Used to be Nude Burger Club (non-veg) but changed to all vegan Virgin Burger end 2020. Why? Probably more out of commercial reasons than their slogan ‘eat beans, not beings’ suggests. But selling vegan burgers instead of animal meat burgers is a good thing of course, more places should follow!
Virgin Burger could finally open for real June 2021, when the second corona lockdown ended. From the same owners as Mr. Stacks, which also went fully vegan some time ago. Read more
No shortage of vegan junkfood in town that’s for sure… But traditional snackbars still have not much more to offer besides fries with vegan mayo or falafel. Not at Cafetaria Nefertiti though!
At this Egyptian owned snackbar (Nefertiti is the name of a queen in ancient Egypt) in Bos en Lommer they offer a whole range of typical snackbar snacks, but vegan. Many people in the neighbourhood were asking for it! But the friendly owners eat vegan themselves also for a good part of the year. As Coptic Christians they are regularly fasting, in these periods they don’t eat any animal products. Read more
Flower Burger started in 2015 in Milan and gradually branched out to other Italian cities. Besides Italy and the Netherlands they are also located in France and England. This is not the first location in the Netherlands however, you might know them from their Rotterdam restaurant, but it closed in 2020 alas.
What makes their burgers different from all the other vegan burgers in Amsterdam (nowadays there’s a LOT) is that they’re relatively more healthy. No processed fake meat but the burger patties are made from real ingredients: chickpeas, red kidney beans, lentils, seitan, tofu etc. They also don’t use a deep fryer: the potato wedges come from the oven. Read more
At the very beginning it was just meant to be a restaurant space, at the giant ACTA building, a former dentist school. But when they saw the potential of a huge unused space also in the building they decided it should have a club space as well! Radion started in 2014 and grew into an experimental art venue, hosting club nights, art expositions, arthouse movies, workshops and much more.
Corona made them reflect on their values and objectives, and they decided to switch to a 100% vegan menu for the restaurant. “Since we think that vegan is the way forward, we completely overhauled our menu and went green” so they announced on social media! Read more
When Ly was dealing with general bad health and overweight a few years ago, he stumbled upon the teachings of a Dr. Sebi. By following his dietary guidelines Ly was able to heal himself two years ago. Being convinced of the benefits of the diet, he decided to open up I Can Do Better together with a partner. “If I can heal myself, you can do it, that’s why we’re called I Can Do Better.”
Herbalist Sebi (1933-2016) advocated the alkaline diet, which basically holds that by correcting the pH balance from the body from acid to alkaline, we can improve our health and reverse many diseases. Note, these claims are disputed by traditional medicine.
Ly differentiates between plantbased food made by man, and plantbased food made by nature. We should eat the latter he tells me, clean foods, instead of the processed foods one can find in most stores. “The supermarket isn’t there to promote your health.” Back to the basics in a radical way: even some vegetables such as broccoli or carrots are to be avoided, as they are hybrids, created by man. Read more
They met at a restaurant where they both worked at the time. Maurice ‘Morris’ in the kitchen, Annebel ‘Bella’ serving. Bella was vegan but the restaurant not exactly vegan-friendly, so Morris would cook her a vegan meal every day. They fell in love with eachother and eventually decided to start a restaurant together!
Morris & Bella opened in 2017 as a plant-forward restaurant, meaning the menu is vegan, but you can order non-vegan supplement dishes if desired. One of the reasons for this choice was so also people hesitant about vegan food would be tempted to come in.
Then when corona happened, they reflected more on their concept and felt the time was there to make a clear statement, so since June 2021 they are a completely vegan restaurant. “Because the pandemic is forcing us to make more sustainable choices, but also because customers are now more used to vegan food,” says Bella. Morris adds, it was also harder and harder for him to come up with the non-vegan supplements as they were not what his menu was about. Read more
Two years ago some friends wanted to open up a cafe, and decided to combine that with a furniture store (which was already an occupation of one of them). They found a temporary location at Purmerplein (Amsterdam Noord) and called it Purmer.
When they had to move, they found a new place in a former church building. Vegan chef Sam joined forces and so their own menu is now fully vegan. The new name Cometa refers to the name of the street: Kometensingel. They opened May 2021, and here they are now also open during the evening. And another improvement, this location is not a temporary one anymore! Read more
They met eight years ago while studying at the renowned University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy, also known as the university of the Slow Food movement. Now, Andres Jara and four others are running the Stadsgroenteboer farm in Osdorp. On 0,4 hectares at the western outskirts of Amsterdam, they are growing no less than 60 different kinds of vegetables, plus 15 different herbs.
I cycle there to meet Andres, who besides being a vegetable farmer, is also a chef and is selling plant based food products under the name of Roots, Rice & Beans. I find him working behind his laptop, underneath a makeshift canvas roof, his office for the day. While he shows me the property, he tells me all about De Stadsgroenteboer and his other projects. Read more
Started as National Animal Rights Day in the US in 2011, grew into in fact an international event. With the aim of both to commemorate the non-human animal victims, as well as to celebrate the progress being made for animal rights.
This year was the first time this manifestation took place in the Netherlands, on Sunday June 6. At busy Dam square, a great amount of speakers talked about the conditions in which animals are suffering in various industries. The motto of National Animal Rights Day is ‘Our planet. Theirs too’ – we are sharing this Earth with the other animals and have to acknowledge their rights as well. Read more
While corona has shattered a good amount of plans and dreams, it led to the materialisation of others. When the careers of Margo (styling/make-up) and her partner Ayden (photography) came to a pause, they decided to pursue her long-felt dream of opening up her own vegan take-away place.
So now every morning Margo bakes homemade vegan croissants, pain au chocolat, madeleines and what not! She loves working with dough, some recipes are the result of years of continuously improving them at home.
The savoury options include American style sub sandwiches – oblong bread rolls. This is the passion of Ayden, since they are also common in his homeland Cyprus and nearby Greece. Since they couldn’t find them in Amsterdam with the quality and properties they desired, Margo is also baking these bread rolls herself! The sandwich options are always changing, but current options are one with crispy tofu, chili mayo and veggies. The other one Caprese style with vegan mozarella and more. Read more