Cafe Pollux

Cafe Pollux is a family-run brown bar at Prins Hendrikkade 121, a short walk east of Amsterdam Centraal Station. It is known for its beer, its jukebox, a very friendly welcome and late nights that run until 3 or 4 am. It is a bar first. Go for drinks, conversation and dancing, not for breakfast or a full meal.

Cafe Pollux at a glance

Type	Traditional Amsterdam brown bar (bruin cafe)
Address	Prins Hendrikkade 121, 1011 AM Amsterdam
Area	Centrum, between Centraal Station and Nieuwmarkt (not the Jordaan)
Known for	Beer selection, jukebox, owner-run hospitality, Tuesday bingo nights
Typical hours	Closed Monday; listed from early afternoon until 3 am, and until 4 am on weekends (check before you go)
Phone	+31 20 624 9521
Website	cafepollux.com (Dutch)

What Cafe Pollux is like

The bar sums itself up as “Taste Our Beer – Play Our Jukebox – Feel Our Amsterdam.” Inside it is dark and a little eccentric: sheepskin-covered benches, soft coloured light and a jukebox against the wall that plays classics from Come On Eileen to Smells Like Teen Spirit. Reviewers keep mentioning the quirky decor, the regulars and the easy mix of locals and visitors.

Hospitality is what reviewers talk about most. Owner Frits Aalbers told Vice that everyone should get a warm welcome, “whether it’s an old neighbour, a new customer, a tourist or someone waiting for the bus.” Visitors often say staff let them taste several draught beers before they choose. Early evenings are relaxed. Later on, and especially at weekends, the bar gets loud and people dance.

On Tripadvisor, Cafe Pollux has a 4.9 rating from more than 500 reviews and ranks among the top nightlife venues in Amsterdam. In 2024 it briefly reached number one, which is how Vice came to interview the owner.

A family bar in a 17th-century house

According to Vice, the bar dates back to 1881 and was once called De Amstelsprong. After the Second World War, Frits Aalbers’ father, a former shoemaker, bought it and renamed it Pollux after an Amsterdam training ship. Frits worked behind the bar as a teenager and took over after his father died in 1990. He now runs it with his partner Helen, who also tends bar.

The building is older than the bar. Prins Hendrikkade 121 is a listed national monument (rijksmonument 4159). It is a house with a bell gable dating from 1675, simplified in the 19th century, with the lower half renewed in the 18th or 19th century.

Beer, jukebox and bingo nights

• Beer: the main draw. There is a wide draught list and a cellar of speciality beers, and prices are often described as fair for central Amsterdam.
• Gin and tonics: served with elaborate garnishes, if you’d rather have something besides beer.
• Jukebox: coin-operated. Per the 2024 Vice interview it took 1-euro coins but not 2-euro coins, so bring change.
• Food: bar snacks rather than a kitchen menu. Some reviewers mention home-cooked dishes from Helen on certain days, so ask what’s on.
• Porno bingo: an erotic-themed bingo night with drinks, snacks and prizes, popular with hen and stag groups. It’s aimed at adults. The official site lists it on Tuesdays, but the frequency varies (fortnightly or the last Tuesday of the month) and it pauses in summer, so check the sign-up dates on the bar’s website.
• Private hire: the bar is closed to the public on Mondays and can be rented that day for birthdays, work drinks and other parties through a request form on its website.

Opening hours and when to go

Cafe Pollux is closed on Mondays. In 2026, Apple Maps lists it as open Sunday and Tuesday to Thursday from 2 pm to 3 am, and Friday and Saturday from noon to 4 am. Other listings show earlier openings, and the owner told Vice in 2024 that the doors opened at 10 am. Hours change, so call or check the bar’s current listing before you go, especially if you plan to arrive early in the day.

• Late afternoon to early evening: the calmest time, and the best for trying beers and talking with the staff.
• Late evening, Friday and Saturday: busiest and loudest, with dancing. This is when it feels more like a party than a pub.
• Tuesdays: check the bingo calendar. On bingo nights the bar fills up with groups.

How to get to Cafe Pollux

Cafe Pollux is on Prins Hendrikkade, the waterfront street that runs along the city side of Amsterdam Centraal Station. It is roughly a six-minute walk from the station and about five minutes from Nieuwmarkt.

1. On foot from Centraal Station: leave by the main city-side exit and head east along Prins Hendrikkade. The bar is at number 121.
2. By metro: Nieuwmarkt station is the nearest stop in the old centre. Walk north toward the waterfront from there.
3. By bike: this area is busy with cyclists and pedestrians near the station. Use the official bike parking around Centraal rather than locking to railings outside.

For live routes from elsewhere in the city, search for “Prins Hendrikkade 121” in the 9292 or GVB app. Don’t drive. Parking in the centre is scarce and expensive, and the bar serves late.

The location is also easy to combine with nearby sights. NEMO Science Museum, the Our Lord in the Attic museum and the Nieuwmarkt area are all within a short walk, so the bar works well as a first or last stop on a day near the station.

Who Cafe Pollux suits

Cafe Pollux is a good choice if you want a genuinely social local bar near the station, like trying different beers, or are looking for a group night out with a bit of humour. It suits you less if you want a quiet coffee, a proper sit-down meal or somewhere calm late on a Saturday. And the Tuesday bingo is deliberately risqué, which not every group will enjoy.

Frequently asked questions