The Waterhole — Restaurant in Amsterdam

The Waterhole – Where live music and affordable drinks lubricate your soul in a safe place for all.

What an amazing place right in the heart of Amsterdam. The Waterhole truly welcomes everyone: young or old, tourist or local – age and background don’t matter here. You feel at home in this melting pot the moment you walk in and the management actively sees to it to keep it like that.

There’s live music every single night, which already makes it quite unique for a sportsbar with pooltables, darts and widescreens. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays you’ll find the legendary jam sessions: if you’ve got the musical skills, chances are you’ll be invited to join on stage with some great musicians. On all other nights, you can always count on two live shows full of energy, variety, and great vibes.

And here’s the kicker: the drinks! Even after happy hour, prices remain among the cheapest in Amsterdam. That makes a night out here not only musical but also surprisingly affordable.

In short: The Waterhole is the place where music and people come together. Whether you come to listen, dance, or jam – you’ll always leave with...

I have been going to this bar for over 3 years and for the first time yesterday I had the worst service in Amsterdam. At happy hour I ordered a pint, to my surprise the beer was totally old. I went to the bar again and asked the bartender kindly if she could change, besides saying that she would not change it yet she told me that she could not prove it and that she would not even look at my glass because the beer in every bar was that way and not mattered where I would drink, it would come the same way. Having this insane response I went back to my seat. At the end of happy hour I went there again and bought another pint at the bar that had just opened, without much surprise the beer was very good. I can only believe that the bar is putting old beer into happy hour and abusing it to people who do not know beer. But what really was ridiculous was the care of this woman with curly hair who, besides being very rude, does not know how to talk to a client. After 3 years visiting the bar and spending lots of money there, I will definitely not...

The music nights at The Waterhole had been recommended and we went along to the open jam session on the Monday evening. It was a disappointment. The band are great players, but the term "open" is highly misleading as it suggests welcoming and inclusive. As two capable musicians we expected we may get a chance to play. We did not and the mysterious secret vetting which meant we did not reach the required standard remained a mystery. At 1am when the bassist in charge of proceedings apologised politely for us not getting the opportunity to play as it had been hectic, it all rang false - as there were only about 4 other players which is hardly hectic for a four hour session! Suggesting we come back to the next night and risk further disappointment, was just a bad joke. I suspect a mix of sexist dismissiveness towards my drum playing wife from the all male band and musical elitism all acting against the "open" tag advertised. I would not recommend on the basis...