“A modern brown cafe where locals end their nights. Tuesday pub quiz, heated terrace, and the kind of place where the bartender remembers your order. Bram's team has never won that quiz.”
Cafe Kuijper is where the Linnaeusstraat pub crawl ends, and there is a reason for that. It is the kind of bar that feels like the natural conclusion to an evening — warm, comfortable, with a heated terrace that lets you stay outside even when the temperature drops, and a vibe that says "one more round" without any pressure.
My friend Bram calls Kuijper "the living room of Oost." He means it literally. On any given evening you will find people who clearly came here straight from work, people who have been here since the afternoon, and people who just wandered in because the terrace looked inviting. The regulars nod at each other. The bartenders know orders by heart. It has that brown cafe DNA — the Dutch tradition of a cozy neighborhood bar — but with a slightly more modern touch.
The interior is clean and warm. Not overly designed, not trying to be trendy, just a well-run bar that knows what it is. Good beer selection, decent wine, and a cocktail menu that Bram has been slowly working through. The food menu is pub food elevated just enough to be genuinely good. Bram is partial to the tosti (Dutch grilled cheese), which he orders with such regularity that I think they start making it when they see him walk in.
Tuesday nights are the highlight: pub quiz night. Bram has been competing with his team for months. They have assembled what they consider a dream team of trivia knowledge. They have never won. Not once. Bram blames the sports questions. His teammate Lars blames Bram's music knowledge. They keep coming back every Tuesday with renewed optimism. It is, honestly, inspiring in its futility. If you happen to be in Amsterdam on a Tuesday, join in — the quiz is fun, the competition is fierce, and even losing is a good time.
The heated terrace is the other big draw. Amsterdam bar terraces usually shut down when the temperature drops, but Kuijper keeps theirs going with heaters and blankets. It means you can sit outside well into the evening, watching Linnaeusstraat go by with a beer in hand. On summer nights it is the best seat in Oost. On winter nights it is the coziest.
Kuijper is the bar I recommend when someone asks me "where do locals actually go?" It is not the most exciting bar, not the trendiest, not the one with the wildest cocktail menu. It is the bar where a neighborhood comes together, and that is worth more than any concept or theme. Go on a Tuesday for the quiz. Go on a Thursday or Friday for the atmosphere. Go on a Saturday if you want to see Oost at its most social. You will find Bram at the bar. Tell him his team will win next week.
You might also like
Bar Oldenhof
My neighbor took me here on my birthday and I genuinely did not want to leave. It feels like drinking cocktails in a 19th-century living room.
Local FavoriteBrouwerij 't IJ
A brewery in a windmill. Yes, really. My friend Sara brings every single visitor here and it never disappoints. Try the IJwit and sit outside if the weather is decent.
Local FavoriteParadiso
A concert venue in a former church. My roommate saw her favorite band here and said the acoustics gave her goosebumps. Check what is on — the lineup is always solid.