The Bulldog The First

The Bulldog The First is the original coffeeshop of Amsterdam's Bulldog brand, in a basement at Oudezijds Voorburgwal 90 in the Red Light District (De Wallen). Founder Henk de Vries opened it in 1975, and the company credits him with coining the word coffeeshop. It still trades at the same address, every day from 08:00 to 01:00.

The brand has since grown to five coffeeshops in the city. The best known after The First is the Ex-Police Station on Leidseplein, opened on April Fools' Day 1985 in a former police building whose cells now serve as seating booths; it keeps the same hours. The others are the Rockshop on Singel, Energy further along Oudezijds Voorburgwal and The Bulldog Port on Coenhavenweg. The group also runs bars, a hotel and merchandise stores.

Like every coffeeshop in Amsterdam, The First works under the Dutch tolerance policy: customers must be 18 or older with ID, a single purchase may not exceed 5 grams, and hard drugs and advertising are not allowed. Amsterdam still admits visitors from abroad because it has not adopted the residents criterion. Smoking cannabis on the street has been banned in the Wallen since 25 May 2023, with a fine of €100 after a warning, so consumption belongs inside the shop.

On Google the listing averaged 4.4 stars from about 7,400 reviews in September 2026. Recent reviewers value the history and helpful strain advice from staff, while others describe queues and brusque treatment at the counter.