Small Syrian vegetarian restaurant / take-away in De Pijp. Offers classic mezze, flatbread wraps, bowls and more. Most dishes are vegan.
Authentic Syrian dishes
Owner Eyad Khamis arrived in 2016 in the Netherlands, after the war in Syria started. In Syria and Dubai he was working in the tourist industry, and later organising conferences. But in Amsterdam he had to start all over again. An internship in an icecream factory led to a chance to sell Syrian food at a canteen of University of Amsterdam, that’s how Mama’s Keuken started! Eventually he opened the location in De Pijp in 2018.
The name Mama’s Keuken refers to the people he inherited his passion for cooking from, his own mother and other female family members. With the restaurant he wants to offer authentic Syrian food, and show that it’s more than just shoarma and kebab. When Mama’s Keuken started they still had a few dishes with meat, but nowadays it’s only vegetarian and vegan. Khamis himself also evolved from being a flexitarian to vegetarian, and feels much more fit because of it.
Okra in olive oil
The menu is all vegetarian but in fact almost all dishes are vegan. Just a few things are not, like the labaneh, yogurt-tahin sauce and a few more. But almost everything can be made vegan! Of course everyone knows falafel, but here Khamis makes it according to the Syrian recipe, with mint and fresh lime zest. Dishes like falafel, hummus and baba ganoush are pretty well-known, but have you heard of barasia (leek stew), bamieh bilzat (okra in olive oil) or makdous (oil-cured stuffed eggplant)? All mezze are served with flatbread, then are also flatbread wraps and salad bowls, warm and cold.
Vegish
In 2020 Khamis decided to open a shop to offer all kinds of vegetarian and vegan delicacies, called Vegish. They opened February 2021. Unfortunately after water leakage and other bad luck they closed September the same year.
Mama’s Keuken is located at the southern end of Van Woustraat, De Pijp. Diagonally opposite from vegan restaurant Meatless District. Tram 4 stops in front of their door. There are a few seats inside but they focus on take-away and delivery.
