Reguliersdwarsstraat becomes most social where Taboo Bar and Taboo Kantine share a broad pavement terrace. Taboo occupies number 45, with the bar opening directly onto the street rather than hiding behind a discreet entrance. On warm afternoons and evenings, the terrace acts as the main social threshold, drawing together people already moving between the street’s restaurants, bars and clubs.
Inside, the venue is arranged across two floors. The bar, stage and large video screens keep the ground level active, while the upper floor provides additional room once the main space tightens. Music videos, drag performances and the constant movement between terrace and bar give Taboo a busier visual rhythm than a quiet cocktail lounge.
Earlier hours are straightforward and social. Couples, solo visitors, locals and travellers settle outside or stand close to the bar for cocktails, beer and casual conversation. The crowd is mixed in age and presentation, with gay men at the centre but without the narrow code of a men-only or fetish venue.
Later in the evening, standing replaces sitting and the room becomes louder. Drag appearances and music-led nights push attention towards the stage, while the terrace remains useful for conversation between drinks. At weekends, the bar can feel less like a destination with a fixed programme and more like the centre of the street’s general nightlife flow.
Taboo Bar is strongest as an easy, sociable stop when a broad crowd and visible street energy matter more than intimacy. Its limitation is density: the terrace fills quickly and the interior can become compressed. That same pressure gives it momentum, making the bar especially effective for visitors who want to enter Amsterdam’s mainstream gay nightlife without much preparation.
A busy Reguliers stop for broad social drinking, cocktails and an easy first read of the street.
The terrace works best earlier; inside gets louder later.
Arrive before 20:00 when a terrace table or easy conversation matters. Taboo does not take online reservations and generally seats guests on arrival, so good weather and weekend traffic can remove the best outdoor positions quickly. The terrace is the clearest place for people-watching; inside, stay near the main bar when you want service and movement, then use the upper floor when the ground level becomes compressed.
A common first-time mistake is treating Taboo Bar and the adjacent Taboo Kantine as interchangeable. They share a street presence and the same wider identity, but Taboo Bar is the stronger choice for drag, music and a later bar rhythm, while the Kantine is more useful when food and a slower start matter. Regulars often begin outside, move indoors as the temperature drops.
Choose Taboo Bar when you want to join Reguliersdwarsstraat at its most accessible. The large terrace, visible entrance and broad crowd make it easier to enter alone or meet friends than bars whose identity depends on a narrower scene. Cocktails, drag and late hours allow a casual drink to develop without requiring a ticket or club plan.
Compared with PRIK, Taboo feels busier, louder and more connected to a full nightlife street; compared with SoHo, it is smaller and easier to use for a first round. The trade-off is limited calm once the terrace and ground floor fill. Arrive earlier for conversation and people-watching, or use it later when crowd movement and a more animated bar matter more than a seat.
One of Amsterdam’s liveliest and most openly social gay bars.