Dive Bars in Amsterdam

The Waterhole

Club / Dive Bar / Live Music Venue

Party Earth Review With live nightly music at little or no cost, The Waterhole is an unkempt, dark, and dingy rockers paradise. There’s nothing particularly unique about this spacious bar, with its cozy booths and three busy pool tables, but the crowd is normally an eclectic mix of sociable music lovers and the vibe is as casual as it comes. The room clearly hasn’t been renovated in decades and the décor looks like someone took a truckload of rock posters, liquor bottles, and old musical instruments and hurled them against the walls, while the worn furnishings could have been pulled straight from a cowboy’s saloon. The bar makes it easy to stay for “just one more ... more

Address:

Korte Leidsedwarsstraat 49
1017 Amsterdam

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Amsterdam Dive Bars Overview

Dive bars are truly the last bastion of cheap drinks, no frills décor, and aging barflies, and while the rest of the world moves headlong into mixological madness, dive bars remain the same dirty, wonderful places to just grab a beer.

With so many great drinking dens in the city, there aren’t that many dive bars in Amsterdam, but the ones that do exist typically share the same gloriously bad qualities. They’re usually really inexpensive. They’re most likely to have something peeling off the walls. And the clientele will range from broke students to depressed old-timers drinking their sorrows away.

One of the best Amsterdam dive bars is The Waterhole. This dingy live music paradise features nightly bands, bargain-basement beers, pool tables, and a mismatched assortment of band fliers papering every square inch of space on the walls. It’s not a total dump though, and if you love live rock and cheap booze than you’ll love this place.

Regardless of what you’re looking for in a dive, there are some good options in Amsterdam any day of the week. So head out to the not-so-great parts of town, find a dumpy corner spot, and drink all night long without breaking the bank.