The Dutch city has a very wide range of top-quality organic restaurants. We travelled there to eat in five of them. Long live healthy and sustainable cooking!
If you go to Amsterdam, there are other options beyond the cheese shops. And the most popular option in this beautiful Dutch city is healthy food. There are many organic restaurants, proof that they are concerned about healthy eating and they care about sustainability. In fact, did you know that they say Amsterdam is one of the most eco-friendly and sustainable cities in Europe?
This is our list of the five favourite establishments where the products have organic and responsible certifications.
1. De Kas
Is there anything more ecological then growing your own vegetables and using the produce that you have been lovingly tending to day after day until they are picked? Not really. And that's chef Gert Jan Hageman's idea in his restaurant. "Without our garden, De Kas wouldn't exist", he assures. They depend that much on their own production. In 2011, the restaurant took over an eight-metre-high greenhouse built in 1926 in Frankendael Park. With an interesting offer (a la carte, there is no menu), it is a benchmark in Amsterdam (with Wim de Beer and Jos Timmer in the kitchen), so if you are a serious foodie and you are into healthy cuisine, you must pop by for lunch or dinner. Vegetables, the freshest produce ("we pick it in the morning and you eat it at night" is one of their catchphrases") that are on the menu for a week according to their optimum time of consumption, natural wines, artisanal beers, affordable prices... What more can you ask for?
Kamerlingh Onneslaan, 3
1097 DE Amsterdam
Tel.: +31204624562
2. Beter & Leuk
Their popularity on social networks is well deserved, as a lot of thought and care goes into their menu. Ilse and Maja run this restaurant, where they create everything that comes out of the kitchen. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes made from seasonal, local, organic produce that they select themselves. We recommend their soups, but don't miss out on their vegan breakfasts and homemade pies. They offer a healthy lifestyle beyond their dishes with cooking classes and selling second-hand clothes, art and healthy lifestyle books.
Eerste Oosterparkstraat 91
1091 GW Amsterdam
Tel.: +31 20 767 0029
3. Pllek
Who wants an alternative restaurant? Well, here you have it. Pllek is in an old shipyard warehouse in the Amsterdam Noord, area next to the river Ij. As such, it has a very post-industrial vibe to it. However, don't be fooled because the food has a 100% healthy concept. They boast of being the largest green restaurant in Amsterdam. They prepare their food with produce from local suppliers (the fish comes from the North Sea and is caught using sustainable fishing methods) and they grow the vegetables that they cook. Undoubtedly, maximum sustainability and ecology. That's why their menu is so broad: beetroot and coconut curry with vegetables, coriander and potato rösti, grilled radicchio (red chicory) with poached pear, smoked almonds, Sherry vinaigrette and cheese... It's also well worth a visit to Pllek to watch the dance, music and circus shows that are regularly held there.
T.T. Neveritaweg 59
1033 WB Amsterdam
Tel.: +31 20 290 0020
4. As
Sander Overeinder is a chef convinced about what he does at As. His career in restaurants from the Farm to Table movement, such as Chez Panisse in California, had such an effect on him that his establishment now strictly follows this philosophy of serving food directly from the farm, without any intermediaries. He even has his own vegetable garden next to the restaurant, located in the old chapel of St Nicholas, in the attractive Beatrixpark. He goes as far as having his own breadmaker, using sourdough starter, with which he supplies another 30 restaurants. "We try to cook as purely as possible", he explained. Flavour, quality and sustainability are the three concepts that best describe his dishes, which continuously change according to the season. Even so, our favourites are the cod with beans and smoked oyster, and the deer with green cabbage.
Prinses Irenestraat 19
1077 WT Ámsterdam
Tel.: +31 20 644 0100
5. Venkel Salades
"Go green" could be the slogan of this simple looking restaurant, as it is dedicated to salads (which is pretty clear from the name!) They love this dish so much that they will make you love it as well, even if you're convinced that salads are boring. They're not. Firstly because they are very tasty thanks to the produce they select: organic and from local farmers who they know personally. They even use honey from Amsterdam, made by the bees along the Amstel river, and homemade almond milk and mink syrup. This turns each dish into a seriously healthy delicacy. You don't like any of the salads? Well, you can customise it with the ingredients that are available. Ahh, they also make soups and juice. Healthy, of course!
Albert Cuypstraat 22
1072 CT Amsterdam
Tel.: +31 20 772 3198
As you can see, these are great reasons to visit Amsterdam. And you don't have to miss out, because Vueling has many cheap flights to the Dutch city. So bon (and healthy) appetite!
