Large Catacombs in Wijk 06 Binnenstad

Last Friday, I celebrated our 40th birthdays with a friend. We had a fantastic party. The location is central for those arriving by car, train, or bike. There is a nice bar where people could chat, some seating at the front, and a dance floor. The staff is extremely friendly; everything is discussed in advance, and they offer good suggestions. We enhanced the evening with cocktails, which were all arranged at reasonable prices. Communication went smoothly! The hall and restrooms are clean. DJ Sebastiaan played exactly the right dance tracks. Of course, everything has been around for a while, like the speakers and furniture, but in return, you get a great atmosphere and a party on a budget!

The speakers hanging there are terribly bad. It is like listening to a broken transistor radio. Everyone is guaranteed to go home with a ringing in their ears. Even at a low volume. I am writing this review because I hope they do something about it, because it is really unacceptable.

Last weekend, I organized a student gala at the Grote Catacomben for about seventy people. Although the venue and bar looked beautiful, I unfortunately couldn't leave a positive review. Contact with the owner was difficult from the start. He seemed confused, and I had to remind him several times who I was, what kind of event it was, and what arrangements we had made. Emails were answered unprofessionally or not at all. Both over the phone and during a visit to the venue, we agreed that we would only pay for the drinks we actually consumed. He would set out the drinks himself and estimate how much was needed based on the number of guests we expected. However, we were subsequently charged for unopened bottles of wine and half a keg of beer that wasn't tapped. This resulted in a loss on the event, even though we had a positive budget beforehand, intended for our event budget. In hindsight, we should have taken photos everywhere and checked the bill more carefully on the night itself. The feeling lingered that the owner was primarily focused on extra income. He charged extra for almost everything, such as €40 for disco lights and €12 per standing table. We also couldn't use an ATM or a simple cable to play music from a phone; we had to arrange all of that ourselves. Furthermore, we were required to pay for a doorman (€130). However, this doorman didn't arrive until ten minutes after the party started. This meant our DJs couldn't start on time, as he had the key to the warehouse containing the cables and equipment we needed. Moreover, his demeanor and appearance were unprofessional: he was slouched on a table by the entrance and spent the entire evening on his phone. Many of our guests didn't even know he was the doorman, and I was regularly asked about it. I could have easily put the fried snacks he made (and ate while serving them) in the air fryer myself. At the end of the evening, he hastily wrote up the bill on a scrap of paper. Considering his role and dedication, I felt the cost of his work was disproportionate. Finally, the quality of the music system was subpar. The owner couldn't answer simple questions about his own equipment, such as whether we needed an XLR or RCA connection to connect our DJ panels via his cables. Furthermore, the reception in the venue was poor. After much discussion, we fortunately received a small compensation, which somewhat mitigated the loss. Still, it's a shame that an otherwise great party had such a negative aftertaste. If you're considering booking this venue, make sure you have all agreements in writing. Otherwise, you run the risk of being taken advantage of.

This is a charming basic party venue, rented out to private parties (e.g. student society get togethers, graduations, parties). There is a bar including tap beer. External food catering is arrangable.

Great place for a dance party. There is a very relaxed atmosphere. Everything you need, without fuss. Pleasant fast communication. Nice staff. In a top location on the Oudegracht. An 'old school' gem in this day and age 💃👯‍♂️🕺

I had a promotional party at the Grote Catacomben. The communication was very fast and smooth. They answered my questions via email very quickly (and I had quite a few!). They thought along well about how I could not make the party too expensive, and I found the rent and the drinks and snacks prices very affordable. There was also an opportunity to dance. All in all it was a nice party location, relaxed and cozy!

Nostalgic but dated. Good service, Utrecht style. But the glasses weren't clean enough, and the soft drinks went flat immediately.

Too bad the sound is bad, time for new speakers, otherwise nice location

A cozy place where you can celebrate a nice party.

Beautiful location with lovely outdoor space

What a disappointment! We rented this location for our staff outing. The music system is so bad that you certainly cannot organize a party evening here. We left again after 1 hour.

I had my graduation party here and it was certainly a success! Atmospheric location and very helpful owners. Location is fantastic in the heart of Utrecht and you may pay a little more, but you get enough in return! I didn't have to worry about anything all evening and was able to pick up my things the next day! Definitely recommended :)

Had work Christmas drinks last Thursday. Everything can be discussed in terms of wishes and what was agreed was arranged. Bar staff work hard and are friendly. There was miscommunication about the end time, but this was handled very flexibly. We had food delivered there and it was well arranged that we could stay and eat there. Everyone had a great time!

Celebrated my birthday with about 80 people, drinks and dancing. The contact with the owner was excellent and clear, you can ask him anything and he indicates what is and is not possible. I had arranged a DJ myself and had no negative experiences with the sound being bad or too soft. The price-quality ratio is excellent and cheaper than many other locations, if you have a certain budget you can agree on this in advance. I would definitely come back here for a party or drinks.

Had a great evening with Sebastiaan and Heide, occasionally the music had to be turned down a bit for the neighbors (which they can't do anything about) but still a nice volume. Thank you!

1 star for the location. Easily accessible, nicely located and well decorated. 1 star for the price. You pay a lot more for comparable locations and the prices for drinks, snacks and staff are acceptable. No star for communication with owner. Poor communication and no visible price list on the website which is being abused. E.g. When a keg is connected, it is fully charged “because it can no longer be used”. No star for one of the two staff members. He found it necessary to continuously shout “sssst” to guests while they were smoking outside. It was 10:00 PM on a Saturday evening in the center of Utrecht. This had a great influence on the atmosphere and was also the tone for the rest of the evening when people started smoking. No star for service. On the night itself, at the end of the party, you are presented with a bill that is more than €300 higher than agreed due to the omission of certain price agreements. These were the use of €50 lamps and a keg of beer that was connected just half an hour before the end, but which was then fully charged to the customer for €270. Also the sound was too quiet for a dance party. Afterwards we sent another email to do something about the price due to these extra unforeseen costs and the omission of certain information. There was no response to this.

Don't have your drinks here. Very unfriendly and unreasonable staff who are purely after money

Too bad you're not allowed to stand on the shipyard with your drink. But understandable.

We rented this place for a party with our students. The students behaved well, but the staff was very unfriendly. The doorman started cursing and ranting if the door was left open too long (instead of politely saying, gee, please close the door) and pushed students inside if they talked a little too loudly outside. We won't be coming back here again.

Good place for a party or drinks with a student atmosphere. There is plenty of space and the people who work there are very friendly, they are happy to think about the possibilities. Unfortunately, the music is not allowed very loudly because of local residents.

nice location to throw a party, in an old wharf cellar.

Very cozy. Perfect place for all kinds of parties

Okay, the bar itself was very nice, but the sound was loud and there was a lot of control

Organized my promotion party here, with about 50-60 guests. Good atmosphere, nice and old-fashioned in a typical Utrecht cellar. It just became very warm and quite stale. That adds to the atmosphere, but is not very pleasant for everyone. Contact with the owner was easy and all information was communicated very clearly. What I didn't appreciate was that the service didn't look very happy and started eating all the snacks behind the bar when they finished a round. That did not give me a good impression and also gave me the feeling that the service has no respect for the customer.

We were here a while ago, before Corona. Never again. Location is musty and dirty. Owner does not keep agreements. Rude when questions arise. Save yourself the trouble and pay a little more somewhere else. The location seems good, but cheap is expensive. Unfortunately.

Poor sound system without bass which hurts your ears. Communication with the owner is difficult and not all agreements are kept.

Allmost 17 years ago we celebrate d our wedding here!! Still a great place to have a party!

A very cozy little restaurant - ok to linger

Great for a party, it doesn't get very hot because of the ceiling fans

The sub-terrain in Utrecht is spectacular

Unfortunately, I found the sound quality to be very disappointing

Totally unsuitable for a dance party. Because of the neighbors, the sound is only allowed very softly and the bass is turned down completely by the owner. The result is an extremely tinny sound that is really hard to hear. This location may be okay for a drink, but a dance party really won't work here with that terrible sound.

Recently had a cantus here where I had to drink a washbasin full of beer. I was soaking wet from beer and my throat was hoarse from singing. The next morning I had the worst hangover I've had this year, and that's saying something in December. Was laughing 5 stars.

Large open space, few small corners, interior of a canal cellar, excellent service, excellent price

Nice location, a bit stuffy. Music was terrible in terms of tuning

Hot, stale, no range. But certainly excellent price/quality. Nice location.

Nice place for parties and celebrations. In the summer it can quickly get hot with dancing.

Very hot, crappy soundsystem and inexperienced staff. Would not go there again.

The route to the toilets is like a treasure hunt

Not a good location for a party. Owner only wanted to arrange things in cash, music had to be super soft for a party and owner was complaining all the time. Not recommended

Definitely worth a visit!!! Highly recommended in my opinion, but that may of course be completely different for someone else.

Cellar available to rent for parties

Very nice place to throw a party. We already came there during our student days, but we attended a very nice wedding party this week. Definitely recommended in the middle of the city.

Biercantus given here. Perfect location. Easy to rent and good facilities. Great night!

Nice people and beautiful location for a party

Wonderful parties are possible here.