Café Brandon

Café Brandon is one of the oldest brown cafés of Amsterdam and a hidden gem on the corner of the Keizersgracht and the Leliegracht. Beer has been poured here since 1626, which makes the café one of the oldest surviving cafés of the city. Inside, time seems to have stood still: dark wooden panelling, yellowed photos, a classic bar and an interior that has hardly changed. For years Café Brandon was known as the ‘ghost café’ of Amsterdam. After the former owners stopped, the café remained closed for almost twenty years, while the interior remained completely intact. When it finally reopened, it was as if time had stood still. Today Brandon is a beloved meeting place for local residents, students and lovers of authentic Amsterdam brown cafés.
Where does the name come from?
The name Brandon comes from the Brandon family, who ran the café with great dedication for decades from the 1940s onwards. Although the café now has other owners, the name has been retained as a tribute to the family that made it a household name.
Fun fact
When the owners retired in the 1980s, they simply closed the door. The café remained untouched for almost twenty years: glasses still stood in their place, bottles stood behind the bar and even ashtrays had not been emptied. At the reopening it seemed as if the last guests could walk back in at any moment – a unique piece of living Amsterdam heritage.