The 9 best bars in Enschede, ranked: De Beiaard, Proeflokaal België and Molly Malone on the Oude Markt, the old pubs and a wine bar, with hours and honest downsides.
The best bars in Enschede are pubs, and most of them are on or beside the Oude Markt. The square has a Belgian beer tavern with 24 taps, a tasting café with more than 100 beers, an Irish pub and a small corner pub, all within a few doors of each other. Stadsgravenstraat adds two of the oldest pubs in town, and Noorderhagen has a wine bar above a bistro. This list ranks nine of them on the choice in the glass, the room, the door, the hours and the price.
Hours matter here. Het Bolwerk shuts at 00:30 at the weekend, Bistro Bruut at 00:00, and San Remo is closed from Friday to Sunday. The basics: the minimum age for alcohol is 18, smoking is banned indoors, and we found no published drink prices for any of these venues.
We ranked on five things: sound, crowd, door, late licence and value. For bars, sound means a room where you can still talk, and crowd means who is at the next table, from students to regulars. Door means you can predict whether you get in. Late licence matters less here: only some of these bars stay open past 02:00, and we mark the ones that do not. Value compares the choice in the glass with the price, but we found no published drink prices, so we rank on choice and say where the price is unknown. Hours, addresses and menus come from the venues or Visit Enschede. We do not sell tickets ourselves.
The beer café of the Oude Markt, with 24 specialty beers on tap, more than 150 bottled beers and over 200 whiskies. The kitchen serves hearty dishes, some made with beer, so you can eat first and stay. Skip it if you want a late night: it closes at 01:00 on most nights and at 02:00 on Friday and Saturday.
A tasting café on the Oude Markt with more than 100 beers and staff on hand to recommend one. There is a terrace on the square, board games and a pub quiz, and the café hosts cultural events from time to time. Skip it if you need to plan around a closing time: none is published, so ask at the bar.
An Irish pub on the Oude Markt with high tables by the window, a terrace and bottled and draught craft beers. Monday is the popular pub quiz night, and the food includes vegetarian and vegan options. Skip it if you want Dutch sing-alongs: the pub says there are none. It closes at 02:00, and at 03:00 on Friday and Saturday.
A traditional brown café with a small heated terrace, a darts area and a chill-out corner, which the tourist board calls the cosiest spot on the Oude Markt. Visit Enschede's student guide names it as a bar with student prices. Skip it if you want a short night: it stays open until 04:00, and until 05:00 on Saturday.
A traditional Dutch pub on Stadsgravenstraat that Visit Enschede calls one of the oldest in the Netherlands and a good place to start an evening out. It serves draught beer, sandwiches and coffee. Skip it if you want to finish here: it shuts at 00:30 on Friday and Saturday and at 20:00 on Sunday, and it is closed on Monday.
A restaurant first, with an industrial-style room and a tasting menu. Upstairs is a stylish wine bar, and there is a rooftop terrace. The Michelin Guide gives it three euro signs. Skip it if you want a cheap or late night: it closes at 00:00 and is closed on Sunday and Monday.
A small, cosy pub that Visit Enschede calls one of the oldest bars in Enschede, serving draught and specialty beers and house wine in terracotta jugs. The student guide lists it among the bars with student prices. Skip it at the weekend: it is open only from Monday to Thursday, and it closes at 01:00.
A small pub on the corner of the Oude Markt with an old-fashioned feel, a corner terrace and a private room upstairs with its own bar. Visit Enschede lists the pub quiz, but the night is not published. Skip it early in the week if you want a late finish: it closes at 00:00 from Monday to Thursday and at 20:00 on Sunday.
A volunteer-run café on the Walstraat, run by Stichting Huisvesting Homobeweging Twente and open from Thursday to Sunday. Visit Enschede lists it among the venues with a pub quiz. Skip it early in the week or if you need a published programme: it is closed from Monday to Wednesday, and its agenda showed no scheduled activities on 14 October 2026.
Five of these nine bars are on or beside the Oude Markt: De Beiaard at number 24, Proeflokaal België at 20, Molly Malone at 11, De Pimpelaar at 22 and Café Friends Backstage on the Langestraat. Het Bolwerk and San Remo are on Stadsgravenstraat, Bistro Bruut is on Noorderhagen and Café Stonewall is on the Walstraat. All nine are in the city centre. Visit Enschede calls Het Bolwerk a good place to start an evening out, so it works as a first stop before the square.
The local beer is Grolsch: the de Groen family of Enschede bought the brand in 1895, and today's brewery opened in 2004 in Boekelo, near Enschede. Getting home is up to you. NS night trains do not serve Enschede, so most people cycle, and a taxi costs at most €4.31 plus €3.17 per kilometre and €0.52 per minute.
A good bar night in Enschede starts early. Begin at Het Bolwerk or Bistro Bruut before they close, move to the Oude Markt for the beer lists, and keep Café Friends Backstage for after 02:00. Bring ID. For closing times, prices and the way home in one place, read our Enschede nightlife guide. To choose an area first, see Enschede nightlife by neighbourhood, and for dancing read the 10 best clubs in Enschede. Staying over? Compare places on NightFind stays, or find upcoming nights on NightFind tickets.
De Beiaard on the Oude Markt, for its 24 specialty beers on tap, more than 150 bottled beers and over 200 whiskies.
De Beiaard and Proeflokaal België, which lists more than 100 beers, both on the Oude Markt. Molly Malone serves bottled and draught craft beers.
It varies. Het Bolwerk shuts at 00:30 at the weekend, De Beiaard and De Pimpelaar at 02:00, Molly Malone at 03:00 and Café Friends Backstage at 04:00, or 05:00 on Saturday.
Bistro Bruut on Noorderhagen has a wine bar upstairs and a rooftop terrace, open from Tuesday to Saturday until 00:00. San Remo serves house wine in terracotta jugs from Monday to Thursday.
Molly Malone at number 11, Proeflokaal België at 20, De Pimpelaar at 22, De Beiaard at 24 and Aspen Valley at 18, a party café. Café Friends Backstage is round the corner on the Langestraat.
