My search for the perfect brown bar in Amsterdam

Bruine kroegen, or brown bars, are often nondescript from the outside but cosy and homely inside, with plain dark-wood furniture, candles, aged knick-knacks and faded pictures. Dim lighting from antique-style lamps and tobacco-stained walls—topped up with dark brown paint since the 2008 smoking ban—give them a lived-in feel.

Beers and jenevers are the staple drinks, snacks such as bitterballen, boiled eggs and borrelnootjes are commonly offered, and the choice of background music matters: soft vintage jazz tends to suit the setting, while a Michael Jackson and Culture Club soundtrack can jar.

These drinking rooms were once all-male hangouts but now draw people of all ages and are often described as a “surrogate living room.” They encapsulate Dutch culture and tradition, yet in recent years rising rates, property prices and the appeal of modern bars have taken their toll; it is estimated more than a quarter have closed since 2010.

Netherlands, Amsterdam

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