Best cocktail bars in Amsterdam 2026: 11 bars worth a seat

The best cocktail bars in Amsterdam in 2026, by AMUSE's count, are these eleven, from a hotel bar by the Oosterpark to a cellar in De Pijp. If you only have one evening, book Fitz's, which Gault&Millau named Cocktail Bar of the Year in February.

Amsterdam had a busy bar year. On 30 June the city hosted the reveal of the first Europe's 50 Best Bars list, with Super Lyan as the only Dutch entry at No. 42. Early in 2026 Eric van Beek, co-owner of Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City, opened his own place on the Stadhouderskade. And prices moved up: at the best cocktail bars in Amsterdam, expect € 12 to € 25 a glass.

If you want to see where Amsterdam stands against the global top, read the full World's 50 Best Bars 2026 list. Below are the bars you can walk into this November, or where you can book a seat.

In Amsterdam the best cocktail is often poured behind a door with no name on it.

Fitz's, Oost

The bar at Pillows Maurits at the Park, at Mauritskade 61 on the edge of the Oosterpark, opened in 2022. Bar manager Nick Vrielink has won the NBC Cocktail Competition three times and now pours Menu Edition No. 4. In February 2026 Gault&Millau named Fitz's Cocktail Bar of the Year.

Try the Martinez made with Dutch jenever instead of gin (€ 20) or the Negroni Sospeso with black rum (€ 19). Open 5pm to midnight, until 2am on Friday and Saturday. Bookings are taken every evening for up to eight people.

Super Lyan, Centrum

The Amsterdam branch of Ryan Chetiyawardana's Lyan family has occupied a 17th-century house at the Kimpton De Witt, Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 3, since 2019. It looks like a 1950s neon diner. The current menu, Boroughs of Amsterdam, gives each of the city's eight boroughs its own glass.

Super Lyan entered Europe's 50 Best Bars 2026 at No. 42. A cocktail costs € 12 according to Schlouk Map; the 50 Best Discovery guide gives an average of 15 dollars. Open Wednesday to Sunday, in the evening.

Door 74, Canal Belt

The speakeasy behind an unmarked door at Reguliersdwarsstraat 74 has been pouring since 2008 and has appeared on the World's 50 Best Bars more than once. Inside: art deco, dark wood and carefully balanced classics. You ring the bell and wait for a seat.

Time Out puts cocktails at € 16 to € 25. Open Sunday to Thursday 6pm to 3am, Friday and Saturday until 4am. Seats can be booked at finddoor74.com; entry is 21 and over.

Shakerato, Leidseplein

The newest name on this list. Eric van Beek, whose Handshake Speakeasy in Mexico City was named the world's best bar in 2024, opened a bar in a corner building at Stadhouderskade 7 early in 2026. Early evening is about Italian aperitivo; later the menu gets more inventive.

Start with a mini cocktail or the House Shakerato: a shaken Italian bitter with yuzu sake. Current prices are not published online. Book through OpenTable; the bar opens at 6pm, check the opening days on Instagram.

Pulitzer's Bar, Canal Belt

The bar of the Pulitzer hotel at Keizersgracht 234 is a seated venue with few places: table service, groups of up to four. The menu runs on house versions of classics, from the Velvet Note Sour to the Base Line Martini.

Cocktails cost € 19 to € 21. Open Monday to Thursday 5pm to 1am, Friday and Saturday 3pm to 2am, Sunday 3pm to 1am. Walk-ins are welcome, but booking through SevenRooms is wise.

Flying Dutchmen Cocktails, Canal Belt

At Singel 460 stands a back bar with more than eight hundred bottles. The menu leans on that huge stock, and the door stays open until 4am every day.

Time Out puts cocktails at € 15 to € 25. Eric van Beek himself names it as his regular late-night stop from his late twenties.

Hiding in Plain Sight, Jodenbuurt

On the corner at Rapenburg 18, close to the Nieuwmarkt, HPS barely announces itself: little signage, dark and intimate inside. Classics get a twist, such as the Bee's Knees with truffle honey and black walnut bitters.

Time Out puts cocktails at € 16 to € 25 and advises booking if you want a lounge seat. Open daily from 6pm, until late at weekends.

Taxman Cocktail Room, Centrum

In a narrow alley just off the Damrak, at Oudebrugsteeg 7, Taxman occupies the old excise house where coffee, tea and sugar were once taxed. No branded bottles are on show; the menu leans on classics with a modern touch and plenty of whisky.

No booking needed: you just walk in. Prices are not published online. The bar closes at 1am, so do not arrive too late.

Bar Oldenhof, Jordaan

At Elandsgracht 84 you ring the bell; inside, the vintage decor feels like a private members' club, with room for forty guests at most. The cocktail menu has a film theme and changes each season, alongside a fixed set of Oldenhof Specials and classics such as the Old Fashioned.

Open Sunday to Thursday 6pm to 1am, Friday and Saturday until 2am. Only groups of more than eight can book; everyone else walks in. Prices are not published online.

Sins of Sal, Jordaan

Red neon, Latin American flavours and margaritas on tap: the Uzcudun brothers opened Sins of Sal at Westerstraat 86 as a second venue next to their restaurant Salmuera, at the address where their father once ran Paso Doble. The Full Moon Martini changes with the lunar cycle.

The cocktails come with braised beef cheek tacos and natural wine. According to 50 Best Discovery a cocktail averages 18 dollars. Open Monday to Saturday. If you want a drink after dinner from our Jordaan neighbourhood guide, this is the place.

Bar Mokum, De Pijp

Below MOAK Pancakes at Ferdinand Bolstraat 11, a cellar bar has been open since December 2019 where almost everything is Dutch: jenever, gin and liqueurs from Amsterdam distilleries, with cocktail names in Amsterdam street slang.

A signature cocktail costs € 12.50 according to Schlouk Map. Open from 5pm, until 2am on Friday and Saturday. You can book up to ninety days ahead; a few tables stay free for people at the door.

Best cocktail bars in Amsterdam: questions

How much does a cocktail cost in Amsterdam? At the best cocktail bars in Amsterdam you usually pay € 12 to € 25. Bar Mokum and Super Lyan sit at the lower end, the hotel bars Pulitzer's and Fitz's at the top.

Do you need to book? Booking is wise at Fitz's, Pulitzer's, Shakerato and Bar Mokum. Taxman and Bar Oldenhof are walk-in only for small groups. At Door 74 you book a seat through the website.

Which Amsterdam cocktail bar is on an international list? Super Lyan is No. 42 on Europe's 50 Best Bars 2026. Door 74 has appeared on the World's 50 Best Bars several times in the past.

Where can you still get a cocktail late at night? Door 74 and Flying Dutchmen stay open until 4am, Door 74 only on Friday and Saturday.

How we chose

For the best cocktail bars in Amsterdam we looked at what is in the glass: bars with a menu of their own and a steady place in recent awards, lists and guides, from Gault&Millau and Europe's 50 Best Bars to Time Out Amsterdam (June 2026) and Your Little Black Book (July 2026). We spread the list across the city, from Oost and the Jordaan to De Pijp. We left out Vesper on Vinkenstraat because it is being converted into the gastrobar Santo.

Addresses, opening hours and prices were checked on 13 November 2026 against the bars' own websites and menus and the guides named above. If you want coffee the morning after, read the best coffee bars in Amsterdam.