Temple Bar

Temple Bar is an Irish pub at Kloveniersburgwal 2 in Amsterdam, sitting on the canal corner where the Red Light District meets Nieuwmarkt square. It opens daily at 11:00 and runs until 01:00 Sunday through Thursday and 03:00 on Friday and Saturday, which makes it one of the more reliable late-night landing spots in the old centre.

Temple Bar Amsterdam at a glance

Address	Kloveniersburgwal 2, 1012 CT Amsterdam
Neighbourhood	De Wallen / Nieuwmarkt, Centrum
Type	Irish pub and bar, light pub food
Hours	Sun–Thu 11:00–01:00; Fri–Sat 11:00–03:00
Typical pint price	From roughly €6.50
Price band	€€–€€€
Traveller rating	About 3.9 out of 5 on Tripadvisor across roughly 210 reviews
Nearest metro	Nieuwmarkt (lines 51, 53, 54), about 2 minutes on foot
Good for	Canal-side terrace drinks, televised sport, late nights, solo travellers

What Temple Bar is actually like

Temple Bar follows the familiar Irish pub template: dark wood, brass fittings, brewery mirrors, and a long bar with taps running from Dutch lagers to Irish stout. It is not a heritage bruin café and does not pretend to be one. What it offers instead is a predictable, English-speaking, sit-down-and-stay kind of room a few steps from one of the busiest tourist corridors in the Netherlands.

The corner location is the real asset. The pub sits where Kloveniersburgwal meets Nieuwmarkt, so the terrace looks out over the canal and the Waag rather than a narrow alley. That makes the outdoor seating genuinely pleasant on a dry afternoon, which is not true of every bar in this district.

Reviews across travel platforms land at roughly 3.9 out of 5, and the pattern in them is consistent: people praise the staff, the location and the terrace, and criticise the crowding and the central-Amsterdam pricing. Treat it as a solid, unpretentious pub rather than a destination in its own right.

Who it suits, and who should skip it

Being honest about fit saves you a wasted evening.

Go if you want

• A canal-facing terrace within two minutes of Nieuwmarkt metro.
• Televised football, rugby or GAA with an international crowd.
• Somewhere still serving at 02:00 on a Saturday.
• An easy solo stop where striking up a conversation is normal.
• A dry, warm break from the crowds around De Wallen.

Skip it if you want

• A traditional Dutch brown café; try Café de Sluyswacht or In ’t Aepjen instead.
• A serious craft beer list rather than mainstream taps.
• A full dinner; the kitchen is limited and this is a drinking room first.
• Quiet conversation on a weekend night, when the room fills quickly.
• Low prices; central Amsterdam pints start near €6.50 and climb.

Drinks, food and what you will pay

Expect a standard Irish pub tap wall: stout, Dutch pilsner, a cider, and a rotating selection of imports, plus a whiskey shelf that goes beyond the basics. Pints in this part of the city generally begin around €6.50, and specialty pours and imports sit above that. Spirits and cocktails are priced for the centre, so a round for four adds up faster than it would in Oost or De Pijp.

Food is pub-scale rather than restaurant-scale. Listings describe it as a bar with European pub fare and table service, so plan on something to line your stomach rather than a full meal. If you want a proper dinner first, the restaurants on Nieuwmarkt square and Zeedijk are a two-minute walk away.

Card payment is standard across Amsterdam hospitality, and many venues are card-only. Carrying a contactless card or phone wallet is more useful here than carrying cash.

Best time to visit

The pub opens at 11:00 every day, so the character of a visit depends entirely on when you arrive.

Time slot	What to expect	Best for
11:00–14:00	Quiet, easy seating, terrace usually open in dry weather	A first drink, catching a daytime match, working the map for your afternoon
14:00–18:00	Steady but relaxed, staff have time to talk	Solo travellers, rain shelter, a slow pint
18:00–21:00	Fills with after-work drinkers and sightseers	Group meet-ups and people-watching on the canal side
21:00–close	Loud, busy, standing room on weekends	A proper night out; Friday and Saturday run to 03:00

Seasonally, spring and early autumn are the sweet spot. You get workable terrace weather without the July and August crush, and hotel rates across the centre are noticeably softer. Winter turns the pub into what it does best, which is a warm indoor room when the canals are grey and the wind comes off the IJ.

One practical note: Amsterdam weather changes fast, and a sunny terrace can become a downpour within twenty minutes. A pub with a solid interior and a covered frontage is a useful thing to have bookmarked on your phone.

How to get to Temple Bar

Kloveniersburgwal 2 sits at the northern tip of the Kloveniersburgwal canal, directly beside Nieuwmarkt square and the Waag building. It is one of the easiest addresses in the old centre to reach without any transfers.

By metro

Take metro line 51, 53 or 54 to Nieuwmarkt, which is one stop from Amsterdam Centraal. The pub is roughly a two-minute walk from the station exit. Nieuwmarkt has no tram service, so ignore any guide that tells you to take a tram there.

On foot from Centraal

The walk is about 790 metres, or 10 to 12 minutes. Head down Zeedijk from the station side of the water and you will arrive at Nieuwmarkt with the Waag in front of you; the pub is on the canal corner to your right.

By tram

There is no tram stop at Nieuwmarkt. The nearest useful tram stops are Dam and Waterlooplein, both around a seven to ten minute walk away. In practice, the metro or your own two feet will always be quicker.

By bike

Cycling here is straightforward, but parking is not. Use a marked bike rack around Nieuwmarkt rather than a bridge railing, and always use two locks. Bike theft in the centre is common and the city removes improperly parked bikes.

Navigation tip

Search “Temple Bar Amsterdam” or the full address rather than “Temple Bar” alone, which will point you at Dublin’s famous namesake. The two are unrelated businesses.

Visiting the Red Light District sensibly

Temple Bar sits at the eastern edge of De Wallen, so the surrounding streets get dense and loud after dark. The area is policed and generally safe, but a few local rules matter and some carry fines.

• Do not photograph or film sex workers. This is the one rule locals enforce socially as well as legally.
• Amsterdam operates alcohol and cannabis restrictions in parts of the centre, including street drinking bans and a smoking ban on De Wallen streets. Check current rules before you travel.
• Stay out of cycle lanes when walking. Cyclists have right of way and will not slow down.
• Pickpocketing spikes in crowds on Friday and Saturday nights. Front pockets and zipped bags only.
• If the area feels overwhelming, arrive in daylight or join a guided walk that includes a pub stop.

Nearby bars worth pairing with a visit

Temple Bar works best as one stop rather than the whole evening. Everything below is within a short walk.

• In ’t Aepjen on Zeedijk, one of Amsterdam’s oldest wooden-fronted bars, about three minutes away.
• Café de Sluyswacht, a leaning canal house near the Rembrandt House, roughly six minutes away.
• The café terraces ringing Nieuwmarkt square, useful for daytime coffee or a snack before drinks.
• Zeedijk’s Chinatown restaurants, the most convenient place to eat properly before a late session.

Frequently asked questions