Best vegan restaurants in Amsterdam
Upscale, casual, pricey and affordable vegan restaurants in Amsterdam have taken the city by storm, offering food so delicious even the most carnivorous eaters won’t think twice about a plant-based burger – regardless whether these are made from seaweed or soya beans. And with the Vegan Junk Food Bar and similar ventures seemingly opening a new location every month, don’t expect the fare to be all light and healthy – this is a town where even vegans give grease a chance.
Veganees
Enjoy responsible-sourced Asian street food without the unhealthy additives at Veganees in Oud-West. Here, the menu showcases sustainable, plant-based ingredients in 25 creative dishes taking inspiration from all corners of Asia. From Japanese mushroom gyoza with ponzu and Korean cauliflower with gochujang to Thai tom kha soup and Indonesian jackfruit rendang.
Flower Burger
Following Milan, Marseille, London, and Los Angeles, Flower Burger now brings its original rainbow vegan burger to Amsterdam’s 9 Streets. Get settled amidst the psychedelic interiors and tuck into pretty 100% plant-based burgers. We'd recommend the Spicy Chickpea veggie burger: a turmeric-tinted wholewheat bun with a chickpea patty, zingy chilli-tomato sauce, Tropea onions, spinach, lettuce and tomato.
Flower Burger | Hartenstraat 29, Centrum
H/eart.h
At H/eart.h, which recently moved to a stylish new East-side location, you’ll find well-executed veg-led dishes like zesty “rawvioli” of red beet with chive “cheese” and caramelized onion, comforting broccoli gnocchi with a creamy sauce of sun-dried tomatoes, silken tofu and cashew garlic “cheese” and healthy fusion sushi with spirulina rice, avocado, black beans and chipotle mayo. Or, gather around the roaring hearth to listen to live jazz or DJ beats while nursing a local craft beer, gin & tonic or a glass of natural wine on one of the regularly scheduled music nights.
Meatless District
With a completely animal-free menu, Meatless District is a vegan’s delight – as proven by the recent opening of a second location. The multinational menu features one-of-a-kind dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For breakfast, yellow beet, dukkah and mint puts a twist on trendy avocado toast, while more typical dishes like scones and scrambled “eggs” also appear on the menu. The starting price for a main course at dinner is around €15, which includes the Meatless District burger: a grilled aubergine creation served with boerenfriet and mayo (vegan, of course).
Meatless District | Bilderdijkstraat 65-7, Oud-West / Van Woustraat 189-191, De Pijp
The Vegan Junk Food Bar
Junk food isn’t just for meat eaters – vegans can indulge in grease, too! At the Vegan Junk Food Bar, all the tasty treats usually reserved for carnivores are on the menu, including juicy plant-based burgers and fries, made completely of vegan ingredients. The Vegan Junk Food Bar has four locations: De Pijp spot is a fully fledged restaurant serving up dishes such as shawarma and bitterballen, while the Oud-West location has more of a takeaway cafe vibe. You'll also find other outposts downtown and in Oost.
Vegan Junk Food Bar | Marie Heinekenplein 9-10, De Pijp / Staringplein 22, Oud-West / Reguliersdwarsstraat 57, Centrum / Eerste v. Swindenstraat 389, Oost
Koffie ende Koeck
The menu at this breakfast stop, lunchroom and bakery is 100% plant-based and 100% delicious, offering up sweet treats and savoury bites to enjoy in the cosy café or outside on the terrace. The cake is the high point at Koffie ende Koeck: each flavour, including chocolate hazelnut, Victoria sponge, carrot cake and more, are made with vegan-friendly ingredients. For an extra-special vegan feast, reserve your spot at High Tea for tea sandwiches, scones and unlimited tea.
Koffie ende Koeck | Haarlemmerweg 175, Westerpark
Mastino
This all-vegan, plant-based pizza was the first of its kind in the Netherlands. It serves up picture-perfect pizzas lovingly topped with colourful veggies, plant-based meats and surprisingly convincing vegan cheeses. The dough crust is light, crispy and slow-risen, falling somewhere between Neapolitan and Roman in style. In fact, we think that the Alleria, with its smoked aubergine, purple cauliflower, roasted bell peppers and courgettes, spicy almond mozzarella, lentil mozzarella, San Marzano tomato sauce and basil cream, is one of the best pizzas in Amsterdam, vegan or otherwise.
Deer Mama
Deer Mama is a delightfully kitsch 1950s diner-styled restaurant in De Pijp that bills itself as a “Vegan mylk and burger bar.” But it’s not all junk food! They balance their boozy shakes, juicy BBQ burgers (including the amazing Beyond Meat patty), piled-high pancakes and decadent desserts with salads, sourdough toasts and shareable starters such as miso grilled eggplant.
Kebabi
Brought to you by those clever people behind the Vegan Junk Food Bar, Kebabi specialises in – you guessed it – döner kebabs. However, the menu has been expanded to include their signature waffle fries, two types of bitterballen (traditional Dutch snacks of deep-fried, savoury yumminess), kapsalon (waffle fries supplemented with a rainbow of greasy toppings) and baklava. In short: the perfect place to gel your belly back together after a night of drinking.
Mooshka
This purveyor of ‘vegan soul food’ is dedicated to recreating mom’s sweet home cooking – whether your mom is from Ethiopia, the Caribbean country of Suriname or the US’s deep south – using only plant-based ingredients. From rotis and wraps to a variety of pancake stacks, you’ll find plenty of comfort this cosy café and takeaway. And yes, soul music is invariably blasting from the speakers.
The Meets
Based on the 80/20 food concept, The Meets' menu is 80% vegan and the remaining 20% contains meat, fish or dairy. Basically this is a completely plant-based (and gluten-free!) restaurant, but to make veganism accessible to everyone, it is possible to add some meat or cheese to a dish. With vegetables in the lead, you can taste delicious new classics such as sweet potato bread or artichoke tapas, or an avocado-lime pie for the real sweet tooth.
Mediamatic ETEN
The edgy bio-art pioneers Mediamatic serves vegan food at its greenhouse restaurant that looks out scenically over the harbour. From Sunday to Tuesday, they serve stellar pizza. From Wednesday to Saturday, their menu takes a more sushi and tempura direction – and if you have serious hunger, try their ‘Fake stake with fries’. Locally sourced beer rounds out the selection.
Mediamatic | Dijksgracht 6, Centrum