Utrecht is the lively, beating heart of Holland. It was built around The iconic Domtoren, a 14th-century bell tower with city views, stands opposite the Gothic Cathedral of St. Martin on central Domplein square. You can see the Dom tower, from any point in the city, so there is no way you can get lost in the attractive, car-free city centre. Utrecht boasts beautiful canals with extraordinary wharf cellars housing cafés and terraces by the water. Utrecht also boasts The Museum Catharijneconvent shows religious art and artefacts in a former monastery, plus hundreds of other monuments that each contribute to the special atmosphere in this centuries-old university town. The canals in Utrecht with their old wharf cellars are a real attraction. In the bustling inner city of Utrecht, there are countless shops, cafés and restaurants all jostling for space. Perfect if you want to go for dinner and drinks after a shopping spree. Many restaurants have terraces that overlook the canals. There are also six brewpubs (May 2022) so lot's of "Beer Research" to go at?
Brewpub De Kromme Haring, Europalaan 2 C
Located in an odd industrial park a bit of a walk from the rest of the "go to" beery stuff. It’s about 30 mins walking distance from Utrecht CS, or a 5 min bus ride. Not easy to find, as it’s in the far left corner of the former business park that's a breeding ground for creative entrepreneurs. You’ll find some delightful independent shops and designers, restaurant's . It’s next to the large bus terminal. Inside it's a little spartan, improvised and cosy looking brewpub, the bar is on a high mezzanine that lover looks the brewery, plus with ample outdoor seating. Anarcho-hipster-tofu clientele. A cool selection of beers with 14 taps, 9 brewed onsite and 5 from guest brewers. They have small snacks available to go with the beers. The service is pleasant and interested, with decent prices, all beers available in small (15cl) size as well. Note all their beers after fish or seafood.
Maximus Brouwerij, Pratumplaats 2B
A medium-sized brewpub with a minimalistic, modern and slightly industrial style. Located in the Leidsche Rijn suburb of Utrecht, not the most inspiring location but somehow you don’t notice when you sit on their sunny patio. Inside is relatively spacious, not enormous. Lots of wood, brewing stuff and some equipment visible, large bar. It’s all nicely decorated, it breathes beer & brewing. They have about twenty beers on tap, most of them by their own, but also a handful of guests.They can be ordered in 20, 25 and 50 cl, and a tasting flight of four beers. When you visit the brewpub there are always limited editions beers on tap. Prices are okay, and the staff are very friendly and make you feel welcome. Snacks and some more sophisticated food is also available, but can be quite expensive though. A great place to visit. 🙃
Oproer Brouwerij Biercafé, CAB-Rondom 90A
A big industrial place crawling distance from the train station Utrecht Zuilen. It's a pretty nice place for a beer. At Oproer they don’t follow international trends, but basically, brew whatever they feel like brewing. Inside there are long wooden tables with lots of space in between. An industrial look everywhere, but the place is just a little too big to appear really cosy, there is also lots of outside seating. The kitchen on the opposite side of the bar serves vegan food. They also have a kids corner next to the kitchen, with lots of toys and books, its nice and clean and with the heating right next to it, it's pretty comfortable for kids. They have 15 taps of mostly their own beer, which you can sample for very cheap: a flight of 5 beers costs 6 Euros, which is very cheap considering other breweries in Utrecht charge 10-12 Euros for a flight of 4. Very helpful and knowledgeable staff. A great place to visit.🍻
Van de Streek, Ontariodreef 43
The Van de Streek brothers brewed from home then rented space in bigger breweries before recently opening their own brewery in Utrecht Overvecht. Here they brew their famous Hop Art and price winning BlackBock. The tasting room is open on Friday and Saturday. The webshop has a wide choice of alcohol-free, lighter and heavier beers. Various combination packages are also available.
Oudaen Bierbrouwerij, Oudegracht 99
A stunning old building on the canal with huge ceilings and very high end, big chandeliers and paintings depicting all sorts of posh Renaissance conviviality. Located in the ’Oudegracht’ in Utrecht, about 10 minutes walk of the main station. They brew their own beers, but these brews aren’t very interesting and only about 4 of their beers usually available. The beers are dispensed from huge tanks located on the wall behind the bar. The food is nice. Prices are quite high, but it’s kind of a fancy place, so that’s to be expected.
De Leckere, Schaverijstraat 15
Located next to city brewery Oudaen, De Leckere was probably the first one that could call itself a craft brewery, although it’s definitely not a small brewery anymore. They brew 100% organic beers which they name after famous Utrecht landmarks. De Leckere have brew tap in De Werkspoorkathedraal, an old train workshop called Werkspoorcafé, Tractieweg 43. Located in a remote area, about 10 minute walk from Utrecht Zuilen station. a modern looking taproom, on two levels, looks neat. They have 10 taps of their own beer on tap, plus a couple of seasonal bottles. Standard food menu friendly staff, worth seeking out especially if you are a "beer geek"🤪
Café Derat, Lange Smeestraat 37
A rather small side street local’s bar, always busy and buzzing, but very cozy and old-fashioned pub with lots of dark wood, small and worn-out tables, a battered piano, open windows on a warm summer day. They have five beers taps with a weird and wonderful selection on offer, but the bottle list is definitely the main attraction. Quite diverse with lots of Dutch micros and Belgian beers for really reasonable prices, compared to what you pay for bottles elsewhere. ( It's a A beer bar named after rats, but they love their 2 house cats.) If you are in the area then this has to be on your itinerary. Bus 2 can be caught to the centre, but its just as easy to walk. Knowledgeable staff are there to greet you as you would expect from a place of such a high caliber.
De Drie Dorstige Herten, Lange Nieuwstraat 47
This café name translates to ‘The three thirsty deer’. It's a true hidden gem and feels more like a living room than a pub. An excellent selection of 9 beers from the tap's and a large selection of bottled beers, with lots and lots of small Dutch breweries. Knowledgeable and passionate owners. Worth stopping a couple of times...
Familie van Rijk, Amsterdamsestraatweg 379
Familie van Rijk is actually a delicatessen! The place looks amazing on the inside and the owner is a cool guy. But in the back of the shop, you’ll be drawn to 3-meter bier, selling over 60 beers from independent Dutch breweries. And there is a pretty interesting International selection, too. Great friendly staff, you can also pick up a fresh cup of coffee to go or some yummy bread. Totally recommend!
Beers & Barrels, Oudegracht aan de Werf 125
Beers & Barrels actually has two branches in Utrecht and the beer and cider menu is mighty impressive. You can sample local beers, Dutch beers, and foreign beers. Basically a burger and BBQ restaurant centrally located by the canal in Utrecht. It's a fairly large place located in an underground vaulted warehouse by the canal, that creates a cool atmosphere. You can sit outside on the nice wharf terrace. Inside looks quite cool with its dark wharf interior, soft light and long bunk tables. Service is friendly and efficient.
Beers & Barrels (at the Harbour), Veilinghavenkade 177
Located a 10 minute walk from the central station, on Utrecht’s harbour. A fairly large place with a nice atmosphere, modern but cosy interior, with a central bar and kitchen area with seating all round and lover looked by mezzanine seating, also a large patio on the street side. Quick and attentive service. Unfortunately the Beer list is an exact copy of the other Beers & Barrels.
De Bierverteller, Twijnstraat 47
A beer shop in an old building just outside the city center, near to trainstation Utrecht Vaartsche Rijn. The store itself is not that big, but it looks quite spacious thanks to the design. Beers are grouped by style, excluding most local beers, which are grouped together. A nice assortment of national and international beers, with many specialties and/or rare beers. Some large refrigerators with chilled beer. Not easy to reach by car, so advised to use public transport. Friendly staff. Decent prices. All in all a neat beer shop, worth a visit when around.
Taplokaal Gist, Helling 9
A big place in the "hipster" part of town just south of the city centre. Located a bit out of the way, but no more than a 20 min walk from Central Station, 2 mins from Vaartsche Rijn. A big draft selection with lots of interesting craft beer, including special variants. Bottle selection has some good stuff, but can be very pricey. Inside it is also a modern looking place, open plan with seating arranged in an L shape around a centrally located bar with kitchen area at the rear, but again reflecting modern looks you can see into the food preparation in this area. The food is allright, but also a bit expensive and not good enough considering they focus on food as well! It's not perfect, but the great draft selection makes it worthwhile.
Kafé België, Oudegracht 196
A medium-sized beer bar with some wooden interior and a few tables outside. The place is usually filled with students, expats and other international people in the 18-30 year range. Easy to make some new friends. They have twenty taps, mostly well-known Belgian stuff, but also some International beers. The rather large bottle list focuses also heavily on Belgian standards, with only few surprises found? Very friendly and talkative staff, relaxed and not too geeky atmosphere, pleasant ambiance, with usually some cool rock music playing in the background.
Café Jan Primus, Jan van Scorelstraat 27-31
A small, neighbourhood local's focused bar that has a pretty decent selection of bottles and taps for a small place like this. Located a little way out of town (and off the free map available from the tourist office) but it’s a nice walk through Wilhelmina Park or you can get the number 4 bus, which goes through the central station, and hop off right outside. It’s at a crossroads in a quietish residential area. There are a few tables and chairs outside by the big picture windows, which have a nice art deco stained glass frieze. Inside, it’s mainly dark wood with a nicotine stained ceiling from the days when it must have been a brown café. Now it’s smokeless of course and very pleasant. They offer mostly Belgian beer, including all Trappists (except Westvleteren) and some sours. Some Dutch brews and the rare English one (cider) is also offered. Taps apparently change fairly frequently which is always good. The service is friendly and knowledgeable. People come here to quietly enjoy a beer or two after work or dinner. Also they have tasty cheese available. Prices are friendly.
dB's oefenstudio's, concertzaal & muziekcafé, CAB Rondom 100
dB’s is a deep down dirty pub that is specialized in decent beer since the new bar was built in 2017. James, the beer specialist, does his best to create a beer Valhalla? There are 8 taps available with well selected beers and 50+ bottles. Basically it's a place to practice with your band or go to a small concert, but they have a great list of beers for very good prices. And also a small kitchen with great vegan food! Friendly service and next to the train station. Need I say more? A must visit if you are in Utrecht?
Café Ledig Erf, Tolsteegbrug 3
The pub is situated on a busy junction of canals and shopping streets, though when I say busy I mean predominantly with pedestrians and bikes. There is a large outside seating area, inside, it is a small, pleasant café with some attractive art deco stained glass windows and it's a bit surreal especially the huge pale green mushroom thing you can sit under! The tap list is decent and primarily Belgian and a bottle list that also offers the odd American beer. Some simple snacks available. Prices are a tad high, but if you can find a chair in the sun here it is still worth visiting.
Café Olivier, Achter Clarenburg 6a
Located next to Utrecht CS Hoog Catharijne. Huge and spacious bar, located in an old church, and it shows. It looks really cool, with lots of wood, church ornaments, loaded with beer ornaments the bar is a main feature on the left side. The high vaulted ceilings of the old church organ and pipes really add to the experience. It’s quite popular as well, so it gets crammed, especially close to the bar as it’s relatively narrow and not the best place to hang around on a busy night, but service is quick. Get a seat/table if you can. The beer selection is mostly Belgian, the obvious stuff, some Utrecht beers (vandeStreek, Stapzwan) and their house beer on tap. They do a really tasty food menu even though it's a bit pricy, even for center Utrecht standards. Overall: Great food, beer and wine, friendly staff and a unique ambience. It might feel a bit awkward at first, drinking while surrounded by statues?
Tilt, Lange Jufferstraat 62
Café Tilt is located close to Bierman and Bierman so If you look at a city centre map of Utrecht then with Bierman & Bierman just out of the immediate centre and located to the north east at about 1 to 2 'o' clock if you viewed it as a clock face then Tilt is a very short walk away heading pretty much on the same road into town. Its situated on a corner with an outdoor seating area and with plenty of a seating in the main Café. It offers a nice more atmospheric, comfortable and traditional option for those seeking a beer and maybe bite to eat. It's a typical Dutch inertia lots of wood and tall stools at the bar, quite spacious and with a black and white photo montage on one wall.
Bierman & Bierman, Biltstraat 46
A spacious beer shop just outside the city center. Friendly staff. Good selection of local beers, Dutch beers and Belgian beers. Nice selection of German beers. Also quite a lot of other foreign beers, but I particularly noticed the selection of the aforementioned countries. Prices are a bit steep?
WORK IN PROGRESS
COMING EARLY 2021
CHECK BACK SOON
Translate This Page