During Christmas you usually have plenty of dinners planned, but of course you want to celebrate Christmas with everyone. That’s why I think the concept of a Christmas drink is a very good one; not the hassle of a dinner party, but a relaxed vibe of drinking wines and eating small snacks.
In addition to a good drink menu, the cafes and bars must also have good snacks. I also find it very important, especially during the colder winter days, that a place feels cosy and warm. That’s why I’ve made a list of amazing places for a Christmas drink in Rotterdam. At these spots you’ll want to stick around a while longer during those cold Christmas days.
1. Christmas market Trompenburg on December 9,10 en 11
Nothing evokes the Christmas feeling like having a drink outside at a Christmas market. Visit all the stalls in beautiful Trompenburg while enjoying a Gluhwein or a hot chocolate. Browse the sustainable market in search of flower bulbs, second-hand Christmas baubles and cute Christmas plants. Read more about this green Christmas market in Rotterdam.
Trompenburg is always a wonderful place to take a walk. This botanical garden has something special every season.
Also nice: the Tea House is open during the Christmas market. Go get a nice bowl of chowder or buy something else to eat at one of the food trucks.
Discover even more fun Christmas markets in Rotterdam.
Address
Honingerdijk 86 (beneden), 3062 NX Rotterdam
2. Bistrot-Bar Frère
Bistrot-Bar Frère is one of the new additions in Blijdorp. This French bistrot is, in their own words, “a place for everyone who has a taste for French food, groove, funk and hip-hop”. What more do you want?! Choose a delicious snack from the drink menu and have a good natural wine with it.
So you can have a drink there, but I would definitely advise you to stick around for dinner. Choose a menu for Petite Faim or Grande Faim, which means small appetite or big appetite.
Frère is only open for dinner during Christmas itself, so if you just want a drink you should go before or after Christmas. They will be closed for two weeks from the 28th of December.
Address
Statenweg 66A, 3039 JG, Rotterdam
3. Amore
Amore is the perfect place to have a drink around Christmas in your dressed-up outfit. In addition to loving the interior, I have a thing for their fantastic tasty drinks and snacks. I myself really like the sakes, but also the Amore punch.
A good drink must go together with good snacks, so try their polenta fries with bisque mayonnaise or cheese puffs with onion compote.
Are you looking for more nice places in West? Then read our ultimate guide.
Address
Tiendplein 1, 3014 BH Rotterdam
4. Bar Simon
Bar Simon is one of those places where you go for one glass of wine, but then linger until late in the evening. They have an extensive wine and beer list here, which is of course perfect if you are going for Christmas drinks with a lot of people.
At this bar-bistro you can share all kinds of dishes.
TIP: Bar Simon is also a good Christmas dinner spot. On 24 and 25 December they will serve a festive four or five course menu at Bar Simon. You can even go all out and expand the menu with oysters and/or cheese.
Address
Middellandplein 16A, 3021 BT Rotterdam
5. Kaapse Will’ns
Kaapse Will’ns is my new favourite place to drink beers. Sometimes, if I can handle it, even a ‘kopstootje’. They have a lot of special and tasty jenevers, which you don’t necessarily have to shot.
I think it’s a very cosy and warm place. So I think it’s a very good bar to find a nice spot inside around Christmas and try out the whole menu with friends.
Address
Nieuwe Binnenweg 111-A 02, 3014 GH Rotterdam
6. Café Marseille
When you sit in Café Marseille, you can almost imagine yourself in France. I like to settle here on a Sunday to eat an oyster in together with some natural wine.
I think this is the perfect place to have a drink on a Sunday afternoon during the Christmas holidays and to order tasty snacks all day long, such as my favourites panisse aioli and canned sardines.
Address
1e Middellandstraat 16B, 3014 BD Rotterdam
7. Café De Oude Sluis
If there is one café that always has a cosy winter and Christmas atmosphere, it is Café De Oude Sluis in Delfshaven. Historic Delfshaven has a high Dickens feeling, so perfect for around the Christmas Holidays.
Order a beer from the tap and have a ‘bitterbal’ with it, that’s really all a person needs. Sometimes one pub is not quite enough, so go read our guide for the ultimate pub crawl through Rotterdam.
Address
Havenstraat 7, 3024 SE Rotterdam
8. Café Prêt à Boire
As may have been clear by now, I love natural wines. Café Prêt à Boire is one of my newest favourite places to do this. Here you have very special snacks and dishes to share to accompany your wine.
Also grab one of the fun games duringg your casual Christmas drink when you don’t feel like chatting for a while.
Address
Bloemfonteinstraat 78C, 3072 HK Rotterdam
9. Jesús Malverde Bar
Of course, a chic Christmas party is not complete without a cocktail. At Jesús Malvedere you are already impressed by the beautiful interior and then you have not even tasted their street food yet.
Jesús Malverde is the perfect place for a Christmas drink for when you’re not ready for the cold chilly atmosphere, but rather pretend you’re in a warm country.
Address
Schaatsbaan 83, 3013 AR Rotterdam
10. Paddy Murphy’s Irish Pub
It’s always a party at Paddy Murphy’s Irish Pub. It doesn’t matter what time you go there, there are always people drinking beer. When you step inside, all your sense of time is gone.
In my opinion, the perfect place to drop in on any day around Christmas and let yourself be completely carried away by the atmosphere at the pub.
Address
Rodezand 15, 3011 AM Rotterdam
Of course there are many more cosy places to have a (Christmas) drink. Do you have any tips for cafes with tasty drinks and a good snack menu? Let us know in the comments!
