Image by Marieke Koets

This place is always nice to go to, but on Mondays it’s the best. With every drink you buy you get a free bingo ticket. Around 01:00, when you have enough tickets to have a good shot at a price, and enough to drink to minimize that chance, the party begins…..LET PLAY BINGO!!!! !

I always went on Mondays, but I have only recently discovered the Wednesday night quiz! Okay, nothing beats the bingo, but the trivia is lots of fun too.(if you win, don’t go for the surprise bag!)

There are several other things Paddy organises, like a big Queensday party and of course St. Patrick’s day festivities. Plus they have a sports channel TV in a separate part of the pub. There’s also always nice live music and friendly people to chat to.

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Paddy Murphy’s Irish Pub | Bars | Pint € 4.00
Rodezand 15 | Center | +31104110078
Mon 16:00 – 04:00, Tue – Thu 16:00 – 01:00, Fri 16:00 – 02:00, Sat – Sun 16:00 – 03:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Rotterdam

Image by Club vibes

To me this place is a little fun factory. I have had the best nights out in this place and the most fun. The music is never the same, but they do have theme nights, like ‘Dirty Disco’ or ‘Karaoke night’.

The place has just gotten a bit of a make over and isn’t as dark as it used to be.

Don’t go too early to this place, it’s not the same if it’s not a bit busy. So have an other beer at ‘Stalles’ (check the Stalles article) or Parket’ and walk right on through to ‘Vibes’. And don’t take yourself too serious when you’re going here.

Just relax, be a bit crazy and have lots and lots of fun.

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Club Vibes | Bars, Music | Late entrance € 5.00
Westersingel 50a | Center | +31104361655
Thu – Sat 00:00 – 05:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Rotterdam

Image by Marieke Koets

My boyfriend and I were on our way to my spots to take some new pictures. We passed ‘Pol’ and decided to have a quick drink, as we do more often. I hadn’t even gotten to the bar yet when we ran into a couple of friends of mine. This was at about half past five and at 9ish we left the place. Whoops… no new photo’s of old spots, but hey what a great way to spend the Sunday.

That’s what ‘Pol’ is about. One time you jump in for a quick cup of coffee to have a little rest after shopping at the market right next to it. And the other day you go in with the same idea, but you leave a bit more drunk and full from the ‘bittergarnituur’.

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Café Pol | Bars, Coffee & tea | Beer € 2.00
Meent 46-48 | Center | +31104112335
Sun – Mon & Wed – Thu 11:00 – 01:00, Tue 10:00 – 01:00, Fri 11:00 – 02:00, Sat 10:00 – 02:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Rotterdam

Image by www.locus-publicus.com

A very old student pub on the corner of Oostplein with a nice fireplace -good for the cold winters-, an okay terrace-good for the summer- and a range of special beers. The bartenders, all male and student, have a good knowledge of all those beers. The locus is a pub made to really enjoy your beer. It’s not too big and the pub rules tell you to switch off your phone.

This place is good for relaxing when it’s not that crowded, but on Thursday and Friday evenings it can get quite busy. People who come here are mostly students or those who used to be.

Last year they built a massive set of stairs in the corner all the way up to the attic. This is where some functions are being held. Anyway, big improvement. Don’t know how they did it, but the ‘Locus’ feels even more like a cosy house then ever!

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Locus Publicus | Bars | Small beer € 2.00
Oostzeedijk 364 | Kralingen | +31104331761
Mon – Thu 16:30 – 01:00, Fri 16:00 – 02:00, Sat 16:30 – 02:00, Sun 20:00 – 01:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Rotterdam

Image by Marieke Koets

Level is situated in the trendy area around the Meent and this describes the place a bit as well. It’s decked out very hip and lots of people come here to be seen. All the others come for the cocktails, especially the “Porn star”. I’m not the biggest cocktail drinker, but even I like some of the ones they make here.

I like Level because it’s a nice and a bit different hang out near my house. I don’t have to go far to have a night out.

Before 21:00 when the place turns into a crowded cocktail bar, Level is a restaurant. They have nice food and the way serve that food is very pretty, but that’s also what you pay for! Their chocolate dessert for chocolate lovers is to die for though!

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Level | Bars, Restaurants (European) | Chocolate desert € 7.50
Pannekoekstraat 76A | Center | +31102800788
12:00 – 01:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Rotterdam

Image by Marieke Koets

One of my favorite bars in Rotterdam is definitely ‘Stalles’.

The location and its terrace is ideal for some good people watching. The different type of visitors to this place is also the reason I like it so much, a nice mixture of all kind of people. One thing they all have in common is that they’re relaxed.

Next to Stalles is ‘Parket’, which is the same kind of place. In fact only one wall separates the two places form being one. They share owner, staff and bathrooms. Where Furore is more a restaurant, ‘Stalles’ and ‘Parket’ are known as pubs, when the menu here is very good and gets regular up-dates. Monday and Tuesdays are pizza night. From 15:00 pizza’s cost between € 4.50 and € 6.50.

If you stay long enough during the weekend you can walk straight into Club Vibes (check the Club Vibes article), yaay!

Exciting, if you have a RotterdamPas, you get 20% discount on the bittergarnituur!!!

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Stalles | Bars, Restaurants (European) | Plat du Jour € 10.50
Nieuwe Binnenweg 11a | Center | +31104361655
Mon – Thu 12:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sun 12:00 – 02:00 (with bad weather from 15:00)

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Rotterdam

Image by ALexander Geijzendorffer

Slightly out of the center, it took me a while to go, but now I can confirm it’s a place worth visiting. The World Music Dance Center or WMDC is exactly what you’d expect when you read the name.

If you live in Rotterdam and you want a close encounter with playing world music or dancing more seriously, this is a good place to start. In collaboration with SKVR and the Codarts music school they organise workshops and lectures.

On the other hand, if you’re just around for a few days and you feel like meeting a lot of happy Spanish people over drinks and dance, this is ALSO the good place. The podium/cafe has recently seen a complete make-over and is now titled Grounds.

Grounds features an interior styled with recycled materials and a nice ambiance in which they serve drinks, but alsno snacks and a daily dish. Like mentioned in the article on Heidegger (check the Heidegger article), Rotterdam is lacking pop-podia for small artists sinds the fall of WATT so it’s great the Grounds is helping to fill up the gap.

A specific point of interest are the monthly Moonfests, where a wide variety of high quality bands from Codarts present their skills. Every group gets about half an hour, time between bands is hypershort, the music gets more dancy as it gets later (this has nothing to do with drinking) and the entrance is free! No reason not to try it out at least once.

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WMDC / Grounds | Art & culture, Bars, Music | Free
Pieter de Hoochweg 125 | Delfshaven | +31102444516
Mon – Fri 10.00 – 17.00 & during events

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Rotterdam

Image by leegsma.box.nl

The brown pub just around the corner from my old house. The beer is just beer, the coffee just coffee, the peanuts cost peanuts (they’re free to be precise) and the people that go there do so often. Rob and Coby probably know the names of 80% of their customers. Call me a sentimentalist but I think sometimes a bar should be just that.

Through the stained glass you can see the ceramic beer tap and Jugendstil interior. It took me while to realise the walls continue above conversation height and feature an array of brownish flower paintings that get slightly lost in the wallpaper and wood.

‘Tis a place you can easily visit by yourself and feel at ease. Somehow, they got me hooked to going there even now that I’ve moved to another part of town. It’s just my favourite example of an unpretentious and thereby always up-to-date place in Rotterdam. For every project I do with my catering group this is the starting point.

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Café Vanouds Vermeulen | Bars | Beer € 2.20
Nieuwe Binnenweg 332 | Delfshaven | +31104770596
Tue – Sun 10:00 – 00:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Rotterdam

Image by ALexander

The single most cozy Turkish coffee place I know. In general, coffee houses don’t seem to consider fluorescent tubes and plastic chairs as non-attractive features. In fact, these seem to replace the need for exterior signs or decoration (like the one that recently occupied what still looks like coffeeshop “High Score: no sales to those double parked” – come on, this is asking for confusion, no?)

Nika on the other hand has more to offer than a nice ambiance inside. Its mixture of a cafe, traditional shop, apple pie, wifi and art gallery attracts a nice cultural variety of people. During lunchtime it can even get crowded. Their own brand of coffee is prepared according to their recipe, from the burning process on, and makes a fairly good espresso. And apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so. Modesty not being one of their crucial virtues, they’ve got their four “coffee trophies” clearly in sight and written on a sign outside. Hey, why not. Update: now they do toasted sandwiches & wine too.

The only downside might be the three-legged tables. I’m just really not able to keep myself from leaning on the wrong side.

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Nika | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Espresso € 2.10
Benthuizerstraat 94a | Noord | +31102457940
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 19:00, Sat 10:00 – 20:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Rotterdam

Image by Anne-Marie Ros

De Aanschouw is a Show-Window Gallery (40 x 67 x 115 cm) that is fixed next to the entrance on the façade of café De Schouw.

It’s a café that functions as hang-out for writers, artists and locals. I go there once in a while to check out the weekly art on display in the show case on the facade and drink a beer. I don’t like that they smoke inside but hey the atmosphere is great.

An initiative of Frank Taal, Walter Birkhoff and Daan den Houter ~ who is in charge of the on-going overpaintpainting project. Over 500 artists have exhibited work in the Show-Window-Gallery De Aanschouw and the cool thing is that it’s open 24/7;)

If you want to experience something local and arty, you are welcome to join the weekly CHANGE (De Wissel) of the exhibition. Always takes place in presence of the artist on Friday nights at 8:30PM.

It’s easy to miss it, number 80B, close to café De Witte Aap, which I avoid since LP declared it as the best bar in the world, not!

Check for more detailed info and laterst news. Or join them on book or follow De Aanschouw on Twitter.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
De Aanschouw – WdW 80B | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea
Witte de Withstraat 80B | Center | +31641400927
24 hours daily | Weekly opening Fri 20:30

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Rotterdam