I amsterdam - Best Hood for Hangin'

So Hot it Smokes
This favourite neighbourhood for everyone from expats to immigrants, students to professionals, and the young & hip to the groovy and stylish, has been nicknamed everything from the Quartier Latin to Amsterdam’s ‘Village’, but its real name comes from the pipe-shaped form it takes on the map. Adored for its laid-back, mixed atmosphere, people come here for the ethnic, the eclectic and the selection of relaxed hang-outs. With a very residential density, de Pijp is not an area known for pumping clubs, but rather for its wide array of more chill alternatives.

Chocoholics
One of the best of these is Chocolate, (Eerste van der Helststraat 62a), still going strong and invariably packed on a weekend night. No coincidence either, because this bar does a lot of things right. Friendly staff, decent DJs, a selection of cocktails, good food, relaxed décor, even street-side outdoor seating. Regularly rotated exhibitions by young, local artists adorn the walls. The music on weekend nights can drift from lounge and soul towards house of the deep and progressive flavour.

Peace in the Middle-East
Within the radius of a few blocks many of de Pijp’s other interesting spots can be found. What was popular grand café de Engel on the Albert Cuypmarkt has become a giant warmer-hemisphere-themed restaurant/bar, Bazar (Albert Cuypstraat 182). This Middle-Eastern themed restaurant/café that seems to be sending a clear message - with it's Hebrew and Arabic texts on the wall of this massive former chuch. Check out the rather unusual décor if you’re up for it, and enjoy the international menu from various warmer lands.

Hero for a Night
Try Helden (‘Heros’, 1ste van der Helststraat 42), which is what the once überfashionable cocktail lounge Madame Jeanette (former watering hole of soap stars and footballers) morphed into through a change of owners. A stylish interior combines with thankfully dim lighting, friendly staff, unobtrusive music and a mixed but restrained clientele to provide a pleasant venue for a pre-party drink or a chilled evening with friends. Excellent mojitos.

Only the Finest in Your Pipe
Right around the corner is the Marie Heinekenplein, home mainly to grand cafés, but on the Ferdinand Bolstraat across the way one finds two of de Pijp’s finest establishments. 18 Twintig (F. Bolstraat 18/20) boasts a large bar, a more extensive drinks list, pleasant décor, plasma screens, a restaurant earlier in the evening, and plenty of standing and sitting space. Upbeat and lively, it draws a more professional crowd than Chocolate. Kingfisher (F. Bolstraat 24), across from the southern corner of the Heinekenplein, is really more of a brown café than anything, but it’s modern approach, chill staff, comfortably cool vibe and notorious cocktails mean the locals flock there until the wee hours. Summer terraces outside means the sounds of trams, bicycles and other terrace chatter adds to the evening jazz.