The best Sunday drinks start somewhere around three and end at a time you hadn't anticipated. The addresses below have in common that they provide space: for conversation, for sunshine, for a second round. They are scattered around town so you can stay close to home or just bike somewhere.
Waterkant - Surinamese waterfront terrace, Center
Waterfront sits under a parking garage on Marnixstraat and has turned it into one of the city's sunniest terraces. The atmosphere is Surinamese-tropical: Parbo Beer, roti, saoto soup, colorful chairs and always a mix of people who don't know each other at all but still sit next to each other. Open on Sundays from 11 am. No reservations, you just go there and see if there's room. - Marnixstraat 246, Center
Hannekes Boom - on the Oosterdok, Center East
Hannekes Tree is located five minutes from Central Station but feels like a festival that never really ends. Wooden furniture, garlands, its own jetty for those coming by boat, and a large terrace that is always packed on Sundays with people who have deliberately chosen to spend their day here. Beer is central, the menu is simple and that's exactly what fits. Ordering is done via QR code at the table. - Dijksgracht 4, Center-East
“Hannekes Boom has been proof for years that the best places in Amsterdam don't necessarily have to be beautiful. They just have to be right.” - Jan Donkers, columnist Het Parool (2019)
Pllek - city beach on the NDSM wharf, North
Pllek is the reason many Amsterdammers take the ferry on Sunday afternoons. The restaurant is located on the NDSM wharf with a small city beach on the IJ, a mostly vegetarian menu and a calendar full of live music, movies and DJ sets on weekends. On Friday and Saturday it's a full-on party, but on Sunday the tone is quieter and everyone just sits in the sun. Open from 09:30. - T.T. Neveritaweg 59, North
Café Wildschut - grand café on the Roelof Hartplein, Zuid
Wildschut is one of Amsterdam's first grand cafés and you can tell. The terrace on Roelof Hartplein catches the sun all day and attracts a mix of people who have something to celebrate, people who just want a beer and people who don't know why they actually stayed but don't mind. The interior is 1920s Amsterdam School, the menu is classic and fairly priced for the neighborhood. - Roelof Hartplein 1-3, South
“Wildschut is the kind of café you don't really appreciate until you've lived in it for about ten years. Only then will you know what you're getting out of it.” - Maarten Asscher, writer and Amsterdammer (de Volkskrant, 2021)
WestWeelde - terrace next to the Gashouder, Westerpark
WestWeelde has taken over the large terrace next to the Gashouder in Westerpark from the former Westergasterras. On Sundays, here is Pearl Sunday: oysters for a euro each, rosé, sunshine and a low threshold to reserve a table. The park around it does the rest. Open from April to October, depending on the weather. - Klönne Square 4-6, Westerpark
Poesiat & Kater - brewery with large terrace, East
Poesiat & Kater brews its own beer in a nineteenth-century building on Mauritskade and serves it right at the table on the large terrace outside. The brewing kettles are behind glass so you can see the process. The menu matches the beers: appetizers, shared boards, hearty dishes. On Sundays, this is the place for families, friends and people who deliberately don't want to go downtown. - Mauritskade 55, East
“We wanted a place where the beer is fresh and where you can see how it's made. That's still the idea.” - Founder Poesiat & Kater (Het Parool, 2018)
Badhuis Amsterdam - terrace at Javaplein, East
The renovated Bathhouse on Javaplein has one of the finest terraces in Oost. Spacious, bookable, and with a drinks menu that doesn't try to be surprising but is just good. The atmosphere is neighborhood pub with just a little more effort put into it. On Sundays, exactly the type of place where you end up with two people and leave with five. - Javaplein 21, East
Rust - urban beach 2.0 on Oostenburg, Center East
Rust reopened in 2025 with a new concept and new owners, including the team from De Kopstootbar and Restaurant De Willem. The raves and techno nights are gone, the urban beach and industrial decor remain. On Sundays, they serve a shared boozy brunch for 25 euros per person: steak tartare, trout brioche, kimchi croquettes and wine by the water. New but soon familiar. - Jacob Bontius Place 1, Center-East
Cafe Cafe - on the Amstel near the Stopera, Center
Cafe Cafe opened in early 2025 on the spot where Amstel1 and Dantzig were, right on the Amstel River next to National Opera & Ballet. It is open all day, has one of the sunniest water terraces in the center, and on Sundays attracts a mix of people who just came from the park or just don't have anywhere to go. No special concept, no special menu, just a terrace that gets the sun from morning to night. - Amstel 1, Center
Amsterdam has no shortage of places to have drinks, but the addresses that work best on Sundays have something in common: they don't rush. Waterkant and Hannekes Boom do so on the waterfront, Wildschut and WestWeelde in the sunshine of South and West, Pllek on the NDSM wharf and Poesiat & Kater and Badhuis deep in Oost. Roest and Café Café are the latest additions to a list that grows slightly each season. The choice depends on how far you want to bike and whether you want oysters or beer.