Café Mokum

Came here for drinks and dancing. Security at the door– friendly casual scene. Strong drinks and a cool vibe. Top 40 played on the iPod. No smoking inside so that’s a plus. Located among many other bars /​cafes side by side. Didn’t understand why you have to PAY TO PISS after spending so much money at the bar. Makes no sense. Would come back.

Café Mokum is located in a large busy square and has extensive outdoor seating both in front of the restaurant and in the square.
Drink prices here are very reasonable and they have a great selection. We both opted for a glass of Rosè since it was a nice summer afternoon. Service was prompt and courteous. The wine was served at just the right temperature.
After a while, we were feeling hungry, so we ordered the bitterballen and fries. Both were delicious. The food prices were also very reasonable.
As an aside, this location does not accept American credit cards, so be prepared to pay cash.

Holy tourist trap!
There are two kinds of people who visit Café Mokum — those looking for good company later in the evening (wink) and those who hate breathing air.
At any weekend evening, this place is LOADED with people, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing seeing how well-​behaved everyone is, focussed on having a good time, and dancing the night away in the really small space. As my mate says, it’s heads banging against other heads.
The staff is really awesome, and kudos to them for being able to handle the mayhem so comfortably. I would go insane. The toilets upstairs are well maintained, too. All in all, there’s nothing much going against Mokum other than the smoke, but it isn’t all that bad either.
The sound and music system at Mokum is what makes for a wonderful evening. It’s one good tune after another, and they even upgraded the system a few months ago! The drinks aren’t very expensive or so and the bar is well stocked, although, like most Amsterdam bars, you can forget about cocktails.
So, there, next time you’re looking for some international company for the evening and don’t want to spend a lot of cash finding it, stop at Café Mokum for the good times! There, I said it.

Every time I have been in Amsterdam I have come to Café Mokum on Leidseplein. I tend to bring out of towners and ex-​pats here and it’s always a seriously great time for everyone involved. It’s a busy place in the summer, so you have to be realistic with your expectations of the service. But, in my experience, the bartenders and wait staff are all really awesome people that you can make friends with as the night wears on. Said friendships may or may not be associated with a long string of really bad decisions and simultaneously really great decisions on my part.
And, I mean, sure — the reality is that there’s a pretty comparable experience from one bar to the next in this square — but, Café Mokum has always stood out to me because of the especially great people I’ve met who worked there.
Come hear to cheer for Oranje!!!

There were a lot of questionable things about this night, things that I’m just not allowed to talk about) that led to an amazingly memorable evening for my Bachelor Party/​Eurotrip all thanks to the kickass bartender Peter!