Jordaan Guide: Best Restaurants, Bars and Things to Do
Four centuries of working-class soul wrapped in 17th-century canals and narrow streets, where locals still outnumber tourists if you know when to look.
The Jordaan is the bit of central Amsterdam most people picture when they imagine the city at its most human-scaled, built in the early seventeenth century for workers and immigrants on a cheaper grid that ignored the grand canal ring next door. There is a Dutch word that has no direct English translation — gezellig — and the Jordaan is where you go to understand it: something like cozy, convivial, warmly atmospheric, the feeling of being exactly where you belong.
This guide follows the rhythm of the neighborhood itself: mornings at the markets, afternoons lingering over coffee and apple pie, early evenings in the brown cafés where locals gather. While it can be a crowded place during weekends, if you go there in the morning, it's unbelievably serene. The entries below trace a path through what makes Jordaan work—not as a museum to Amsterdam's past, but as the place where it still lives.
Noordermarkt and Lindenmarkt
Noordermarkt (Prinsengracht/Noorderkerk), Westerstraat (Westermarkt), Lindengracht (Lindenmarkt) · Markets and organic produce · Saturday 09:00–16:00 and Monday 09:00–13:00 (general goods) at Noorderm
Lindengracht transforms itself from a typical street block into one of the most jubilant marketplaces in Amsterdam every Saturday, overwhelmingly local in nature, with stalls featuring cheeses, fresh fish, and picturesque bouquets, all available by hometown vendors with plenty of snacks to feast on. Start here on Saturday morning before 11 am to move through the crowd easily. The Biologische Noordermarkt is a biological food market offering fresh ecological products like organic fruits, vegetables, oils, herbs, cheese, meat, and on the other side of the square you will find the Antique Market. Grab a coffee after and settle into the café terraces that ring the square.
Apple Pie at Winkel 43 or Café Hegeraad
Winkel 43: Westerstraat/Noordermarkt corner, Jordaan · Café/patisserie · Daily, morning through evening
Winkel 43 is advertised as serving the best appeltaart (apple pie) in town, and the appeltart is indeed one of the best you'll find in the city. Every order is served with a side of whipped cream that's freshly made from a machine sitting by the counter. The queue forms early on weekends. If you think the queue is too long, Café Hegeraad on the other corner has appeltaart just as delicious with more authentic Amsterdam ambiance.
Toscanini
Lindengracht, Jordaan · Italian · Dinner daily; at Toscanini it's all about pure Italian flavors, seasonal produce and an energetic, almost chaotic charm, with the open kitchen, hubbub and the classic
Toscanini is a refined Italian restaurant that's been serving quality fare since 1985. The room moves fast but never feels rushed. Sit at the counter for people-watching or claim a table if one opens. The pasta is made fresh to order—ask your server what the day's special is rather than studying the menu. It books solid most evenings, so reserve ahead.
Pesca
Rozengracht 133, Jordaan · Seafood/fish · Dinner daily
Pesca is a theater of fish in Jordaan where you can have some of the best seafood in all of Amsterdam. This is a restaurant concept that is all about experience: you choose your own fish as if you were at the market, then the kitchen gets to work with it, informal and playful and always fresh, with the interaction and freedom making it a unique experience that goes beyond just eating. Book ahead in summer.
Brown Cafés: Café 't Papeneiland and Café 't Smalle
Papeneiland: Prinsengracht/Brouwersgracht corner; 't Smalle: Egelantiersgracht · Brown café/bar · Daily from morning
You'll find warm hospitality, sticky wooden floorboards and reasonably-priced beers in the Jordaan, where a bruin café (brown bar)-hopping tour never disappoints any night of the week. Since 1642, Cafe 't Papeneiland has been a household name; it is truly one of the most famous brown bars in the Jordaan, on the corner of the Prinsengracht and Brouwersgracht overlooking the Lekkeresluis, with the building being one of the most photographed places in Amsterdam. Café 't Smalle is a lovely old pub with wood panelling and a beautiful waterside terrace.
Café de Twee Zwaantjes
Tweede Egelantiersdwarsstraat, Jordaan · Brown café with music · Daily from afternoon/evening
You won't get away with not joining the merriment at Café de Twee Zwaantjes, which hosts regular karaoke evenings, Dutch sing-a-longs and Motown nights. This is where locals come to sing, not where visitors come to watch. The crowd skews neighborhood regular—arrive early to find a seat, or expect to stand and be absorbed into the group at the bar.
Café Tabac
Tweede Egelantiersdwarsstraat/corner, Jordaan · Brown café · Daily from afternoon
Café Tabac has all the typical brown cafe drinks and snacks but one special twist: they serve excellent mojitos with crushed ice, crushed by hand. It's a picturesque setting for a drink any time of day, with a few outdoor seats that get good sun towards the late afternoon. The light here is honest—no dark wood, no artifice—and the terrace fills fast on clear days.
De Negen Straatjes (The 9 Streets)
Across Egelantiersgracht and Bloemgracht, Jordaan · Independent shops, galleries, boutiques · Daily during shop hours
The Jordaan is a 17th-century working class district with narrow streets, picturesque canals, brown cafes, art galleries and unique shops. The Nine Streets form the heart of this—a grid of narrow lanes where every doorway holds something: a gallery, a vintage shop, a jeweler, a bookstore run by someone who cares. Although not actually part of the Jordaan Quarter, De 9 Straatjes are often seen as part of this cosy neighborhood, and its rich historical background makes this quarter one of the most attractive areas of the city. Walk without a destination.
Brouwersgracht and Bloemgracht Canal Walk
Brouwersgracht (north end) through Bloemgracht (central), Jordaan · Walking route · Sunrise through sunset
Four main canals cut through the Jordaan from south to north: the Prinsengracht, the Bloemgracht, the Egelantiersgracht, and the Brouwersgracht, with the Brouwersgracht at the northern end earning its reputation as one of Amsterdam's most photographed canal streets, its double row of 17th-century warehouses mirrored in still water on calm mornings. Walk along Bloemgracht on a Saturday morning, past the galleries opening their doors, the flower boxes overflowing with geraniums, and the cafe terraces filling with locals settling into their first coffee, and you will feel the Jordaan in your bones.
Bar Oldenhof
Jordaan (exact location in search results) · Cocktail bar · Evening
Bar Oldenhof serves as a sort of shelter from the outside world, a faintly lit, wondrously designed traditional cocktail bar that mirrors something of a speakeasy or relaxed jazz club, with no noise, no rush, and a haven for any worn out travelers, a perfect way to end a tiring day. Arrive after 9 pm when the neighborhood bars begin to thin. Cocktails are well-made and expensive; don't order unless you plan to sit for an hour.
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