Not much has changed since 1624 at the oldest bar in town, where builders from the Westerkerk would come to receive their pay after a hard day's graft. Now local workers still...

If you want to exercise your brain as well as your elbow, head for this chess, bridge and darts café. Willing playmates are always to hand and there are regular contests and...

Old and new Jordaan meet in this split-level bar in a gorgeous 17th-century building on a quiet residential corner. Brown café credentials are pumped up with art exhibitions...

The polar opposite - geographically and figuratively - of Finch and Proust, this gabled building has been a café for as long as the church it looks onto has been standing.

A wonderful spot for a drink and a chinwag in a beautiful Delft-tiled bar. A definite talking-point is the café's fascinating history: apparently, there's a tunnel that runs...

Still trendy after all these years, and great for a market pit-stop or bar crawl kick-start. Inside is sleek and pared down in style - like the punters. If full, try Finch next...

Never in fashion, so never out of it, this hardy perennial of the lesbian scene is particularly popular at weekends. The women it attracts tend to be slightly older, but young...

A chilled bar for creatives who like their music cool and their design street. The friendly neighbourhood café feeling is enhanced by econo daily dinner specials. Later on, the...

A minute's walk away from Saarein this neat lesbian bar opened its doors in 2005. Small and loungey, it attracts a slightly younger, cooler crowd than its big sister along the...

Oom-pah-pah, oom-pah-pah: that's how it goes at this salt-of-the-earth bar. It's relatively quiet during the week, but weekends are real swinging singalong affairs, with...