Zuid
Netherlands
Cafés in Utrecht coffee at water level
Terraces at water level on the Oudegracht wharves, espresso bars in the shadow of the Dom tower and neighborhood cafés along the Nachtegaalstraat and the Kanaalweg.
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Photo: YL Lew, Pexels License
134Cafés listed
0Open by 6am
9Open past 10pm
2Specialty & roasters
Utrecht had 378,140 residents in January 2026, and its university, founded in 1636, has more than 38,000 students.12 Its landmark is the Domtoren, built from 1321 to 1382 and, at 112.32 m, the tallest church tower in the Netherlands.3
Coffee here follows the canal. On the Oudegracht, storage cellars were built into the wharves below the street, with the road and houses on top, and they are reached by stairs down to a platform at water level.1 Many now hold cafés and restaurants, most with tables along the water.4 The Coffee Vine counts The Village Coffee & Music on Voorstraat among the city's original specialty bars, and Keen, a local roaster, pours at a horseshoe-shaped bar on the Ganzenmarkt.6
Industrial coffee has an old address here too. Douwe Egberts opened a roastery on the Catharijnekade in 1919, choosing Utrecht for its central position, and moved it in 1929 to the Merwedekade, now the Keulsekade.5 For something sweet, Theo Blom on the Zadelstraat bakes Bergman's botersprits (butter biscuits) to an 1888 recipe and sells Domtorentjes, chocolates stamped with the tower, made since 1922.7
Inside the singels and out
Utrecht by area
About two in five cafés sit inside the singel, the ring of canals that once formed the city's defensive line.16 Its northern stretch, the Catharijnesingel, was filled in during the 1970s for a road and has carried water again since 2020.17 Outside the ring, Oost has its shopping streets and Zuid its canals.
Binnenstad
The Oudegracht wharves, the Domplein, the Donkere Gaard, the Vismarkt and the streets around the Neude.
48 cafés
Oost
The Nachtegaalstraat, the Burgemeester Reigerstraat, the Maliebaan, the Wilhelminapark and the railway museum.
15 cafés
Zuid
The Vaartsche Rijn, Rotsoord, the Rivierenwijk and the Kanaalweg along the Merwedekanaal.
12 cafés
Or start with what you need
Browse by mood and hour
Terrassen
Terraces
Tables by the Oudegracht, on the Domplein and the Stadhuisplein, and along the Kanaalweg.
45 cafés
Vegan & vegetarisch
Vegan & vegetarian
A vegan bakery behind the Dom, all-day vegan lunch and plant milk at no extra charge.
23 cafés
Wifi
Wi-Fi
Where laptops are welcome, where they are not, and the library on the Neude.
17 cafés
Bubbelthee
Bubble tea
Milk tea and popping boba on the Steenweg, the Zadelstraat and in the hall at Utrecht Centraal.
8 cafésNew in Utrecht
Recently opened and recently added
Zuid
Dagger Coffee
- Wheelchair access
- Smoke-free indoors
Science Park & Rijnsweerd
De Moestuin
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Wheelchair access
- Smoke-free indoors
Oost
District
- Wheelchair access
Science Park & Rijnsweerd
Grand Café Living
Science Park & Rijnsweerd
Gutenberg
- Wheelchair access
Museumkwartier 7 cafés
Cafca — Coffee, Design, Books & Vintage
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
nijntje museumcafé
Miffy Museum Café
- Air-con
- Indoor seating
- Vegetarian options
Stael
- Card payment
Zizo
- Outdoor seating
- Takeaway
- Indoor seating
- Vegetarian options
- Wheelchair access
De Morgenster
Museumcafé Centraal
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Vegetarian options
Museumcafé Ginkgo
- Wheelchair access
Binnenstad 48 cafés
More about cafés in Binnenstad
't Koffieboontje
Bakkerswinkel Utrecht
- Outdoor seating
- Takeaway
- Vegetarian options
- Wheelchair access
- Specialty
- Brunch
Blackbird
- Outdoor seating
- Vegetarian options
- Wheelchair access
Daen's Café
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Wheelchair access
Darras
- Wi-Fi
- Indoor seating
De Vingerhoed
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Wheelchair access
- Open late
Espressobar Lodewijk
Stationsgebied & Jaarbeurs 8 cafés
Kaffeetaria
- Wi-Fi
- Laptop work
Tea Guys
Vascobelo
Bread & Co
- Indoor seating
- Open late
Miracolo
Patisserie Rozana
- Bakery café
Vlaai & Ko.
Oost 15 cafés
Café Elize bij ‘t Spoor
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Vegetarian options
- Partial wheelchair access
- Brunch
- Laptop-free
Cornelis
Cupp
- Card payment
- Partial wheelchair access
District
- Wheelchair access
Fiore
Momenti Food & Drinks
Noen
- Outdoor seating
- Wheelchair access
Wittevrouwen & Noordoost 8 cafés
Coffeemind
Fraai
Fufu Coffee Studio
Koffie75
Coffee Bar 75
Stadsboerderij De Griftsteede
- Wheelchair access
Rocking Chair
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Takeaway
- Smoke-free indoors
Coffee Harbour Overvecht
Lombok & West 4 cafés
De Troef spelletjescafé
- Outdoor seating
- Toilets
- Open late
Koffie en ik
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Air-con
- Indoor seating
- Card payment
- Wheelchair access
- Smoke-free indoors
Molencafé
Lunchroom Picobello
Pijlsweerd & Ondiep 7 cafés
Brandstof Lunchroom
Dagger Coffee
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Card payment
- Vegetarian options
DUBBEL / DWARS
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Card payment
- Vegetarian options
LiffNa
Meraki
- Open late
Café Ddadi
Overhoop Café
Kanaleneiland 5 cafés
Chai Café
- Indoor seating
- Bubble tea
Koffiemaatjes
Brood by Alex
Theehuis Al-Asdekaa
- Wheelchair access
Theehuis Nachat
Zuid 12 cafés
Bar Pleur
Cupp
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Vegetarian options
- Wheelchair access
- Toilets
Dagger Coffee
- Wheelchair access
- Smoke-free indoors
Keet
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
Koffie Leute Brauhaus
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Takeaway
- Indoor seating
- Card payment
- Vegetarian options
- Partial wheelchair access
Lavett
- Outdoor seating
- Bakery café
Nieuw Rotsoord theehuis
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Toilets
Science Park & Rijnsweerd 7 cafés
De Moestuin
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Wheelchair access
- Smoke-free indoors
Grand Café Living
Gutenberg
- Wheelchair access
Science Café Het7de
- Partial wheelchair access
The Village Coffee Science Park
- Indoor seating
- Card payment
- Vegetarian options
- Wheelchair access
- Smoke-free indoors
Tuincafé Botanica
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Wheelchair access
Goliath
- Indoor seating
Zuilen 8 cafés
Keen Coffee
- Open late
Warmoes
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Vegetarian options
- Open late
Antje Drijver Paviljoen
Broodje & Zo
De Nijverheid Café
Filmcafé
Teatro
Overvecht 5 cafés
Lunchcafé Overvecht
Boost
La Vida Asian
Medina's wereldkoffie & high tea
Noordertuin
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Coffee chains in Utrecht
Branches by area
Chain
Bagels & Beans
Show 6 locations
- Binnenstad
- Mariaplaats 48Mon–Fri 08:00–17:00 · Sat–Sun 08:30–17:00
- Lombok & West
- Haroekoeplein 35
- Museumkwartier
- Twijnstraat 5Mon–Fri 08:00–17:30 · Sat–Sun 08:30–17:00
- Oost
- Biltstraat 60
- Pijlsweerd & Ondiep
- Amsterdamsestraatweg 302Mon–Fri 08:00–17:00 · Sat 08:30–17:00 · Sun 09:00–17:00
- Stationsgebied & Jaarbeurs
- Catharijne Esplanade 10
Chain
Starbucks
Show 4 locations
- Binnenstad
- Hollandse Toren 97
- Stationsgebied & Jaarbeurs
- Catharijne Esplanade 11
- Stationshal 3BMon 06:00–22:00 · Tue–Thu 06:00–22:30 · Fri 06:00–23:00 · Sat 07:00–23:00 · Sun 07:00–22:00
- Stationshal 8BDaily 06:00–22:00
Chain
Anne&Max
- Binnenstad
- Domstraat 4Mon–Thu 08:00–22:00 · Fri–Sat 08:00–00:00 · Sun 08:00–22:00
- Donkeregaard 4Mon–Sat 08:00–18:00 · Sun 09:00–18:00
- Oost
- Burgemeester Reigerstraat 15Mon–Sat 08:00–17:00 · Sun 09:00–17:00
Chain
30ML
- Oost
- Nachtegaalstraat 61Mon–Fri 08:00–17:00 · Sat 09:00–17:00 · Sun 10:00–17:00
- Stationsgebied & Jaarbeurs
- Vredenburg 23Mon–Fri 08:00–17:30 · Sat 09:00–17:30 · Sun 10:00–17:00
Chain
Bar Beton
- Science Park & Rijnsweerd
- Bar Beton Rijnsweerd, Pythagoraslaan 101
Chain
Barista Cafe
- Binnenstad
- Neude 1
Chain
Coffee Company
- Binnenstad
- Vismarkt 4Mon–Fri 08:00–18:00
Chain
Joe & The Juice
- Binnenstad
- Lange Viestraat 203
Chain
Lebkov & Sons
- Stationsgebied & Jaarbeurs
- Stationshal 2
Chain
Wakuli
- Museumkwartier
- Twijnstraat 1
Before you sit down
Ordering coffee in Utrecht
A sign reading coffeeshop does not mean espresso. Under the national toleration policy, a coffeeshop sells cannabis and may not serve alcohol, and Utrecht's own rules allow at most 17 of them; 11 were open in February 2022.89 For coffee, look for a koffiebar, a koffiehuis or plain café, and on the menu for koffie, a cup of black coffee, or koffie verkeerd, coffee with plenty of hot milk.
In 2026 an espresso cost €2.90 at Tijm on the Donkere Gaard and €3.20 at Villa Orloff on the Lucasbolwerk, where a small koffie verkeerd was €3.50 and a large one €4.70.1012 Plant milk is not always free: Café Elize added €0.50 for oat milk on its March 2026 menu.11 Verse muntthee (fresh mint tea) cost €3.50 at Villa Orloff, the same as a hot chocolate.12
Laptops divide cafés. DutchNews reported in 2023 that "No laptops" signs had become increasingly common in Dutch cafés, some of them for weekends only.13 Café Elize, with branches on the Mariaplaats and the Wagenstraat, prints "Sorry, geen laptops toegestaan" (sorry, no laptops allowed) on its menu, so ask at the counter before you unpack.11
Some cafés take no cash at all: Tijm accepts card payment only.15 Tipping is optional. In 2026, 53% of Dutch bars and cafés showed a tip menu on the card terminal, usually offering 5, 10 or 15%; when it appears, 61% of customers choose no tip, and those who do tip leave €4.31 on average.14
What coffee costs in Utrecht
| Drink | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Espresso Espresso | €2.90–3.20 Tijm, Café Elize and Villa Orloff, 2026 |
| Cappuccino Cappuccino, regular cup | €3.50–3.95 Villa Orloff, Tijm and Café Elize, 2026 |
| Koffie verkeerd Milky coffee, small or large | €3.50–4.70 Villa Orloff, Lucasbolwerk, 2026 |
| Flat white Flat white | €4.50–4.70 Café Elize, Tijm and Villa Orloff, 2026 |
| Appeltaart Apple pie (whipped cream €0.50 extra) | €5.50 Villa Orloff, 2026 |
Menu prices. Tijm's are from the menu it posted in June 2026, Café Elize's from its March 2026 menu and Villa Orloff's from the drinks list it posted in June 2026.101112
Sources
- Utrecht, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Cijfers en feiten, Universiteit Utrecht, accessed October 2026
- Domtoren (Utrecht), Wikipedia (Dutch), accessed October 2026
- Oudegracht (Utrecht), Wikipedia (Dutch), accessed October 2026
- Douwe Egberts, Wikipedia (Dutch), accessed October 2026
- 7 of the best specialty coffee spots in Utrecht: An expert's list, Part 1, The Coffee Vine (May 22, 2025), accessed October 2026
- Utrecht products, Mitland Hotel (December 4, 2024), accessed October 2026
- Toleration policy regarding soft drugs and coffee shops, Government of the Netherlands, accessed October 2026
- Aanvraag voor coffeeshop Elektronweg, Gemeente Utrecht (February 25, 2022), accessed October 2026
- Menukaart (June 2026), Tijm, accessed October 2026
- Menukaart maart 2026, Café Elize, accessed October 2026
- Drankenkaart (posted June 2026), Villa Orloff, accessed October 2026
- Loitering with a newspaper or a laptop: what's the difference?, DutchNews (February 21, 2023), accessed October 2026
- Tipping in the Netherlands grows as more card machines use tip menu, IamExpat (July 24, 2026), accessed October 2026
- Tijm Utrecht: locaties, Tijm, accessed October 2026
- Terug in de tijd tijdens je stedentrip: ontdek het erfgoed van Utrecht, DUIC (July 4, 2024), accessed October 2026
- Catharijnesingel, Wikipedia (Dutch), accessed October 2026
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FAQ
Cafés in Utrecht: common questions
What is the difference between a coffeeshop and a koffiebar in Utrecht?
In Utrecht, as everywhere in the Netherlands, a coffeeshop sells cannabis under the national toleration policy and may not serve alcohol. The city's rules allow at most 17 of them, and 11 were open in February 2022. For an espresso or a koffie verkeerd, look for a koffiebar, a koffiehuis or a café.
How much does a coffee cost in Utrecht?
In 2026 an espresso cost €2.90 at Tijm on the Donkere Gaard and €3.20 at Villa Orloff on the Lucasbolwerk. A regular cappuccino ran from €3.50 at Villa Orloff to €3.95 at Café Elize, a flat white €4.50–4.70, and a slice of appeltaart at Villa Orloff €5.50, plus €0.50 for whipped cream.
Which area of Utrecht has the most cafés?
Binnenstad and Oost have the most cafés, followed by Zuid. Binnenstad leads by a wide margin. Oost and Zuid follow it, one around the Nachtegaalstraat and the Burgemeester Reigerstraat, the other along the Kanaalweg and the Vaartsche Rijn.
Can you drink coffee at water level on the Oudegracht in Utrecht?
Yes. The Oudegracht in Utrecht has storage cellars built into its wharves below street level, reached by stairs down to a platform at the water. Many of them now house cafés and restaurants, and most of those set tables along the canal.
Can you work on a laptop in Utrecht cafés?
It depends on the café. "No laptops" signs have become common in Dutch cafés, some for weekends only, and Café Elize, on the Mariaplaats and the Wagenstraat in Utrecht, prints "Sorry, geen laptops toegestaan" on its menu. Ask at the counter before you open a laptop.
Do you tip in Utrecht cafés?
Tipping in Utrecht cafés is optional. Just over half of Dutch bars and cafés showed a tip menu on their card terminals in 2026, usually offering 5, 10 or 15%. When it appears, 61% of customers choose no tip, and those who do tip leave €4.31 on average. Some cafés, such as Tijm, take cards only.
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