ROTTERDAM, 19 November 2025 – Ten traditional brown cafés in Rotterdam have been recognised as part of the city’s heritage. The venues have been given the title Echt Rotterdams Erfgoed to mark their role in everyday social life.
Ten brown cafés recognised as city heritage
After a search lasting more than six months, Stichting Wijkcollectie and Museum Rotterdam have selected ten brown cafés as official city heritage. What began as a quest to find a single “most authentic” bar soon revealed a broader picture: several places together tell the story of Rotterdam’s café culture.
The cafés now recognised as Echt Rotterdams Erfgoed are De Oude Sluis, Café Kleijweg, Café de Pui, Café Daktari, Café Charlois, Café de Pint, Voorheen Companje, Cosy Corner, Melief Bender and Café ’t Haventje. During a public film evening at Cinerama, Cosy Corner was highlighted as the favourite of the Erfgoedraad, while Voorheen Companje received an honourable mention from the public.
Why brown cafés matter to Rotterdam
Rotterdammers were invited at the start of the project to nominate their favourite brown café. Hundreds of suggestions came in, from which the ten most frequently mentioned venues were selected. Each café was then visited by Nicole van Dijk, director of Stichting Wijkcollectie, and Léontine Meijer-van Mensch, director of Museum Rotterdam, to gain a sense of the stories, regulars and atmosphere behind the front doors.
An Erfgoedraad assessed the cafés on their connection with the city, their social function and the inspiration they offer to surrounding communities. Together, the selected venues form a living archive of urban life, where generations meet, stories are exchanged and local traditions are quietly maintained. “With the title ‘Echt Rotterdams Erfgoed’ we underline the importance of these cafés for social cohesion in the city,” says Nicole van Dijk. “They are more than places to have a drink; they are anchors of neighbourhood culture and hospitality.”
From film portrait to council motion
Filmmaker Hugo van der Meer of Keyframe Productions followed the search, joining Van Dijk and Meijer-van Mensch as they visited each of the ten cafés. The resulting film shows what makes these places distinctive and what they mean to their guests, from regulars at the bar to neighbours who treat the café as an extra living room. “During our visits we saw how much love, humour and resilience these places hold,” says Meijer-van Mensch. “Each café has its own community and its own story. Together they tell the story of Rotterdam itself.” The film can be viewed here:
The project grew out of a motion adopted by the Rotterdam municipal council on 19 December 2024. Councillors pointed to growing pressure on traditional cafés, which are increasingly being replaced by new hospitality concepts. The motion called for an inventory of these characteristic venues and for ways to protect them as Echt Rotterdams Erfgoed. With the new list of ten brown cafés, part of that call has now taken shape in the streets and neighbourhoods of the city.
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