Amsterdam, De PijpThe Meets, a go-to vegan and vegetarian café in Amsterdam

By Fleur Maat @themodelfooddiary
30 August '18

‘We like to follow the 80/20 rule- 80% plant-based, 20% animal produce! Although the main rule is 100% lekker!’ Or ‘tasty’ explains The Meet’s website.

The Meets is a place for healthy food lovers. It focuses on locally sourced produce, using organic ingredients as much as possible and stays away from refined sugars. The menu is pretty international.  It includes açai bowls, kimchi toast for breakfast, fresh spring rolls, beetroot balls for lunch (a healthier vegan alternative for the famous Dutch ‘bitterbal’ which is a deep fried ball of minced meat)  and Sicilian eggplant stew or Pad Thai for dinner.

The space

The Meets is located on the corner of a lively street in the Pijp, one of Amsterdam’s coolest neighbourhoods.

The interior is clean and bright with brick walls, wooden tables and floors and single fresh flowers spread around in vases which add a pop of colour. There is limited seating available outside. Inside the space appears narrow at first sight, but it stretches down to the back.

The little things that make a difference

The Meets uses paper straws which is something I support.

The fresh juice test

The drinks menu features many different teas and lemonades, but not many fresh juices. We chose a blue smoothie! The ‘Samui Blue’ consists of banana, mango, coconut water, whey protein, spirulina (hence the colour) and bee pollen. It was not only a refreshing and lovely sweet drink, but also the fact that it was blue made us feel instantly happier and healthier!

What we ate

We ordered a fresh young coconut to start with, paired with some lime juice. I have tasted many fresh coconuts in my life (some of them being in  coconut famous countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Bali), but I must say this was one of the best coconuts I ever had!

We also ordered the avocado sourdough toast with poached eggs, spinach and roasted tomato. The bread wasn’t toasted (which led to it being slightly soggy) and the poached eggs weren’t poached quite like we like them to be, but the addition of spinach, and especially the flavourful oven roasted tomatoes, was a winner!

Next, a Mexican veggie burger (made of sweet potato, black beans and quinoa) which came with a vegan mayo that tasted exactly like French mayonnaise.

We had the option of having the burger served in a salad leaf which we went for, making it a rather light dish.

We also ordered the açai bowl. Paired with the house-made granola served on top of the bowl, it was delicious!

Finally, we couldn’t resist the house-made vegan treats! We decided to have them for take-away since we were told that they were amazing. We ordered the banana bread, served with almond butter, and a heavenly (though rather heavy) raw dark chocolate pie with caramel peanut sauce.

What we’d go back for…

What I really liked about the Meets was the amount of choice you have as a customer.

The menu is nearly fully vegan, but you can always opt for add-ons such as bacon or different types of cheeses (burrata, halloumi) as well as vegan cheese.

This means that The Meets attracts a very broad audience, as it has something on the menu for everyone!

Also, for dishes such as the wraps and the burgers (normally served in a tapioca wrap or a sourdough bun), you have the choice to have it served in a gluten free tortilla or even a salad leaf, which we included with the burger.

The bill

Fresh young coconut   5.00 €
Samui blue smoothie   5.00 €
Açai smoothie bowl  9.00 €
Avocado toast  10.00 €
Mexican veggie burger  13.00 €

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Meets

Cornelis Troostplein 3
1072 JJ
Amsterdam

+31 6 15316734
@themeetseatery
visit website
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