Raising the Bar #1: Brown Cafés & Jenevier Houses - A Walk Through Old Amsterdam

Amsterdam is often described through its modernity, its crowds, and its constant reinvention. But beneath the surface, an older city quietly survives — one made of dark wood, narrow spaces, worn counters, and stories absorbed by the walls.

Raising the Bar is a new, irregularly scheduled series dedicated to discovering the bar culture of a city through a clear historical or cultural thread. This first edition takes place in Amsterdam and focuses not on “the best beers” or the trendiest places, but on two drinking institutions that are deeply rooted in Dutch tradition: brown cafés and jenever proeflokalen.

These places are not museums — they are living spaces. Taverns shaped by climate, trade, and working-class life, where wood, brass, glass, and time define the atmosphere. Places where drinking has always been less about fashion and more about ritual, habit, and community.

During this walk, we will visit 8 traditional bars, moving through an Amsterdam that feels surprisingly distant from the contemporary city surrounding it. Some venues are well-known, others slightly less so, but all are chosen for a reason: together they form a journey through the core drinking culture of the Low Countries.

### What to expect

• A guided walk focused on history, atmosphere, and cultural context
• A deep dive into brown cafés and jenever tasting houses
• Stories about Amsterdam’s urban fabric, climate, and pub culture
• One drink per bar (consumptions paid individually)

### Practical information

• Meeting point: 11:45 in front of the Amsterdam Tulips Museum (a few steps from the first bar)
• Maximum participants: 12 (due to the very small size of many venues)
• RSVP & deposit:
  After RSVPing, you will receive (manually, so please allow some time) a payment link for a €10 deposit.
  This amount will be fully refunded in cash on the day of the event upon arrival.
  The deposit is required only to secure your spot.

Please note: we will visit 8 bars, so plan your budget accordingly — prices are reasonable by Dutch standards, but each stop involves at least one drink.

This is not a pub crawl in the conventional sense, but a slow exploration of drinking as cultural heritage, where places matter as much as what is served.

Welcome to old Amsterdam 🍺