Brown Cafes

Where to drink beer in Amsterdam

When the Dutch want to go to the proverbial place where everybody knows their name, they head to the neighborhood brown cafe.

There's no better place to sample Dutch beer, where glasses drawn extra frothy from the tap are beheaded by a knife-wielding bartender.

The city has hundreds of these cafes, but a few of the best include:

• Café Chris, said to be the oldest bar in Amsterdam, built in 1642 with opera music Sunday nights (Bloemstraat 42; tel. +31-(0)20-624-5942; www.cafechris.nl)
• Café Gollem, with more than 200 beers on offer and live jazz some nights (Raamsteeg 4; www.cafegollem.nl)
• Café Hoppe, an always-crowded classic from 1670 (Spuistraat 18–20; tel. +31-(0)20-420-4420; cafehoppe.com)
• Café Reijnders, with great people-watching on the Leidseplein since 1880 (Leidseplein 6; tel. +31-(0)20-623-4419; www.cafereynders.nl)
• De Vergulde Gaper, another good people-watching place with coveted terrace tables overlooking the Prinsengracht canal and an atmospheric interior (Prinsengracht 28–30; tel. +31-(0)20-624-8975; www.goodfoodgroup.nl/gaper.html).