Gay Bars & Clubs ⭐ Featured

Café 't Mandje

Historic Venue 1927 Still active

Europe's oldest openly LGBTQ+ bar — Bet van Beeren's Zeedijk café since 1927, restored and reopened by her great-niece in 2008.

GayOut (10) 4.6
Tripadvisor (48) 4.4
90
/ 100
GayOut Score
4.6 🦉4.4
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Address
Zeedijk 63, 1012 AS Amsterdam
📞
Phone
+31 20 624 0513
🌐
Website
cafetmandje.nl
💰
Price Range
$
🟢
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About this place Café 't Mandje

Café 't Mandje — the name simply means 'The Little Basket' — opened on the Zeedijk in 1927 under the management of Bet van Beeren, a lesbian biker and entrepreneur who ran the bar until 1967. Her portrait still hangs inside. The bar closed after her death and reopened in 1983, restored by her niece, and has been running continuously since as a monument to Amsterdam's queer history and a genuinely working bar. The interior is unlike anything else in the city: low-ceilinged, dark, and covered from floor to ceiling in hanging objects — leather jackets, ties cut from regulars' collars (an old tradition), biker memorabilia, photographs, and decades of accumulated oddities. The Zeedijk location places it in the heart of the leather and bear neighbourhood, a short walk from Warmoesstraat and the Argos bar. Visiting Café 't Mandje is not primarily about the drinks or the music — it is about standing in the oldest surviving gay bar in the Netherlands and understanding something about the city's long tolerance for queer life. The bar is small, gets extremely busy on weekends, and is best experienced on a weekday evening when you can actually see the walls.

Opening Hours

Monday Closed
Tuesday 15:00-01:00
Wednesday 15:00-01:00
Thursday 15:00-01:00
Friday 15:00-03:00
Saturday 15:00-03:00
Sunday 15:00-01:00

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Community Reviews

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GayOut Community

A
Arash
Jun 2026
★★★★★

Cool bar with a great vibe and good drinks

R
Ronald V
Jun 2026
★★★★★

Prices are outrageously high. 46,- Euro for 4 large beer. Were inquiries made by telephone indifferent to No go

R
R B
Jun 2026
★★★★

Not really Jewish friendly nor inclusive. They don't like Israel that much. During the Israel song the TV goes on mute, strange, but the tip they give is "if you want to watch Israel's entry you shouldn't be with us."

J
James
Jun 2026
★★★★

Boasting about turning off the TV during Israel's song. I have never experienced something so hopeless. For a café with such a history, this is an absolute low point. "Fun & respect since 1927" is their motto. It's a shame that that respect will end in 2024.

A
Allan E
Jun 2026
★★★★★

Super nice tent for a beer and fun. Good bartender who occasionally sings along to a song and increases the atmosphere. Had a really nice evening. Thank you!

U
ukpilot1
Jun 2026
★★★★★

Cute lovely and cute again. Just an old fashioned pub with wonderful history. Small interior, but big atmosphere. Highly recommended.

W
Wydcombe
Jun 2026
★★★★★

We are regulars to Amsterdam at this time of year and just love everything about this quirky little bar, from it’s cosy ambience to its weird & wonderful decor. It’s history is fascinating too - opened in 1927 as a gay bar before homosexuality was legalised.

C
Chris S
Jun 2026
★★★★★

Lovely staff, people and atmosphere. If you don’t like it here I’m afraid we can’t be friends. Diana Ross loud on a Saturday afternoon and dancing 💜

A
alisony213
Jun 2026
★★★★★

Cafe ‘t Mandje is a tiny place that’s easy to miss waking down the street. Inside, the bar is dark, but welcoming. On the ceiling are hundreds of cut-off ties from patrons from the past, who apparently deserved their ties being removed. Also, there were socks, shoes and other unmentionables hanging from the ceiling. We sat at a side table, taking it all in and drinking ginger ale, the only ones in the place at 5:30, except for another pair of tourists that came for the atmosphere and not for the booze. We’ve seen some pretty remarkable historical places in Amsterdam and I’d rank Cafe ‘t Mandje right up there with the rest.

M
Martin W
Jun 2026
★★★★★

I visited on a Sunday evening, so it was a little more quiet. I found it very nice, with a cozy atmosphere, a good music selection, and a very friendly bartender who told us about the bar's interesting history (it started off as one of the few safe places where people could be gay and such; if you notice the glowing owl decoration behind the bar, the original owner would put that up and turn it on to warn people if the cops were coming by!).

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Last updated on 3 August 2026

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