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.
The Alchemist Garden
This raw-food restaurant in Oud-West celebrates plant-based gastronomy with an array of dishes that showcase the versatility of locally sourced, organic ingredients. Everything on the menu is raw (meaning it's not processed, preserved, or cooked), meaning that no nutrients or vitamins are lost and go directly into your belly. From delectable starters to indulgent mains, every plate is also a work of art, meticulously presented to appeal to both the palate and the eyes. Our favourite is the zucchini lasagne with spinach, mushrooms and ricotta (made from almonds).
The Alchemist Garden | Overtoom 409, Oud-West
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.
Madre
Tuck into margarita sours and superb jackfruit tacos at this lively plant-based restaurant that was recently installed on Westerstraat. Madre offers a fine selection of delicious comfort food dishes, including mushroom quesadillas made with shiitake and truffle oil, cauliflower tacos smothered in chipotle sauce and zingy salads with mega helpings of avocado. The cocktail list pairs perfectly with the food - we can stop banging on about the ice-cold granita made with mezcal, lime and ginger.
SOIL
With its selection of bowls, salads and sandwiches, SOIL seeks to be casually healthy while keeping the service speedy. Current gems include the creamy peanut butter curry bowl and kimchi Reuben sandwich. All dishes are plant based and locally sourced, but you can opt to add smoked tofu, free-range egg or chicken or retired-milk-cow beef. The casualness is also reflected in the savvy selection of alcohol – kombucha on tap.
Vegan Sushi Bar
The first vegan sushi restaurant in the Netherlands, this isn't your run-of-the-mill cucumber roll joint. Let your wasabi dreams come true with the creative concoctions at the Vegan Sushi Bar, where the plant-based salmon (we have no idea how they make it) and tempura shrimp will satisfy even the most discerning taste buds. The presentation here is also always really fun and festive.
Vegan Sushi Bar | Kinkerstraat 83H, Oud-West & Wittenburgergracht 143, De Plantage
H/eart.h
At H/eart.h, 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 entirely 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.
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.
Taste Like Chicken
At Taste Like Chicken, or “TLC for friends”, you’ll find plant-based facsimiles of all your junk food favourites sculpted from soy protein and wheat gluten, deep-fried and accompanied by a pile of vegan “party fries” (potato waffles, twisters, skin-on fries and sweet potato fries). Everything’s plant-based here, from the gochujang bomb that is the “Korean fried chickas” and a tangy BBQ burger to an over-the-top “chica & waffles” (VFC© tenders with hot sauce and maple syrup and a dot of vegan soft serve). The brightly hued interior, inspired by trendy sneaker shops and with a hush-hush “super-secret burger room” at the back, delivers too.
Tastes Like Chicken | Van Woustraat 29h, De Pijp
