Café De Witte Aap
Voted as best bar of the world by Lonely Planet readers this classic Rotterdam pub The White Monkey draws a very varied and often too large crowd for its premises. It's a cool place to have a few drinks before dinner or before exploring the rest of this very lively neigbourhood.
Le Vagabond
The oldest, but best bar of the Binnenweg. It attracts a mixed crowd of musicians, journalists, students and travellers. The atmosphere is very laid back during the afternoon, but at night there are various activities being organised. Thursdays and Saturdays there are DJ's who organise HipHop and Britpop parties which are definitely worth a visit if you want to party it up. Every Sunday there is live music by a great variety of bands.
West-Kruiskade
The watt is the worldâs first sustainable dance club, incorporating water-saving toilets and a relaxing roof lounge with solar panels. it also is a popular music venue, which is why it attracts a more creative crowd.
Club Vie
Near the old harbour area, is a more stylish, trendy club, which also offers nice views over the maas river.
Stalles
A small bar next to Parket. They serve a large variety of single malt whiskys. It's pretty small, but very cosy.
Willâns en Wetens
Forgot your name, can hardly walk, and had so much beer that you canât see the difference between your socks and underpants? No worries! When all bars are closed you can always go to the Willâns en Wetens. You donât want to be around there when you're sober, you donât want to be around there when you hate drunk people and maybe even under the influence of other products, but you DO want to be around when you like burping, like whiskey 40 kinds, like weird conversations, and like Heineken! Open till the last person walks out.
Stadhuisplein
Number of bars and disco's that are more directed towards the working class. the nearby baja beach club at the schouwburgplein attracts a similar crowd.
Café De Unie
This restaurant/café/art society is a Rotterdam institute. Housed in a magnificent building reminiscent to a Mondriaan painting it also hosts all kinds of cultural venues and parties. A good place to have coffee too.
Exit
A fairly recently opened bar. On Thursday through Saturday this place offers live music. Most of the bands you'll find here are new yet-to-be-discovered-soon type of bands. You may be charged a small cover charge, but most of the time it is worth it. Check their website to know what's on.
O'Shea's Irish Pub
This Irish pub is in many ways quite typical. On Friday and Saturday nights the place is quite often overflowing with a decent mixture of the average going-out-partying type of young men and ladies. Tuesday nights they host a pub quiz with prizes to be won. On most other nights it's a bit more quiet and you can meet some interesting characters in there. Thursday through Saturday this place hosts live music which can be anything between really good and sheer crap. If you're lucky there might be a jam session on Sunday nights which usually is enjoyable. Under the new management it has lost its original atmosphere and it's more of a Dutch pub now.
De Pui
Very nice bar in a corner building in the heart of Kralingen. Recognizable by the distinguished red awnings. There are students there, but it is not a student pub. There are musicians there, but it is not a musicians cafe. There are businessmen there, but that makes it no business cafe. It is the mixture of people and taste, that makes it so enjoyable.
Tiki's
Don't let the cheesy Hawaiian interior put you off. Frequented by an alternative arty crowd, with rockabilly and ska and occasionally Ethiopian jazz on the loudspeakers. Cocktails and small dinner menu.
Nightlife in Rotterdam is extremely varied, every subculture has its own area in the city. The Oude Haven close to the Kubuswoningen and the main market square Blaak are the hang out spot for business, economic and law students. The cafés and restaurants in the Oude Haven Old Harbour are located around a picturesque little harbour. Scenery of water, city lights, boats and Het Witte Huis, the first skyscraper of Europe 1897. The atmosphere is really great and it is best to go when the sun sets, very romantic! Great place for a night out.
Close to the Oude Haven area, the streets around the Pannenkoekstraat have recently emerged as a new center for shopping and going out. Amidst small boutiques, selling clothes and interior design by young, upcoming designers, you can find cocktailbars such as Level or Soho, which both attract large crowds. Espeically in the summer this is a great place for a mojito.
The most lively bar area in town is Eendrachtsplein/Nieuwe Binnenweg. Alternative, easy going and full of friendly, open-minded people. The cafés you should be looking for are Stalles, Parket and Rotown. This is the place to be for the more creative orientated people, musicians, designers and artschool students. Walk down de Nieuwe Binnenweg and arrive at Café Ari Nieuwe Binnenweg/Mathenesserlaan and Westerpaviljoen grand café with the best terrace in the city. This is a good place to start the evening. Walk a little bit 3 minutes down the Binnenweg again and go left at âs-Gravendijkwal you'll see the flashy neon lights of sexclub OQ. Across the street you'll find Jazz Cafe Dizzy. A great place for a quality beer and some live jazz music. You can also eat at almost all places mentioned.
Now walk back the Binnenweg up eastbound. Cross Eendrachtsplein and go to the right towards the Westersingel. Walk 3 minutes and on your left there is the Witte de Withstraat. Some nice café's like De Witte Aap, Mondriaan, Bar P, and De Schouw are located here, along with some good restaurants as well. This is also the most arty street of Rotterdam. Here you'll find Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art (http://www.wdw.nl), MAMA, showroom for media and moving art (http://www.showroommama.nl) and many more. Drinking in style!
If you're into loud music, your best option would be to go to De Baroeg (http://www.baroeg.nl) at the "Spinozaweg" in Rotterdam-Lombardijen. Loads of heavy metal acts play here each year. Should you not feel like making your way all the way into sub-urbia, you could also try your luck at the Rhythem on Oude Binnenweg. A popular hang out of alternative types.
The clubscene in Rotterdam is well-renowned. For example, it gave birth to the gabber-housescene in the early 1990's and was home to the Now&Wow, one of the world's trendiest clubs. The Now&Wow is now defunct, but in its last lcoation, an old grain silo near metro station Maashaven, there are still numerous dance parties. Just as with the barscene, there are clubs that cater for different groups of people. Moreover, Rotterdam nightlife is very dynamic: places come and go, move around, change ownership, etc. Currently, it is mostly centered around:
Pol Bar
Nice looking bar with modern solid patio. Crowd can be sort of posh sometimes, but donât let that scare you to much. Right next to the market Thuesday and Thursday, and they won some prices with their sandwiches.
Delftsestraat
The hollywood is a large disco that fills up quickly in weekends with an overall somewhat younger crowd. the apres ski hut recreates the atmosphere of tirol in the same colourless street.
Grand café Westerpaviljoen
Rotterdammers like to read their newspaper here. For a solid breakfast Dutch âwentelteefjesâ, good lunch, or a fast meeting Westerpaviljoen is a perfect place. Hang out on their huge and fantastic terrace, drink a nice glass of Amstel or Hoegaarden White beer.
Dynamo
Muzikantencentrum Dynamo is a place which rents out rehearsal rooms and a studio to musicians. It also has a bar that operates as late as the bar staff decide to make it. It is located a bit of the beaten track and is one of Rotterdam's secrets over 95% of the locals don't even know about it!. It's location won't be disclosed here, but if you're lucky enough you might find someone who can take you there.
Kruiskade
Clubs as off corso housed in an old cinema and thalia lounge have good parties over the weekends and mostly attract 20-somethings.
Some listings that can be found around these places:
coffeeshops
As everywhere in The Netherlands, the possession of small quantities and use of cannabis hash and weed is tolerated in Rotterdam. Since Amsterdam draws more coffee-shop tourism prices are lower in Rotterdam.Some renowned places:
Coffeeshop "De lachende paus" "The laughing pope", Nieuwe Binnenweg A shop where you can buy over 40 kinds of pre-rolled joints voorgedraaide in Dutch. The prices can be high, but it's worth a visit.
Coffeeshop "Pluto" Nieuwe Binnenweg 139a Actually a headshop. They also sell loads of paraphernalia like pipes, bongs etc.
Coffeeshop "Greenhouse" Nieuwe Binnenweg Ditto.
Coffeeshop "The Reefer" De Meent, City center
Coffeeshop "The Pool" Westersingel, 5m from Central Station A nice Coffeeshop located on the 1st floor where you can sit and relax by a table or bar. Or play some pool on the 2nd and 3rd floor.
Coffeeshop the "Act" / Cafe "De Nieuwe Wet" Westerwagenstraat Since the mid '90s the sale of alcohol and cannabis in the same place has been made illegal. The natural solution? Split your coffeeshop and pub into two separate entities, with only one door.
Coffeeshop "Nemo" Nieuwe Binnenweg Unlike many coffeeshops this place is bright, open and airy with large windows and comfortable seats; the walls are covered in a Disney Nimo-esque montage and the music is more relaxed than many coffeeshops. A good place for someone wanting something softer than many other coffeeshops.
Please remember that possesing large quantities of hasheesh or cannabis is a crime in The Netherlands, and please do not take stuff with you when leaving The Netherlands you can be punished severely in neigbouring countries. It's also unwise to buy for someone else, especially if it's a foreigner as you can be punished in his or her country of origin it has happened.
A noteworthy fact is that smoking tobacco is currently banned inside food and drink establishments — even coffeeshops! That being said, tobacco smoking appears to be tolerated in coffee shops, and their pre-rolled joints are often mixed with tobacco.