De KHL: Music venue in Oostelijk Havengebied, Amsterdam
Contact
- Phone +31 20 779 1575
- Website Visit site ↗
- Email info@dekhl.nl
- Address Oostelijke Handelskade 44A, Oostelijk Havengebied, 1019 BN Amsterdam
- Social
Getting there
De KHL1019 BN
Good to know
- Serves food
- Cafe
- Terrace
- Live music
- Step-free access
- Accessible toilet
- Wi-Fi
- Garden
- Craft beer
- Reservations
- Room hire
- Capacity 110 seated
Upcoming at De KHL
About De KHL
De KHL is a cultural house and restaurant in a freestanding 1917 building on the Oostelijke Handelskade, in Amsterdam's Eastern Docklands. You come here for small concerts, talk evenings and dinner at long tables in a former harbour coffee house, with a sunny terrace and garden outside.
The dance hall seats about 110 and has a clear acoustic, which suits the troubadours, singer-songwriters, folk, jazz and rhythm and blues on the programme. Journalists and documentary makers show their work at Let's Talk About It, and the seasonal talk show Pittige Mosterd puts people from the neighbourhood on stage. Sometimes the chairs go and the room becomes a dance floor. The house is also hired out for weddings, meetings and memorials, so it is not open to the public every day: check the agenda first.
The Koninklijke Hollandsche Lloyd built it as a coffee house and waiting room for its shipping line to South America. Senior staff used the smart front room, while dock workers ate pea soup with sausage at long tables in the back. It went on to serve as a canteen, a grocer's and a store, and was close to demolition when residents, the city and a housing corporation saved it. It has been a meeting place for music and theatre since the late 1980s. Since 2025 it has been led by Stanja van Mierlo, who earlier founded the city beach Blijburg.
De KHL is not open every day, because the house is also hired out privately. It opens as a restaurant and cafe from 17:00 on days with a show, and every Sunday from 13:00 for brunch, with or without a show. Groups of more than seven should email or call first. Tram 26 takes three stops from Centraal, and the Winkelcentrum Brazilië car park is right opposite. The building is fully wheelchair accessible, with an accessible toilet.
Nearby venues
- Panama Amsterdam
- Ramses Shaffy Huis Oost
- Mezrab 1019 BL
- Balfolk Amsterdam 1019 BL
- Oostenburg Amsterdam
- Einde van de Wereld 1019 SZ
- Pakhuis de Zwijger 1019 HC
- Transit 1021 KB
Explore nearby
Common questions
- What kind of music is on at De KHL?
- Mostly troubadours, singer-songwriters, folk, jazz, and rhythm and blues, in intimate seated concerts. Now and then the chairs are cleared for live bands, DJs and dancing. There are also talk evenings and a seasonal talk show.
- Can you eat at De KHL?
- Yes. On programme days it runs as a restaurant-cafe, so you can eat before or after a show or stay at the bar. On Sundays there is a house brunch even when no show is on. The Vriendentafel is a long table where you sit down next to people you have not met.
- How many people fit in De KHL?
- The dance hall takes about 110 seated guests. The building can also be rented privately, for weddings, meetings, parties and memorials.
- What does KHL stand for?
- It stands for Koninklijke Hollandsche Lloyd, the shipping company that built the coffee house and waiting room. The line carried passengers from this quay to South America. The current team jokingly reads the letters as Koninklijke Hollandse Liefde.
- When is De KHL open?
- De KHL opens from 17:00 on days with a show, and every Sunday from 13:00 for brunch. On other days it may be hired privately, so check the agenda first.