Bars and clubs

Festina Lente

Small nice bar with a good feel and sells pale ale!

Cafe L'affiche

Cute hidden away corner bar full of locals, not touristy. It is here.

Roest

Sweet hang out a bit out of town but really good for outdoor drinking action. It's best to bike to this as taxis are pricey in AMS, although if you are not local it might be hard to find.

Weber

Good on a Thursday night, it gets busy later on and has some hot locals.  It's quite small so it's easy to meet people and have a chat with some randoms.

Club NYX

This opens late even in the week and although is officially a gay bar it gets quite a mixed crowd and has a few floors with different music on. And the toilet sink is a giant penis.

The street NYX (pronounced nicks) is on also has some good bars to hang out in. The street is quite busy at night and has some nice restaurants too.

De Pijp

There are loads of bars down this street and if you just wander around you will find a few busy ones.

Noordermarkt

This has a couple of nice bars which you can sit outside of in Summer and are nice hang outs anyway.

Cafe Finch is nice and Proust.


Jordaan

There is a nice bar called Harlem. It sells soul food. It's on Haarlemmerstraat. This street is generally really great and you could spend all night there.

Tuinstraat is a street in the Jordaan with loads of bars and restaurants on it so always pretty busy and not touristy.

Clubs

Chicago Social Club - this club is on Leidseplein so is easy to get to and usually plays ok music.

De Marktkantine  - a club a little bit West but pretty central and gets good DJs. Only 2 rooms so not massive but a good night. Open pretty late.

De School - the new Trou but is not located in the West also.

Places to go

Vondel Park on bike. You can get a bike for 5 euros a day from Mike's bikes which is on Kerkstraat.

Albert Cupyt for a massive food and bits and pieces market.

Jordaan for cafes and to see cool houses. There are a few cool brown pubs in this area, as they call them, which are the old school style pubs. These all sell strong Belgium beers which are quite common in Amsterdam. La Chouffe is a good one but will knock your socks off.

De Pijp  is nice area just out of central with lots of bars, cafes and restaurants. Locals and ex-pats live here and it is really busy. It's quite hipster but then again so it most of Amsterdam.

The 9 Streets - this has lots of boutique clothes shops and some nice cafes. My favourite clothes shop is Velour which has nicely curated selection of clothes.

Brunch and food places

Amsterdam is all about cafes and brunch places and loads of new ones are opening that are pretty nice, stylish hangs out full of good looking people.

Coffee and Coconuts  - De Pijp

This is new and on the Centerbaaum.

Dignitas 

It is near Vondel park but the end away from central.

(Mutha fuckin') Gs - Jordaan

This is a cool spot for brunch. It's got character and is in a cool area.

Winkel - Noordermarkt 

This is potentially the best apple pie you will ever have, served with real whipped cream. It's quite big so if you are not that hungry then just share it.  You can get coffee as well as beer here.  This place is always busy as it's a famous place to go in Amsterdam. It's located near the Noordermarkt so you can go to the market and then go to one of the other good cafe/bars around there.  Finch or Cafe Proust are pretty good and serve food.

Soup en Zo - all over 

If you want to grab something fresh, quickly you can grab some soup or a salad from this place. It has loads of varieties of fresh soup which changes daily. There are now a few branches dotted around the city.

Kaaskamer - 9 Streets 

Of course the Dutch are partial to a cheese sandwich or two, daily, so you can go to the Kaas kamer in  the Nine Streets to experience some serious Dutch cheese.

It means 'Cheese Room' which is apt as it is literally a room full of cheese!

D&A - Jordaan

A really nice Lebanese brunch/lunch place selling delicious hummus inspired meat and veg dishes with lots of flavour. Nice surroundings and near Winkels.

Foodhallen  - off the Kinkerstraat, West 

This place is great for lunch and beers. There's loads of choice so everyone is happy, it's a bit pricey but it has a good vibe and is good for a hang out. There are also loads of crafts and designers around there so all in all a pretty good place.

Restaurants

Fou Fow Ramen - central, near the canals 

On Elansgracht which is near Princengracht so pretty central. It is run by Japanese people and looks pretty stylish but simple. It gets quite busy so you might need to put your name on a list.

Bazaar - De Pijp 

This is on Albert Cuytstraat and it is a really big restaurant for Amsterdam. I find a lot of the good ones can be quite small and book up very quickly so last minute dinners can be tricky, so if you have a big group and don't want to book then you are usually in luck here.

It's Turkish food which is really good, the decor is pretty kitch and it's pretty lively so there is always a good vibe.

Cafe de Klos - central, near the canals 

Go to this place for an awesome massive meat fest. Don't expect to be able to walk or go out dancing afterwards though. It is here which is close to the canals. You might need to queue to get in but you can put your name down and go for a beer across the road as the two places are linked or help each other out. They call you when your table is ready and you seamlessly move to your spot effortlessly.

Choux 

This place is North of the station near the water. Not been but told it's good.

Wilde zwijnen

In the East and also suppose to be really good.

Hotel De Goudfazant

Again supposed to be good but not been yet. You need to book as they don't take last minute bookings usually.

REM Eiland 
This is a fancy looking place here.

It is close to the sea in the North and looks pretty cool. It is a close to a place called Pont 13 which is suppose to be good for a drink beforehand.