The claim
On a quiet harbourside square in the old Eastern Islands district, De Druif (The Grape) has long claimed 1585 and the patronage of the 17th-century admiral Piet Hein. Archive research dates the bar to 1863 instead, but its old counter, jenever bottles and neighbourhood regulars still make it one of Amsterdam's most characterful brown cafés.
What the records show
The 1585 dates a distillery, not a café, and comes from the local press: Oost Online reports that the De Druif liqueur distillery dates from 1585 and that a café is said to have been in the building from 1631, while rejecting the story that the admiral Piet Hein drank here — he was dead by then. Amsterdam750 goes further and finds that De Druif began as a drinking house only in 1863.
| Year | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1585 | Claimed founding | The press |
| 1863 | First record of a drinking house here | amsterdam750.nl |
What to look for inside
- Claims 1585 and a link to admiral Piet Hein
- Drinking house documented only from 1863
Visiting
Café De Druif is in Amsterdam, Netherlands, at Rapenburgerplein 83, Amsterdam. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- amsterdam750.nl/verhaal/wat-is-de-oudste-kroeg-van-amsterdam/
- oost-online.nl/stamgasten-willen-cafe-de-druif-door-de-crisis-helpen/
- api.data.amsterdam.nl/v1/horeca/exploitatievergunning/?adres%5Blike%5D=Rapenburgerplein%2083*&_format=json
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
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Free to put on your own site, no permission needed. It shows what the pub claims and what the records support, and it changes when the data does.
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