The Amsterdam Ice Bar

The concept is great, but when you get there it lacks in atmosphere, in the bar before you go in you get one free drink but you have to finish it before you go into the ice bar! The ice bar itself is tiny, nothing special besides the walls of ice and crammed with people. It’s ok. We left early though.

We paid € 18 for the pleasure of going into the Icebar. We thought it would be fun, and that the fact we got 3 drinks would make it worth the visit. However all we got was a cocktail in the waiting area followed by 2 more drinks in the icebar which were only a wee sip of vodka, no mixers or a beer. All in a tiny glass. Yes it was novel but not really worth it when you see the amount of people packed in there and the tiny amount of drink you get.
The bar at the front is really just a waiting area, not much atmosphere other than the video of the pirate playing over and over until its your time to go in. There is a bell rang at our designated time and we are led into a little tunnel while waiting to go into the icebar. The pirate explains with much shouting not to lick the ice, what drinks are available and to enjoy our time in there!
You are provided with a coat, one size fits all and some gloves, too big and once you keep on moving inside you won’t be too cold. Remember to wash your hands after wearing the gloves as I’m sure they have been worn on many hands before you!
I’d say that this is a real tourist trap but sure if you’ve not much else to do of an evening and the Red light District doesn’t interest you then you might like the Icebar.

Another great experience with an ice bar. Entry into the ice bar plus 3 drink tokens works out about £14.
You get one token to use in the main bar for a beer, cocktail or soft drink. While you wait for your time slot into the ice bar itself.
Then when in the ice bar you can use 2 tokens on a vodka and mixer.
They provide you with coats and gloves. The temperature was –9 so we only stayed in there for about half an hour. Even so the experience was great and well worth a visit

When you enter there, is a very nice bar, with a good decoration
They ask us to be there 20min before the schedule time, so everybody can enter at the ice bar together.
At the time, it rings a bell and the TV shows a video with a big ship and a capitan telling about the «big adventure» we would have. It was good and everyone there were excited to go there.
Then it came a guy from the bar to recute us to go there. He tried to be a «rude pirat», but it wasn’t even funny.
In the hall we took some huge coats and gloves to get in. They had a very bad smell, it seemed that they don’t wash it ever.
You could drink two shots there (not pure, but with orange juice). The decoration there is very nice, with polar bears made of ice, frozen things inside the walls and everything.
But it’s actually a fridge. And you can’t stay there more than 20min (we tried, but it’s the most we could stand there)
After this, you can have a drink at the bar.
I need to admit that I regret about my choice to go there. Too expensive for what it is.

Tourist trap! Only drunk English tourists! Do not go here. First you are in a bar for a first drink. Then you get a sticky coat and you go into a fridge without any atmosphere. There are to many nice bars in town to go here.

This place consists of a decent bar, nice drinks and a walk-​in refrigerator. The so-​called «ice bar» is a room with white plastic on the walls and a bar in the corner where they serve vodka and orange juice. They also have a TV which shows a ridiculous, confusing, over-​produced video about pirates and something else that has nothing to do with Ice, or bars, or ice-​bars.
Because the ponchos they hand out upon entry do little to protect you from freezing cold, we ended up leaving after 5 minutes and going back to the bar inside.
We stopped off here before the Heineken experience as part of a package deal for € 29. We got entrance to both and 5 free drinks and in that sense, it was worth it. Unless you’re desperately looking for ways to pass the time or have free tickets, I would not bother.

AVOID! MAJOR TOURIST TRAP!!! we did not go in… They will refund your money if you make this mistake.

Don’t waist your time. My boyfriend and I were like ohh why not it’ll be fun. You put on a coat that probably had never been washed and smelled like a locker room and then gloves that the previous group had worn. I even asked if they were clean and he flat out said no. The bar is pretty much a walk in freezer with cool lights. Atleast the picture was cool.

The Ice Bar! Lol I’m giggling as I type this review. I really wish I hadn’t come to this place. It’s such a waste of money and time. If you want to pay money to stand in a freezer barely the size of your local McDonald’s freezer, then come to this place. Otherwise, there is simply no value in coming here. Maybe come to the ‘warm’ room at night and check out the bar, but I’ve never done it so I can’t tell you if it’s any good.
A positive is that it is a really nice bar/​lounge outside of the freezer. However, if it’s winter time or simply cold in Amsterdam, stand outside and take a shot of anything. You will have had your ‘Ice Bar’ experience.

drinking beer or vodka shots out of cups made out of ice is kinda fun but who wants to go to a tourist attraction that doesn’t allow you to take pictures? You can only buy their overpriced photos. Pass!

This place is the definition of a tourist trap. Overpriced? Yep. Looks nothing like the advertised photos? Oh, indeed it does not. Complete waste of time? Absolutely.
The build up to sit in what one can only describe (as others on here have) a walk-​in freezer the size of a modest conference room, is hilarious. They show you this short video — replete with National Geographic footage of dueling polar bears and sprawling glaciers, backed by a Hans Zimmeresque score that’s supposed to pump you up for your «experience.» Then you are told to don these metalic wool-​lined ponchos and electric blue mittens so it looks like you’re about to be inducted into some frosty, galactic space cult (actually, had that happened, it would have been WAY more fun than what awaits you). Mine had a weird smell that I’m guessing comes from not having been washed in a while. Then before entering, your bartender explains the rules: 2 drinks. Liquor choices are vodka, jagermeister, or this sour drink (I went for this option. Tasted like tangy orange starbursts, which sounds good in theory, not in practice). Beer choice is Heineken. You get one drink before the movie, and the other when it’s over; and NO PICTURES. They want you to pay for *their* photos. No thanks. Walk in, get your drink. They put on this 3D film that had something to do with cartoon penguins. Limited places to sit and comfortably see the very small screen, so it’s mostly standing room. Film’s done, get another drink… and that’s it.
Use the euros you would have spent here on any number of other great bars/​restaurants/​coffee shops in and around lovely Amsterdam.

Very disappointing. The coats they give you smell unclean and the 3d show was very childish. We didn’t finish our drinks and left. They wouldn’t allow us to take pictures in there. I really recommend skipping this one

It’s an ok place to stop. Make sure you have the coupon! For € 15.50 you go into a walkin cooler with ice sculptures. You get 2 drinks — either straight vodka, yagger, or beer. You can’t switch! You watch a 4D short clip which honestly is just so you can have balls flying towards your face. The bar out of the cooler is not too bad. You can get 4 Heineken for € 10. Don’t stop if you don’t like corny.

Simply aweful. The actual ice bar was tiny (about 2 times the size of a standard hotel room). It had a very low cieling; I’m pretty sure it is just the same freezer that is at your local convenience store. The ‘special show’ is a 3D video which looks like it was made by a high school kid in video technology class. It made no sense; you would have to be stoned to enjoy it… which is doable nearby. Outside of how big a rip off and cheesy everything was it was something like 14 degrees F in the bar. After about 10 minutes of the 30 minute ordeal you are freezing (the coat and gloves they give you don’t get it done).
I know you are saying «But it’s an ice bar! A bar made of ice! It has to be awesome!» I did the same thing. I couldn’t have been more wrong! If I could give it less stars I would! I would actually pay to give it negative stars. DON’T GO HERE!
I can only imagine that the person who gave this 4 stars in an employee.

I’m with Rubin K on everything. Hit the nail on the head. That was the craziest, dumbest video I may have ever watched while drinking a cold beer, or even anywhere. Waste of money and not even funny enough to just tell people I did it. Nothing special here, and no, the big jackets don’t help while your in a cooler.

I’d say that I’m usually a pretty good traveler and avoid the tourist traps, but something about this place intrigued me. It’s ice. it’s drinking… sounds like fun?
It’s not. It’s an interesting idea for 30 seconds before you realize that it’s literally freezing and they force you to watch this ridiculous «4D experience» movie that is geared for those stoned. Plus it is not 4D (or at least not that I noticed)…it’s barely 3D.
Honestly, you’re just cold the entire time. They give you this poncho-​esque thing with some gloves that are no where nearly as warm enough as they should be for what you’re doing. They give you options of shots of smirnoff, jäger or a glass of heinken… all chilled (of course). If you want both a shot and beer, you have to do the beer first. You have to have one drink before you watch the movie and one after.
It is a literal waste of time and money. We at least got a couple bucks off by going to the Tourist places that sold it for 15 euros.

This place is terrible and is a tourist trap! Not worth the money… way better bars around town!

I signed up for Unilocal just so I can tell the world what a scam this place is!!! Do not go

Heineken that’s chilled below 0 °C!
The bar is pretty nice. The bartenders are fun and accommodating.
Our Ice 3D show was only 2D, some of the equipment broke right before we came. Even with that, it was pretty fun.
It is literally freezing in the ice bar, you have no choice but to wear gloves and winter jackets. Inside the ice bar, you get a few drinks that are poured in little shot glasses made of ice.
It is pretty touristy. If I lived in Amsterdam, I would never come back, unless just to hang out at their regular front bar.