My favourite moment of the day is somewhere around 6.30 pm, when work is finished, it’s not yet time for dinner, and the kitchen is filled with the familiar glug-glug-glug sound of a just-opened bottle of wine being poured. If I’m at home, it’ll perhaps be accompanied by some cheese and crackers or slices of chorizo; if I’m out, it might be bitterballen or jamón. Either way, this first-glass-of-wine-meets-early-evening-snacks moment has a name in our house: Hapje Hour – which, incidentally, will be the name of my wine bar if the Mr. Foodie and I ever open one. More and more Amsterdam wine bars are starting to offer shareable bites with a selection of wines by the glass, and the quality and inventiveness of the food is going up in parallel.
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10 of the Best Amsterdam Wine Bars
Bubbles & Wines
Nowadays, there are dozens of great wine bars in Amsterdam. But when I moved here in 2006, there was pretty much just one: Bubbles & Wines. I used to go there a lot, but hadn’t been back in years – until recently when I’d booked their “high wine” arrangement for a friend’s birthday. It involved eight half glasses of wine, in a diverse range of styles from an apple-fresh Cava to a luscious New Zealand Pinot Gris to a deep, complex, decade-old Rioja Reserva. Each round came with substantial snacks, and the server very kindly switched out the platter of cured ham for some veggie bites for my friend who doesn’t eat pork. And all of this for €45 per person. When you consider that Bubbles & Wines is a stone’s throw from Dam Square, that feels like very good value. Sometimes the oldies really are the goodies.
Rayleigh & Ramsay
Rayleigh & Ramsay offers a unique concept in Amsterdam as far as I know: instead of table service, they have around a dozen wine-dispensing machines throughout the bar. Each machine contains ten bottles of temperature-controlled, vacuum-sealed, perfectly preserved wine. As a customer, you simply pre-load a card with credit and wander around to take your pick of the dozens of wines available. And not only do they come by the glass – they come by the half glass and by the taster sample, too. In short, Rayleigh & Ramsay is a great way to try lots of different, and interesting, wines – especially if you’re with a few people who each fancy something different. On the food front, they offer various shareable, snackable plates – think charcuterie, pâté, cheeses and so on. Rayleigh & Ramsay currently has three locations in Amsterdam: in de Pijp, Oost and Westerpark.
Clos
On perhaps my favourite square in Oost, Beukenplein, you’ll find Clos – a convivial wine bar with a cosy interior and a covered, heated terrace outside (I believe they even provide blankets in winter). The wines by the glass are arranged to make it easy to select one you’re bound to like, and the staff are extremely helpful with recommendations – including off-menu suggestions. There are plenty of top-notch snacks to nibble while you tipple: think good-quality charcuterie and cheeses, lotus root tempura, Porchetta-style veal with fennel and tarragon – and some more substantial main dishes as well. I enjoyed the buttery Roussillon Chardonnay that we drank at Clos most recently, but the wines have been fantastic on every other occasion I’ve visited as well.
Paskamer
Paskamer is Dutch for changing room, but this cosy spot in de Pijp is in fact one of the best wine bars in the city. So who knows where the name comes from? Because they offer around 50 wines by the glass, you can pair a different one with each dish you order, or just plump for a bottle to split with your friends. The food is designed for sharing, and the knowledgeable waiting staff are happy to help you with wine pairings. Think smoky pulpo (octopus) with spicy mayo paired with a Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) from Pfalz, or umami-rich marinated salmon with an Alsace Pinot Blanc. But perhaps my favourite wine came from the Spanish specials: a Catalunyan blend of Syrah, Carignan, Mazuelo and Grenache that tasted like a Priorat but for a fraction of the price. With cheese? Yes, please.
Oocker
Oocker occupies a skinny space on Frederiksplein but makes it both elegant and cosy. The first time I visited was with a group of four, and we polished off several fantastic bottles, from a smooth Crémant de Jura to a fresh-yet-full bodied Dao white blend to a buttery Argentinian chardonnay. The staff were extremely knowledgeable, gave us great tips and were happy to have a chat about wine in general. During the daytime, there’s a limited snacks menu – of which we tried the caccio e pepe croquettes and the burrata bruschetta – both delicious. After 17:30, the menu expands into larger warm dishes, which you can share or not depending on how hungry you are. I loved the bone marrow and the slow-cooked neck of lamb. Oocker has a tiny terrace that acts as an afternoon sun trap, too.
Amelie
There are a couple of things that are special about Amelie. First, it’s in Amstelveen: just southwest of Amsterdam proper and – although easily accessible by public transport – not somewhere I venture unless I think it’s really worth it. Second, it’s a wine bar that pairs its wines with Chinese food from neighbouring restaurant Amber Garden. Let’s face it: most Asian restaurants in Amsterdam are offering a cheap Merlot or Savvy B, so being able to get a decent glass of wine with your dim sum is pretty unique.
I was blown away by the pairings, if I’m honest. Propizio’s Grechetto from Lazio offered all things lemony (lemon peel, lemongrass, lemon curd, lemon thyme) and was a perfect seasoning to har gaw dumplings. Grenache Blanc by Rall Wines in South Africa tasted like a classically bees waxy white Rioja, which was a good match for the umami richness of steak tartar with chilli-sweet soy bean paste. A fruity, unoaked Tempranillo (this time from actual Rioja) had the heft to stand up to cumin-spiced lamb ribs. And Garnacha Tinta from Montsant in Catalonia was the perfect partner for the sweet fattiness of Beijing roast duck (although I’d have happily slipped into a warm bath of Priorat afterwards). Worth the detour to Amstelveen? Absolutely.
Editor’s note: I was invited to eat at Amelie as a journalist, and I didn’t pay for my meal. Obviously I try to be as objective as possible, but I always disclose when I’ve had a freebie.
Shiraz Jardin des Vins
Perhaps because it’s so close to Amsterdam’s touristy Leidseplein, I had overlooked Shiraz Jardin des Vins until very recently. But that was a mistake on my part, as it’s a gem of a wine bar with comfy lounge chairs and a candlelit atmosphere. I tried two of their bubbles – a Crémant de Luxembourg and a Cava Brut – both of which were high in quality. I also very much enjoyed a portion of crunchy, savoury shrimp croquettes alongside a moreish orange wine from Valencia in southern Spain. Bring an old flame or a new love interest – Shiraz is full of romantic sparkle.
Bar Parry
In a gezellig (cosy) little café in the Jordaan, Bar Parry is the kind of place where you turn up for a drink after work and end up spending all evening. It offers a number of interesting wines by the glass – I particularly enjoyed the light and silky Les Maiols Spanish red. But there are also lots more wines by the bottle: you can take a look at them in the floor-to-ceiling wine cabinet at the back of the bar. On the food front, Parry’s shareable snacks are a cut above average: think sobrasada with orange marmalade, boiled eggs with anchovy mayo, and wafer-thin celeriac with beetroot mascarpone and dukkah (pictured below). The evening I visited, it was raining outside – which only added to the snug ambience.
Charcuteria
The Czaar Peterstraat flies under the tourist radar, but it’s home to all sorts of gems – from boutique pet stores to artisan cheese and wine shops. Plus: wine bar Charcuteria and sister restaurant Barlotta. We stopped by the wine bar for various types of charcuterie (obviously!), aged Manchego, roasted cauliflower and bread with a creamy horseradish dip. Not to mention two lovely bottles of wine: an Aligoté from Burgundy (a grape that’s having a bit of a moment in wine circles right now) and a Puglian Negroamaro that reminded me of my recent trip to Salento. The service was lovely, and the ambience reminiscent of a French bar-brasserie. All the more reason to visit the Czaar Peterstraat!
Wijnbar Paulus
Handily located on the Ceintuurbaan (I do love tram 3!), Wijnbar Paulus is a modern yet casual wine bar that’s really stood the test of time. I very much enjoyed the chestnut barrel-aged Italian Catarratto I drank there last winter, as well as a good-value red blend from Hungary. They also offer a selection of flammkuchen (pictured below with the Hungarian red), charcuterie and cheeses to keep the tipsiness at optimum level.
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5 of the Best Natural Wine Bars in Amsterdam
GlouGlou
Officially the cutest wine bar in Amsterdam, GlouGlou is the very definition of gezellig. I can happily while away an evening here, starting with after-work drinks and progressing steadily into late-night “ohhh, just one last round then” territory. GlouGlou was an early adopter of natural wines in Amsterdam – of which I’d like to tell you what to order, but I always seem to go off-menu with some ad-hoc recommendation or other from the friendly bar staff. Snacks are a little less elaborate than at some of the other wine bars on this list, but no less tasty, with top-notch cheese platters to keep the wolf from the door. GlouGlou also puts on an annual Beaujolais Nouveau party, which is fun if you happen to be in Amsterdam on the third Thursday in November!
Bottleshop
Occupying a black & white-striped, ultra-modern building on the up-and-coming Wibautstraat just east of the river, Bottleshop is a natural wine bar that also serves some fantastic, upscale bar bites. I’m not always a huge fan of the “funky” style of some natural wines, but I loved Bottleshop’s fruity, farmyard-y French Gamay and juicy, low-extraction Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley. Not to mention their pungent cheeses, melting beef short rib, punchy chicken yakitori and simple but heavenly bread and butter. I’m glad Bottleshop is only just down the road from my apartment!
Fabus
Meanwhile in Amsterdam West, Fabus is a women-led wine bar featuring natural wines from underrepresented regions and some fantastic Levantine food to go with it. The vibe is rather younger and edgier compared with other places on this list (we were the oldest people there by about ten years) but the wine selection is no less accomplished. The occasion we visited was one of those miserably damp autumn days when only red wine will do: we started with the “juicy AF” Carignan/Merlot blend by Reynard Rebels, followed by a super smooth, vanilla-tastic Spanish Tempranillo/Syrah blend. They paired perfectly with the creamy spinach-bean dip and panisse chips we ordered to nibble on. But it was the whole, spicy, roasted cauliflower with tahini sauce that really stole the show, eaten alongside a Greek red wine that channelled pure After Eight mints. Bizarre but beautiful.
Editor’s note: I was invited to eat at Fabus as a journalist, and I didn’t pay for my meal. Obviously I try to be as objective as possible, but I always disclose when I’ve had a freebie.
Bar Centraal
Candlelit and romantic (but in a slightly shabby-chic way), Bar Centraal is rather confusingly not in the centre of the city, but just off the Ten Katemarkt in Amsterdam West. Bar Centraal’s wine list leans low-intervention, and wine lovers will be surprised and delighted by bottles that you don’t often see. I was intrigued by the Jacquere white from Savoie and the Croatina red from Piemonte, but in the end we plumped for a fascinating bottle of Austrian Sauvignon Blanc that was all flinty gun smoke. Good rillettes, too.
Bar Babar
Tucked into a tight little spot on the Utrechtsestraat, Bar Babar also specialises in natural wines. But don’t worry if you’re not a fan of the funky, unfiltered stuff. Both the Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc and the Chardonnay from Beaujolais that I tasted were refreshingly funk-free and delicious. Babar serves a small menu of snacks as well.
Aperitivo o’clock, borreltijd, wine time or happy hour – whatever you call it, what’s your favourite wine bar in Amsterdam for an early-evening drink and a snack?
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