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.
This is right next door to our hotel & every time we’re in Amsterdam we go here the night we arrive. The menu is concise but has something for everyone and I have found the kitchen to be very good at accommodating any specific requests. Oh & they have a substantial selection of Beers too! I went for an avocado & courgette salad with a side of crispy potatoes and may have washed it down with a few cold Heinekens (when in Amsterdam & all that!)
SLA
I was beyond excited to stumble upon SLA on our second day. I had heard about this healthy eatery from my Instagram feed and planned on eating here but I came across it by chance. I visited the one just off Rembrandt Square and it was the perfect place for lunch. Now first let me say that you get an almost ridiculous amount of food, which shouldn’t really be a complaint but both my husband & I left a lot of food because it was too much to eat. We both went for the Vegan Falafel Bowl which was made up of amazing curried cauliflower, seeds, hummus, beetroot, sweetcorn, carrots, broccoli, spinach and 4 huge crispy falafels. I was in food heaven (food coma).
SLA have a great selection of salads, soups and sweet treats, not to mention their tea bar (tea addicts heaven). So many dishes on their menu are Vegan friendly and utterly delicious. If you love delicious, fresh healthy food then you must visit next time you’re in Amsterdam. They have 5 cafes across the city.
One important point is that it is PIN only, so they don’t accept cash which seems to be quite common in this City.
Friday Next
As I said in my Amsterdam Photo Diary we really just explored Amsterdam this time walking up streets that looked cute & off the beaten track and thats how we came across most of the places we ate in. The next place we stopped was Friday Next which is a Concept Store where interior, fashion, design and hospitality meet. It was a really creative place to have breakfast, the food was off the chart delicious & beautifully presented. I wanted to put the plate in my bag after I had finished. I went for a simple Avocado & Hummus on rye bread with a topping of seeds.
I loved it here & after we finished eating we browsed their home wares wishing we had more baggage allowance & a bigger bank balance! They also had a beautiful selection of jewellery, although a little out of my price range.
This photo was taken on my second attempt to visit this cute cafe, again this was a place I had seen on my Instagram feed and it looked so relaxed and sweet I had to track it down. On our first visit it was closed for refurbishment but I promised to return after peeping through the window & seeing how charming it looked. So we did manage to visit again a couple of days later and i’m so glad we did. The staff were friendly and the decor was perfect. I had a loose leaf tea, served in the sweetest tea pot and although we didn’t eat here they had a lovely menu & they make everything fresh on the premises.
If you like a cafe where you can relax and dream the day away T Eten & Drinken is that place, I have promised to visit again and make sure I sample some of their home cooking.
STATCH is a place for food lovers, I spent a good portion of time browsing their store. STASH sources their food locally and changes their selection dependant upon season, they have 6 shops across the city. Most of them are takeaway only but a couple have seating if you want to stay in. They serve coffee, amazing juices and smoothies not to mention sweet treats, salads, soups, quiches and bread (oh the bread is incredible). I wish these convenient corner shops would open in Britain and bring their healthy food and attitude with them. You better believe I was in here daily buying all the snacks!
Back to Black is like your living room away from home, its just the most relaxing place and space. I think it was my husbands favourite watering hole. We popped in quite a few times and felt instantly welcome, I don’t drink coffee but my husband swears its the best he has tasted, I can also add the tea (earl grey) is up there with the best too.
Surrounded by people tapping away on their keyboards to people reading and chatting it was a place we wanted to spend more time. I wished I lived around the corner so I could work from there too, it felt creative and very homely. They played great music and to top it off they have a resident kitty that will make itself at home on your lap. If I gave you one place you HAD to visit it would be Back to Black, but try not to spread the word to far and wide because It seems to be Amsterdam’s best kept secret and I’d like it to stay that way. Oh & if you want a pick me up, their Raw Vegan Cacao Energy Balls are a winner.
The Hoxton Hotel wasn’t initially where we wanted to eat that day, we had our sights set on Vegabond Vegan Cafe but it was closed the day we went (queue my I’m hungry melt down outside the window). So we walked along the canal and came across The Hoxton, I had seen lots of photos from its launch party the previous week so was excited to give it a try. All the photos I had seen looked incredible and we weren’t to be disappointed.
The staff were so friendly and attentive, telling us all about the menu and recommending what to try. I went for a lettuce and avocado salad with a side of spinach & lentils (can you see an avocado theme to my meals). It was delicious and the setting was pretty cool too, I know its brand new but the decor is low key and very on trend. Its the place to be seen and I so wished we have booked in to stay there, next time it is where I will be staying for sure. The food was reasonably priced and very good quality. I was sad the Vegan Cafe was closed but all turned out for the best as we sat in The Hoxton for a couple of hours and watched the comings and goings.
Rein was so hard to track down & I was a little disappointed with the service but my Super Green Juice was good although I would have preferred it with ice in, I find Green Juice so hard to drink unless its ice cold. John ordered a Soya Latte and a Raw Brownie which he wasn’t keen on – he kept saying the Brownies were not half as good as our friend Hayley’s – here is her Vegan Brownie Recipe.
I wouldn’t say Rein is a place to seek out but if you’re passing they do have a good selection of Juices, Smoothies and Salads. Oh and it is PIN only too.
Bagels and Beans are dotted all over Amsterdam and always seem to be right where you need them when you’re beyond hungry. The bagels are delicious and fresh and as you can imagine have a massive selection of toppings and filling options. We both went for the Spelt Bagel with Hummus and Sun Dried Tomatoes and it was so good. If you spy one of these whilst walking around you can always get one to take away to snack on later. Its so affordable and fresh.
So they’re some of my favourite places to eat in the City. All my meals were Vegan and it wasn’t hard at all to find places to eat and almost all of the restaurants and cafes we went to were accommodating and adapted dishes to be Vegan which was so nice of them! Let me know if you have visited any or plan on trying them out next time you’re in Amsterdam.
I could walk up & down the canals in Amsterdam all day & night, they’re so pretty. The canal houses that line them are beautiful and historical. They are all different and are frozen in time, I love them. A few of them are open as museums & one of the best ones I have been in it the Museum Van Loon which has the cutest cafe in the garden where you can sit, relax & it feels like you’re in the countryside.
I’m embarrassed to say I have been to Amsterdam 3 times now & I am yet to ride a bike there, I’m terrible at riding a bike & fear that I may cause myself an injury. I always joke to my husband that we should hire a tandem. I think next time we go I will have to bite the bullet and hire one late at night when the streets are quiet and I can practise. It looks so much fun and you can cover a lot of ground which means I could see more of the city whilst feeling more like a local. Have you ever hired a bike in Amsterdam, if so let me know how you found it.
Oh & if you have time you need to stop by the Poezenboot (Cat Boat). It’s quite a site, especially if you are a cat lover & opposite the catboat there is a cafe called Greenwoods that does the nicest breakfast, they even have Vegan options. It does get very busy but I guarantee it’s worth the wait.
If you do visit the city you must go and have a walk around the streets & canals at night. The bridges are all lit with small lights & even the trees have fairy lights. It feels really romantic & magical.
To see part 1 of my Amsterdam photo diary click here
