Vegan people’s kitchen every Friday at ADM Noord / Het Groene Veld

het groene veld amsterdam

Het Groene Veld started out in 2019 but its origins go back way further. In 1997 a piece of land in the western harbour of Amsterdam (Westpoort) got squatted. This evolved into a flourishing community of people known as ADM, a legendary place with over a 100 residents. It lasted until 2019 when they got evicted. The city of Amsterdam proposed a new temporary location for them, at what is now known as Het Groene Veld, or ADM Noord.

At the restaurant space (established in 2022) there’s vegan people’s kitchen every Friday night. Three course meal prepared by volunteers, because community is important! No choice of menu, you just eat what is made, for the modest price of €10. Read more

Asian bowls and burgers at foodcourt restaurant Vegan Bamboo Bar

vegan bamboo bar amsterdam

Not the first location of Vegan Bamboo Bar, they had a restaurant before in Utrecht. But they started out just before covid happened, which was certainly not good for business, so Vegan Bamboo Bar closed again October 2020.

But entrepreneurs Yung Fu and Kwok Hung Yip didn’t give up. In June 2023 they opened as a modest restaurant in foodcourt Market 27, Amsterdam Noord.

The idea for Vegan Bamboo Bar arose after Yung Fu’s wife got diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a rare disease. When the doctors said there was no further treatment possible, Yung and his wife researched medical literature for years and learned alot about the relationship between food and diseases. Eventually, due to a change in diet she was able to diminish her medical complaints by 90 percent.

This inspired Yung to quit his job in IT and together with his wife open up a food business, to offer healthy food to people and to share the knowledge they gathered. They partnered up with Kwok Hung Yip, owner of fastfood chain Wok To Go, which has many locations in the Netherlands. Read more

All vegan comfort food bowls and meal subscriptions at Second Nature

second nature amsterdam

Second Nature started with the question owner Ibrahim asked himself: “How can I build a model that can make food consumption more sustainable?” Previously working in consulting, he desired to start his own business but also make a positive impact with it. He figured there was still a big impact to be made regarding food carbon emissions.

Second Nature opened in april 2023. Set up as a neighbourhood kitchen, they intend to limit food waste by using ingredients which don’t have the perfect uniform looks up to supermarket standards, but nonetheless totally fine to use. They get these veggies directly from the farms. Read more

Rural Italian cuisine at this all vegetarian traiteur

mondo mediterraneo

Mondo Mediterraneo started out in the 90’s. First as an Italian food wholesale store. From 1999 on as a traiteur, located on a beautiful corner on the calm Czaar Peterstraat. Here they are offering a display of many vegetarian and vegan dishes, all available for take-away. The Italian owners originate from the Abruzzo region in Italy (bordering the Adriatic sea, near Rome).

As for many food businesses, covid changed the way they operate. They no longer are a restaurant in the traditional sense, but focus more on the traiteur side. They kept the beautiful elongated dining area with open kitchen, which is available for private dinners. The space is surprisingly big!

Although vegetables always had a prominent place in their kitchen, they are only fully vegetarian since recently. They made the switch for reasons of animal welfare, as well as for health and environmental considerations. One of the owners, Giancarlo, is a longtime vegetarian himself. In the earlier days of his career he has worked in the kitchens of Supperclub and Toscanini. Read more

All glutenfree and plenty vegan options at pastry shop Rose & Vanilla

rose vanilla amsterdam

It started with baking just for their children, as some cannot tolerate lactose or gluten. When a local bakery approved the cakes and was interested in selling them, Daphne and Erik took it one step further and bakery Rose & Vanilla was born. In 2015 they opened in Utrecht. Originally just for pastry, later they added savoury lunch options as well. Early 2023 they opened their second location in Amsterdam Oud-West. Read more

Classic chicken fastfood dishes – but all vegan!

Just opened in De Pijp! Taste Like Chicken started by a few entrepreneurs, inspired by similar places in the US. They are an all vegan fastfood joint specialised in vegan ‘chicken’ dishes.

These are made using ready made vegan ‘chicken’ products, which they modify and prepare in their own way. On the extensive menu there are various burgers with breaded chicken burger.

Then they have a few specials which include chicken and waffles (with soft serve on top!), Korean style chicken with Gochujang sauce, Mexican flavoured burrito etc. Side dishes include popcorn chicken, chicken nuggets, curly fries and several vegetable dishes. Read more

Miami Burger – all vegan burger bar near Leidseplein

miami burger

Miami Burger started in England, where vegan Tom Bursnall initiated a test kitchen with the intention of developing healthier meat substitutes – containing less salt and saturated fat. When this became successful selling it to restaurants, they were looking for ways to expand. During corona lockdown period Miami Burger started up as a delivery-only fastfood restaurant in Amsterdam. May 2022 they opened a physical location in the Leidseplein area.

“We’re not shouting everywhere that we’re vegan”, says Boyd Baptist, owner of the Amsterdam restaurant. The aim is to attract not just vegans, in fact most customers are flexitarians and omnivores, he tells. They want to offer vegan food so good that it tastes even better than the original! That way people don’t want to eat the meat versions anymore. Read more

The year 2022 in review: great variety

liever hier

The corona lockdown period feels like a long time ago and Amsterdam horeca came back to life. Like last year, this year we also gained 15 new vegan places in town (including second locations or existing omnivore restaurants switching to vegan)! And all so different from eachother, shows that veganism is really for everyone these days.

The Amsterdam Happy Cow page currently shows a total of 531 vegan and vegan-friendly addresses, of which 72 are vegan. Just to say, only three years ago that number of vegan addresses at Happy Cow was 39 so it almost doubled since then! Read more

Plenty vegan options at vegetarian restaurant Bar Kantoor, open all day

Conscious Hotel Westerpark opened in 2018, being the fourth location of this hotel chain. Their aim is to combine sustainability and design in a playful manner, and are considered pioneers in the hotel world regarding sustainability.

Bar Kantoor is their adjoining restaurant, the name referring to the building’s old function as an office (in Dutch: ‘kantoor’) for the gas factory which used to be located on this part of Westerpark. In the fall of 2022 they decided to take all meat and fish off the menu, thus having a completely vegetarian menu (‘meat-ing cancelled’, as their menu says in a play on their office theme). Most of the menu options are vegan. All their food and drinks are also organic. Read more

Mediterranean flavours at stylish vegetarian restaurant Chez Nina

chez nina

Swedish born Nina Olsson originally graduated in graphic/media design and worked as an art director for many years. But since food was her true passion, she made a switch in her career. In 2013 she launched her food platform Nourish Atelier, with a focus on simple, healthy and mainly plant-based recipes. In 2017 her first cookbook Bowls of Goodness came out, followed by three more over the years.

Olsson has been living in Amsterdam for the past fifteen years. A few years ago she did a month-long pop-up at Zoku hotel, where she prepared dishes from her cookbooks. It was then when the idea for her own restaurant first sparked. She teamed up with a befriended entrepreneur, and so Chez Nina opened August 2022! Read more