Cafe de Oude Mol
Café de Oude Mol sits on Oude Molstraat in one of the oldest streets in The Hague and has built its reputation on live music on Monday evenings, a bohemian and friendly atmosphere, and a tapas menu from Wednesday to Saturday. The bar has the patina of a place that has absorbed decades of good nights.
What to Expect
A genuinely old-fashioned Dutch brown café that has found a balance between its heritage and a current food and music offering. The tapas are a bonus rather than the main event.
Warm, bohemian, and steeped in neighbourhood history. Exactly what a local café should be.
Live music Monday evenings, eclectic background music the rest of the week.
No dress code. Come as you are.
Monday live music, tapas evenings, relaxed drinks in historic surroundings.
Cash and card. Call ahead for reservations: 070 345 1623.
Price Range
Beers from €3.50, wines from €5 per glass, tapas dishes from €7 to €13. Average spend €20 to €35 per person.
Beers from ~$3.80, wines from ~$5.50, tapas from ~$7.70 to $14.
Hours
Monday to Wednesday 17:00 to 01:00, Thursday 17:00 to 02:00, Friday and Saturday 16:00 to 02:00, Sunday 16:00 to 01:00.
Insider Tip
Monday live music nights are free and draw a regular crowd of locals. Come for tapas on a Thursday or Friday when the kitchen is at its best. The bar staff know the regulars well and welcome strangers.
Full Review
Café de Oude Mol sits on Oude Molstraat, one of The Hague's oldest streets, and carries decades of neighborhood history in its walls. The interior has the patina of a bar that has absorbed thousands of good evenings: worn wood, warm lighting, and the kind of decoration that accumulates rather than gets designed. Monday live music nights are the signature, drawing a regular crowd of locals who treat it as a weekly ritual.
The tapas menu runs Wednesday through Saturday and adds a food dimension that most brown cafés lack. The dishes are simple and well-executed, priced between EUR 7 and EUR 13. The bar pours honest beers and wines without chasing trends. Service is warm and personal; the staff know the regulars and welcome strangers with equal ease.
De Oude Mol occupies the traditional brown café space in The Hague's nightlife, but the tapas and live music give it more range than a typical neighborhood pub. It's not competing with the clubs or the cocktail bars. It serves the people who live nearby and the visitors who find it through word of mouth rather than marketing.
Monday live music nights are free and the best reason to visit. Thursday and Friday bring the tapas kitchen to its peak. Come without a plan and let the evening develop at the bar's pace rather than yours. The neighborhood around Oude Molstraat is historic and worth a walk before settling in.
The Neighborhood
De Oude Mol sits on one of The Hague's most historically significant streets, near the Binnenhof government complex. It serves as a neighborhood anchor for the residential community that lives in the shadow of the political center.
Getting There
A seven-minute walk from The Hague Centraal. Trams stop nearby on Kneuterdijk. The Binnenhof and Mauritshuis are within a five-minute walk.
Address
Oude Molstraat 61
Where to stay in The Hague
Compare hotels near the nightlife districts. Free cancellation on most properties.
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De Paap
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Rootz Club
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