Whoever pushes open Oliva's door first walks through an oasis of plants. That immediately makes the statement: this is no ordinary club. The building on Rembrandtplein, known for years as nightclub Claire, has been completely gutted and redecorated in Mediterranean style. Colorful accents, lush plants, a wooden dance floor. Co-owner Stijn has established a hybrid concept in it that you haven't seen on this square before.
The evening begins as a restaurant. Fresh Neapolitan pizzas come out of the kitchen, food and drinks are simply served at the table. But as the evening progresses, the atmosphere shifts. The DJ booth in the main room is set up centrally and is visible from all directions, so you can also catch what's going on from the bar. This is no accident: Stijn and his team wanted to keep the separation between eating and partying as small as possible. Ordering pizza while music is popping is just the norm here.
The three spaces each have their own character. The main room is the centerpiece, with an inviting bar and the central booth. The second room has a distinctly disco atmosphere: big mirror balls, colored lights, a dance floor that immediately drags you into the 1980s. The third, smallest bar is smaller and more intimate, the place to go when you want to take a break from the violence beyond. The wooden floor throughout the building was deliberately chosen for acoustics.
Ordering pizza while music is popping is just the norm here, and that makes it worth a stop.
The club is closed on Wednesdays; the rest of the week it is open until late at night. Rembrandtplein has been the beating heart of Amsterdam's nightlife scene for decades, and with Oliva comes a place that does something different from the rest. Ordering pizza while music is popping is just the norm here, and that makes it worth a stop.