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!
Coffee options
2022 definitely was a breakthrough year for vegan coffee options. Of course Oatly and other vegan barista milks have been omnipresent in all new coffee places since a few years now. This year, major chains like Starbucks and Coffee Company decided to no longer charge extra for that vegan milk (aka the vegan tax)!
Another positive development is that also coffeemachines at some places are getting equipped with vegan milk. So you’re no longer condemned to that bitter black vending machine coffee if worse comes to worst. IKEA has a vegan coffee machine in their restaurant. A few AH To Go stores at Schiphol and Amsterdam Zuid are trying it out. And also the Hogeschool van Amsterdam and Universiteit van Amsterdam have vegan coffee machines at some locations.
On the go
Besides more vegan coffee options in some stores, Ah To Go also increased their vegan food options. They already had some wraps for a while, but later in the year also introduced two vegan sandwiches: vegan tuna salad, and vegan chicken & paprika spread.
HEMA also introduced some new vegan sandwiches, easy for when you’re on the go. A vegan ‘broodje kipkerrie salade’ and one with peanut butter, sambal, cucumber and fried onion.
Product highlights
The past year new vegan products just kept coming out like crazy. Not necessarily marketed to the group of people who are already vegan, but rather to people who are trying to eat vegan more often. Apparently quite a big group! Some highlights:
So many new vegan restaurants
Vegan healthfood concept Wild & The Moon (10 locations in Paris) opened two restaurants in our city this year. The first one in January at Van Woustraat, another one at the Zuidas in September.
The Italians from Hearth are back! You might know them still from the restaurant they had at Albert Cuypstraat for several years. After a two year hiatus they opened again in Amsterdam Oost in a bigger location with a serious bar and dj booth.
They started as a take-away during corona, but now finally found a real place. Peach Plantbased Kitchen opened in Amsterdam Noord and is still very suitable for take-away, but they have some seating as well.
A vegan Surinamese restaurant dedicated to the classics of the Afro-Surinamese cuisine. Be sure to check out the website for the stories behind the various dishes! The Old Soul is located in between Museumplein and De Pijp.
Organic restaurant Bloem still breathes that old-fashioned vegetarian restaurant vibe and I mean it in a good way! They switched from a restaurant with both meat and vegetarian dishes to a fully vegan place earlier this year. For some people nice to know, they are are 100% glutenfree as well.
Getting a fast but healthy vegan meal to go can be a challenge in Amsterdam, but places like Rå Bowls opening up make it easier! They are located at Ceintuurbaan, a main thoroughfare for cyclists between west and east. Top that they are 100% vegan (unlike similar concepts in town).
Lunchroom chain Yoghurt Barn started in 2012 with multiple locations nationwide, from which two in Amsterdam. As a yogurt place they used to use a lot of animal dairy, but this year switched to a fully vegan menu! That’s major. Find them at Amsterdam Centraal and inside the Foodhallen in Oud-West.
Two concepts in one! Testtafel/De Sering is very much a selfmade project and one of the most sympathetic initiatives I have come across. On some nights they do a very affordable community dinner, in order to be able to afford this they started to do fancy seven course dinners during weekend nights.
Packed with heaps of experience, the guys from Jack Bean in Rotterdam started Lokol at Kinkerstraat. Aiming for sustainable, healthy as well as supertasty dishes serving the neighbourhood.
Not only vegan for sustainability reasons but for the sake of animals as well! The owners of Liever Hier went vegan beginning of the year and so did their coffee place/pastry shop! Located on this super charming street in Amsterdam Noord.
Always lots of admiration for young people starting their own vegan business! The owner of Patisserie Koekoek had lots of experience in vegan baking for a lunchroom. It just became so successful that she wanted to do more with it! Tiny take-away shop in the middle of the centre.
Already present in Oud-West, casual vegan restaurant Soil chose Javastreet in Oost for their second location! Specialised in vegan comfortfood bowls.
New take-away concept Nom Nom Nom started at various temporary locations (until February) but their most recent one at Kinkerstraat will remain even after winter. Vegan fastfood made from wholefoods, without the use of deepfryers.
Second location of vegan noodle place Men Impossible, this one in De Pijp is called Ramen Impossible! Where at Men Impossible they work with a set menu, at Ramen Impossible they serve basically one dish with slight variations possible, a mazemen style ramen.
Yes another vegan fastfood place. 😵 Miami Burger is located in the Leidseplein area, so convenient for a night out in the city centre.
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Also we got some new vegetarian places in Amsterdam. Chez Nina opened new in Staatsliedenbuurt. Bar Kantoor and Café Moer both switched from omnivore menu to vegetarian. Fine dining restaurant Bois started in Het HEM, Zaandam. In general it seems that vegetarian restaurants nowadays take their vegan options much more serious, but to be honest that’s also expected. Although some places are still bad at it (some Indian vegetarian restaurants in town – would be great if the menu could say which dishes are or can be vegan 😂).
This year two places closed down, vegan healthfood spot Roots, and just last week casual Asian restaurant Loving Hut! Meatless District also more or less closed their location at Van Woustraat.
Make a difference for the animals
Being vegan or not is not just a personal choice, since it impacts the lives of others – the animals. Hopefully you can find your way to make a difference for the other animals in this world. One of these ways could be through activism.
– In the past year there were no classic big animal rights demonstrations, but in June the second Dutch edition of National Animal Rights Day took place. A huge manifestation at Museumplein to commemorate the animals, educate the people and celebrate the progress made so far in our struggle.
– Local activists joined the worldwide CAFT campaign, determined to put an end to the sale of fur. Several fashion brands already stopped selling fur as a results of this campaign. Next target is Louis Vuitton, which has a store at P.C. Hooftstraat. Send a message to the CAFT Instagram if you want to join the next protest.
– Anonymous for the Voiceless did vegan outreach on a regular basis through their ‘Cube of Truth’ formation. Animal Save Nederland did similar actions in Amsterdam.
– Stichting Stadsduiven Hulp is directly helping animals. They hit the streets frequently looking out for pigeons in need, as many are suffering from stringfoot. A problem not many people are aware of.
Looking ahead to 2023
So curious about what kind of new vegan places will open in the next year! Next up will be vegan chicken restaurant TLC, opening in January at Van Woustraat. Vegan burger bar Miami Burger is planning to open up a second location somewhere next year.
Regarding vegan products, La Vache Qui Rit recently released two vegan flavours in the US, so wondering whether this will come our way as well in the near future!
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