bar tries to revive the times of its legendary first owner, Bet van Beren. If this will work or not, it is worth visiting as it has been restored to its original interior. 

Mankind

Weteringstraat 60 from 11.00 hours

Mix Café

Amstel 50 from 20.00 hours

Small, sparsely decorated bar (with a distinctive highschool party feel). This is the bar where you can take your straight friends to for a fun night out. Predominantly gay public mixes with the open minded straight people. Loud and energetic music, drinks that make you drunk quickly and energetic, professional people behind the bar will make your night here uncomplicated fun.

Mon Ami

Amstelstraat 34 from 16.00 hours

Formerly known as the Krokodil, this bar know attracts a slightly younger audience and is not the hang out of grey gays any more. In the same unashamedly old fashioned, kitsch interior gay men of Amsterdam gather in a friendly atmosphere. On Sunday afternoons this bar is at its best

Montmartre

Halvemaansteeg 17 from 16.00 hours

Younger version of the Amstel. Styled as a mock French café, this pub is extremely busy on Friday and Saturday nights. The crowd around you will join the mix of Europop/-vision music and try to shout some words to each other. Repeatedly voted the best gay bar in Amsterdam.

Music Box

Paardenstraat 9 from 20.00 hours

The Paardenstraat is the old rent-a-boy street of Amsterdam. In the past closet gay men and employees from surrounding offices would come down to see if they could fullfill their dream in exchange for a 'little' money. The heydays of this business have gone, but the remnants are still there. The street, close to a square where young straight people celebrate their weekend, still has a seedy feel. The Music Box is one of the last surviving bars there. This is the more descreet of those bars.

Prik

Spuistraat 109 From 16.00 hours

Relaxed mixed crowd, thirty-something, alternative crowd, women friendly although mainly gay men. They serve kinky cocktails and sexy snacks and have white and pink bubbles on draught. We really like this bar.

Queen's Head

Zeedijk 20 from 15.00 hours

The Queenshead is not your standard Gay Bar. It's located on the Zeedijk, not far from the famous bar Het Mandje, once owned by Bet van Beeren, on number 63. Don't forget to take a look there! The bar hase been closed since 1983 but nothing has changed. Enough history. The Queenshead is a luxeriously decorated bar with old fashioned seats in the back and a remarkeble view on one of Amsterdams canals. The public is mixed, but mainly gay man of all sorts. Don't forget to visit the toilet downstairs!

Reality

Reguliersdwarsstraat 129 from 20.00 hours

A bar with the explicit aim to integrate gay men from all the different ethnic groups who live in Amsterdam. The emphasis is more on men from the Caribbean Isles and Suriname. The atmosphere reflects this crowd and has a party/carnaval feel. 

Soho - closed because of bankruptcy

Reguliersdwarsstraat 36 from 20.00 hours

Interior like a grand English gentlemen's club. Popular hang out in the evening for the cruising young gay men. The choice of music is ecclectic, the service lousy and the enormous bar (three floors) is surprisinly smokey. In short: we don't like it. 

Vrankrijk

Spuistraat 216 every Monday from 22.00 hours on

Gay and Lesbian Night at the headquarters of the Amsterdam squaters scene.

Wapen van Amsterdam

Amstel 202 From 11.00 hours