The Butcher the Most Exclusive Bar in Amsterdam
Over the years the shallow man has been fortunate enough to spend time at some of the best bars in the world. Bar Gabyani in Munich, The bars of the Paramount Hotel in London and New York, the VIP Room, L’arc and my personal favorite in Paris, the Hotel Costes. While Amsterdam has plenty to offer, with some fine establishments having opened in recent years, I had yet to find a bar with the exclusivity of L’ARC or the Hotel Costes, even if a couple of places I’ve been to in Amsterdam have come very close and are indeed outstanding, that was until last Friday.
In my never ending quest to answer the questions of my readers, I received a message that peaked my interest. “Shallow man, as you appear to be well informed on the bar scene in Amsterdam, can you tell me about a place which apparently sells burgers but allegedly has a bar hidden away behind it. Do you know it? What’s it like?”
The shallow man has to admit that while having heard about such a bar, that he’d never actually got round to visiting it. Following some research amongst the shallow man network, I found the place in question and purely in the name of research put myself through a night of cocktail drinking and socializing in the best bar I’ve ever been to in Amsterdam, no actually the Netherlands in all of my nine years here. The things I do for my readers!
The return of the speakeasy
For those of you who watch the outstanding Boardwalk Empire, or are keen students of history, you’ll know that during the prohibition era in the United States that many secret bars which were called speakeasies, opened up hidden in drugstores, dancing academies, delicatessens, and even butchers. These were often decadent places of extreme opulence and luxury, which brings me to the subject of today’s post, the Butcher.
Hidden behind a burger bar…
What’s the password?
A feature of the speakeasy was that to prevent undercover agents from the treasury department entering such establishments, a password was required to gain entry. The butcher, also known as TBA, conveniently located within walking distance of the shallow man Batcave in the Pijp area of Amsterdam, is hidden behind an outstanding burger bar. Walk through the burger joint and you’ll find a discreetly placed buzzer. A steel door opens and a beautiful woman will ask you for one of Amsterdam’s best-kept secrets, the password of the night. If you have this or are fortunate enough to be on the guest list you can enter.
Do you have the password?
Bar heaven
Like most former practicing Catholics, I have a habit of returning to my faith in times of stress or extreme joy. In the butcher, I have found bar heaven. The first thing that hits you upon entering is the atmosphere, a combination of good music, elegant design and a packed bar full of unusually for Amsterdam beautifully dressed hot antelopes and lions. Doe maar normaal is definitely not practiced here. It was nice to be in a bar where the shallow man was not the best-dressed person. One of best, but certainly not the only one.
The design of this exclusive bar makes the social interaction as inevitable as Lady Gaga not wearing enough clothes. The main room has a long rectangular bar around which most of the patrons sit. The bar staff are superb, a list of cocktails are served, which is a combination of some classics and many butcher originals. They are also happy to mix the cocktail of your choice on request. I sat next to three beautiful ladies who in between cocktails, spent the entire evening with their smartphones taking photos of themselves individually, as a group and then individually again. Indeed the shallow man did wonder if any conversation took place at all, so busy were they taking photos, but as readers of my book will know, I can forgive beautiful women just about anything.
How were the Lions and Antelope?
A smattering of Dutch BNers (Bekende Nederlanders) business, sports people, models and fashion types made up the crowd. The Lions and Antelope gathered at the watering hole and no one was eaten (at least not in the bar) and the crowd was friendly and in good spirits. The bar has eye candy so sweet they could rot your teeth in an instant.
Any other comments?
If the shallow man eats a bad bitterballen and dies in Amsterdam, I’ve left instructions to have my ashes scattered on the floor of the Butcher. Enough said.
No self-photographing beautiful people were hurt during the writing of this article.
OPENING TIMES
Sun – Tue 12 PM till 11 PM
Wed – Thu 12 PM till 1 AM
Fri – Sat 12 PM till 3 AM
Albert Cuypstraat 129
1072 CS Amsterdam
+31 (0) 204 707 875
TBA is nice, nothing more. It is true the 95% of the living space is dedicated to the bar. I half expected to find the architect on an inverted crucifix in the toilets, but I never went as the fear of losing my small standing area stopped me. Our experience was ok, after the initial humiliation of sitting at a table and then being told we could only sit there if we took a 150 euros (minimum) bottle of booze. So, hard to get in and hard to sit down. What next ? Well, nice cocktails. Enfin. Excuse me, I am on my way to 74…..
I can see how TBA caught the attention of the shallow man – after all it’s a place to see and be seen:) In case , however, you wouldn’t miss the girls taking photos of each other all night but instead like to spend an evening enjoying the company of your friends and some quality drinks,well ..Then again, maybe as a woman I received faster service at Vesper:) So you’re quite right – it’s a matter of personal taste, but please, please don’t compare an Aston to TBA!
Shallow Man, you must be a small town boy if you are impressed by the likes of the Butcher. It is an over-sized oblong bar with very little room to move around. A lot of my friends go, that is fine, but when you are truly from a big city, the place just cannot compare. It put it in the ranks with Costes, or any big city lounge for that matter, is a FAR stretch.
Yes, I’m from a very small town called London. Due to a particularly shallow existence I’ve led in the last twenty plus years I’ve spent lots of time in various fine bars in many countries. In the humble opinion of the shallow man, TBA is the best bar that I’ve been to in the Netherlands. That’s my opinion and you of course are entitled to yours.
The service and cocktails at Door 74 are definitely much better than at TBA. It has a “no hitting on other guests” policy , so no antelope- lion dances 🙂 At Vesper the cocktails are also nicer, not to mention that at both places nobody smokes, unlike TBA….the allure of TBA being the location and the password
Comparing Door 74 and Vesper to TBA is like comparing a BMW and a porsche to an Aston Martin. Ultimately, it’s all about personal taste. I’ve been to all three bars and find TBA the best that Amsterdam has to offer, also prefer the cocktails at TBA to Vespers, again it’s a matter of personal taste. Vespers is so small that it takes too long to get each cocktail, then again, perhaps I’m just impatient.
hey shallowman, if you like this place so much then i m pretty sure that you ll love door 74! please try and leave your comment…
Hello I am a gold digger but I am a good one, I would love to go on a date with you and buy you a drink or two in that bar in my red pants and take a picture with my smart phone of the drinks and post it on Facebook. Since i have a blackberry because my last boyfriend refused to buy me an iPhone, I will not make many pictures cause I don’t want to be seen with that ugly item in my sensual hands.
I love your writing!
P.s. I am serious about the date
Thank you Bla, that’s a very kind offer, but for the date, you’ll have to join the queue.
How did you manage to get the password to such a place though?
That I’m afraid, is Amsterdam’s best kept secret.