Each time I make the trip from Cornwall to Scotland to see my family, I always have to visit St Andrews. It is only a 20-minute drive from where they live, and it is such a pretty town, so much to see. With a beautiful beach, historical University, Castle, lots of cafés, restaurants and shops it is easy to spend the whole day here and never run out of things to see and do. I have been numerous times and I never grow tired of exploring the cottage lined backstreets and walking along the coastal path. If you visit you HAVE to stop (no matter what the weather) and get an Ice Cream from Jannettas Gelateria, they serve the most delicious gelato! So many flavours, the Vegan ones are sooooooo good.
Here are a few snaps of my most recent trips, one back in August 2021 and more recently this year in March. It was a lot more sunny in March and a lot less crowded too. The town has a massive university population, so if you are looking to go be warned that at lunch time the cafés get very busy with students!
The St Andrew’s Brewery Bar is a great place to get a pint and something to eat, you can’t get a more locally brewed beer!
If you get a dry day, you must walk down the harbour and along the beach, Scotland is famous for its beautiful coastline and wild beaches and St Andrews beach is lovely. Grab a takeaway coffee and enjoy the sound of the sea, and the seagulls!
There might only be 4 main streets in the town, but they have lots of my favourite shops like Oliver Bonas, Jo Malone, Jack Wills, H&M and Paperchase, but they also have so many wonderful independent shops too. Lots of shops selling Scottish handmade products, as well as THE best bottle shop, selling so many gins and whiskey’s. I challenge you to pop in and not come out with at least one bottle of Edinburgh Gin!
There are so many historical buildings and amazing architecture in St Andrews, it is all so well maintained, I love nothing more than wandering up and down taking photos and learning all out their rich history.
There is no shortage of lovely home wear shops and Spoiled Life is my favourite, it is quite new and is well worth a browse if you ever visit. Best of all is it also has a small café inside too, so you can shop and have coffee at the same time. Jannetta’s Gelateria – I always get either pistachio, lemon, hazelnut, or mint choc chip. All vegan flavours and delicious. Best gelato in Scotland.
I really like all the fun classic cars that are dotted around the town, up the small cobbled streets, I always have to snap them & my dream car is a Nissan Figaro. They are the perfect car for narrow streets and town driving, adorable and nibble.
Where do you love to revisit, what small town or village makes you want to sell up, change jobs and move there? I always daydream about winning the lottery and moving to St Andrews, it is just such a quaint small town, but with a lot going on. It is super friendly, and I love that it is right on the coast, I currently live on the coast in Cornwall and have to say being by the sea is great for your soul!
We are lucky enough to only live an hours drive from St Ives and love to pop over for a day trip – although we 100% don’t visit enough. So we thought with the Summer holiday’s looming (St Ives gets so busy over the Summer) we’d go for a whilst it was still quite quiet. We picked a glorious day, although I do still enjoy St Ives when it’s overcast it feels super romantic on days like those and it gives you an excuse to hide from the rain and explore all the galleries and coffee shops.
We park at the top of the hill opposite the St Ives Brewery, it isn’t the cheapest parking but it is easy to find and the view across the bay is stunning. The walk down is quite steep but easier on the way down and it brings you right into the centre. If you have trouble with inclines you can get on the car park bus for a small fee.
I have shared photos of my previous visits on my blog and I never grow tired of taking photos and wandering through all the beautiful back streets that are lined with tiny whitewashed cottages. I also really like how people decorate their fronts with pretty flowers & plants, it reminds me of Amsterdam.
Fore Street, which is the main shopping street is always busy but I do like having a peek into all the shops and the smell of the bakeries (Cornish pasty) always tempts me in. This time we arrived at lunchtime and couldn’t resist a Wholemeal Vegan Pasty from The St Ives Bakery – which was just heaven, you need to try it if you visit St Ives.
Then we just enjoyed the sunshine and explored all the little side streets snapping photos along the way. There are so many cafes and places to grab Ice Cream so if you need to take a break you can. We always stop at The Pier Coffee Bar for a cuppa, it is right by the harbour but tucked away enough that you can always get a seat.
Now our main reason for visiting St Ives this time was so we could eat at Blas Burgerworks which is located in the Warren. I have walked past it so many times but we tend to be in St Ives too early as it only opens at 5 pm. On this occasion, we were there later & ready for burgers. They have so many Vegan options available which made me so excited so I opted for the Blackbean Burger & my husband picked the Sunflower Burger.
The decor is very basic and you mostly have to share a table as it is small and gets very busy. Even at 5.30, we were lucky to get a seat. Now on to the burgers, well let me just say that I was so disappointed. I wanted to love it but both of us elt our burgers just were not up to scratch. They came beautifully presented and the chips, OMG the ships were so yummy but the actual burgers turned into a soft paste, they lost all structure and you had to admit defeat and eat them with a knife and fork and I don’t know if you feel the same but I think burgers are meant to be eaten with your hands!
The burger was unrecognisable as a burger and was so soft that I felt I’d been robbed of my burger experience. I have had Vegan Burgers that didn’t have great structure but these took it to a new level. I am sad to say we won’t be going back. Let me know if you have been & tried the Vegan Burgers and if you had the same experience. I told our server that they were a little too moist but she just said Thank You like I’d given her a compliment?!
If you have any recommendations of things to see or do in St Ives leave me a comment & I am always looking for suggestions of places to eat!
I have visited Amsterdam quite a few times over the years & I have to say that it is one of the best Cities for Vegan options. They have so many fantastic Vegan-friendly restaurants & more are opening every month. It makes me so excited and when I visit I go armed with a list of places I really want to try. So I thought I would share a few of my favourite Vegan-friendly places to eat in Amsterdam,
OK – now where do I start with this one?! My husband & I both 100% agree that this is the best burger we have ever tried Vegan or otherwise. We visited the original burger bar on Staringplein 22 but I’ve read online that they have opened a second location just last month, which is so exciting. We visited at 6 pm on a weekday & it was packed inside & out – it seems we were not the only people who had heard how incredible the food is! We had a short wait for a table but people are super friendly and we ended up sitting with another couple which was nice.
We both ordered the original burger & chips and omfg they were utterly delicious! I really liked the spring & fried onion mix which added such a crunch to the burgers. We didn’t have time to visit again but I am dreaming of the day I can return and eat their burgers every day.
It isn’t the cheapest place to eat but I do like to support Vegan enterprises & this was worth every penny! Oh, & their Vegan mayo is so good. This has to be top of your places to eat in Amsterdam, whether you’re a Vegan or not!
Now this is a pricey, trendy juice bar & they also sell smoothies, bowls, soups and wraps but it’s all really fresh and super healthy. We felt a little under the weather one day so in a bid to keep the sickness at bay we had an expensive juice each.
I was a little sceptical about eating here & I have to admit that I initially thought it was a marijuana burger cafe – well it is in Amsterdam after all but my husband assured me it was referring to seaweed, not drugs! I am pleased he talked me into going as the food here is amazing and 100% plant-based.
We ordered their famous weed burger & some wish & chips. The burger comes in a bright green bun due to the superfood chlorella (microalgae packed with nutritious proteins and Omega acids) & the burger patty is made of briny soy shreds and Royal Kombu, a tasty and healthy winter weed, sustainably cultivated in the Dutch region of Zeeland
The wish & chips are deep-fried, crunchy golden green bites with a salty sea flavour. They’re made of beans and microalgae: green protein power! It was well worth hunting down the restaurant (as it is tucked away up a side street, although it is quite close to the Foodhallen). We ate an early dinner which meant we had the restaurant to ourselves & our food was cooked fresh to order.
I didn’t have room for them (sad times) but I did notice they had a selection Vegan doughnuts and cakes, I should have bought one to have back at the hotel.
This is a 100% Vegan Cafe & Shop. The menu is small but they offer a good selection of breakfast & lunch options & some amazing sweet treats. The cafe doesn’t have that many seats but it is worth waiting if it is full. The service is quite slow so I wouldn’t recommend if you’re in a hurry but the prices are very reasonable considering everything is made fresh.
We really wanted to try their famous Vegan doughnuts but they sold out each time before we got there. So we visited twice once for breakfast & I had the Green Smoothie bowl and a fresh Ginger Tea. The smoothie bowl was delicious, the portion size was really big and topped with a really nice selection of fruit, goji berries, coconut and muesli.
The second time we only popped in for a sweet treat & after being disappointed that the doughnuts had sold out, we opted for a carrot cake & a raw snickers bar. Both were very rich & we struggled to finish but they were tasty but I am still craving a doughnut. We also bought quite a few snacks from the shop to have in the room.
Mastino Pizza
This was my husband’s suggestion, he loves pizza and has been on the hunt for the best Vegan pizza for a long time now. He had heard very good things about Mastino Pizza so we arrived as it opened at 4.30pm and managed to bag the last table. The restaurant is very small but has a great atmosphere, it has a nice & familiar neighbourhood vibe to it.
Being used to such limited Vegan options at most pizza restaurants (usually no cheese) we felt quite spoilt for choice as they had 5 options. We both went for the Full Moon & a refreshing Fritz Cola (my absolute fave fizzy drink). You can see your pizza being made which made our mouths water with anticipation.
The toppings were very generous and the Vegan cheese was one of the best dairy-free mozzarellas I have tried. The pizza was huge & I couldn’t manage it all, so took the rest back to the hotel to have as a midnight snack & it was just as tasty cold.
If you love Pizza then this has to be on your hit list – even non-vegans as they cater for all dietary requirements & it is just a delightful, friendly place to eat.
This is a lovely salad bar and within the last few years they’ve opened up in quite a few locations all over Amsterdam, we were lucky enough to have one next door to our hotel. SLA only take credit or debit cards, so you can’t pay with cash. This seems to be a recurring theme in a lot of eateries in Amsterdam now.
The menu it SLA is pretty good for Vegans & they are very accommodating if you want to add an ingredient or take something out. Everything is seasonal, organic, fresh and healthy. The decor inside their cafes is really nice & covered in plants & greenery. Their salad bowls are very big & we often get the Vegan Nourish Bowl to share along with a side of falafels & that is more than enough food for 2. Their turmeric tea is delicious too.
This is a chain and there are so many locations dotted about Amsterdam. You’ve probably guessed it from the name but they are a bagel cafe, however, they also have salads on the menu too. We have eaten here so many times over the years and always get the same thing – Gluten Free Bagel with Hummus & Sundried Tomatoes & it is so fresh and filling, especially on a cold day. This time, however, I was excited to see that they’d added a Vegan Pecan Pie to the menu. So of course, I had to try it and it didn’t disappoint, it was delicious, not too sweet.
So if you’re visiting Amsterdam anytime soon let me know if you visit any of my suggestions and do leave me a comment with any recommendations for places I should try on my next trip.
I have not long since returned from my 7th visit to Amsterdam, this City holds a very special place in my heart. I love nothing more than exploring all the neighbourhoods and Amsterdam has become one of Europe’s most Vegan friendly Cities. I have a full post coming next week all about the incredible Vegan places we ate & let me tell you we found some pretty special places.
We have visited most of the tourist places & done the main museums although we like to revisit our favourite spots like the rijksmuseum, Vondelpark, Dam Square and you can’t visit Amsterdam without going on a boat tour especially a champagne one. This time top of our list of places we wanted to see was the National Holocaust Memorial & National Holocaust Museum which opened last year. I wanted to visit after reading the novel called Girl in the Blue Coat as some of the book is set on the site of the Museum in the Hollandsche Schouwburg Theatre and also across the street in the crèche. The Nazi’s turned the theatre into a prison and a deportation centre and it survives today as a memorial to the 80,000 Jews who were held there ahead of being deported. I highly recommend visiting if you get the chance, the museum’s exhibitions are so well curated!
The weather was a little hit & miss much like the UK, but armed with our umbrellas we walked miles & miles each day along the stunning canals and historic neighbourhoods. I always tell people that Amsterdam is so much more beautiful that they could imagine. It is more that just stag parties, red light district and coffee shops. It is rich in history architecture and culture. Being one of the Europe’s biggest, oldest ports means its past is so interesting and Amsterdam has so many Museums to tell the story.
I have a few more photos to share along with my Amsterdam Vegan Food Guide so keep an eye out for that. If you have visited Amsterdam let me know what you love about this City.
If you want to see what I got up to on previous visits just click here or check out the recommended the posts below.
There are so many historical buildings and amazing architecture in St Andrews, it is all so well maintained, I love nothing more than wandering up and down taking photos and learning all out their rich history.
Jannetta’s Gelateria – I always get either pistachio, lemon, hazelnut, or mint choc chip. All vegan flavours and delicious. Best gelato in Scotland.
