Our favourite Glowcations, Amsterdam

Amsterdam is one of our favourite cities. It’s packed with canals, art galleries, flower markets and museums. However, what attracts us most is the cool vibe and the huge choice of plant-based food. The selection of vegetarian and vegan cafés can be quite daunting. Luckily, two of our Glowstars, Fabienne Dobbe and Fleur Maat are local and Dutch, so we can really narrow down your hit list. Here’s our top three must visit vegan and vegetarian cafés in Amsterdam.

Lavinia Good Food, Centrum

Lavinia Good Food is a hidden gem in the historic centre of Amsterdam. Sat on the pretty Kerkstraat, between two canals, it is charming, laid back and serves a mean gluten-free pizza. The food is mostly vegetarian and vegan, but they also have some salmon dishes if you eat fish.

Lavinia has an all day brunch and lunch menu with lattes, juices, cocktails, beers and organic wines.

We suggest  ordering The Lavinia bowl with whole grain cous cous, roasted sweet potato, chickpeas, pickled red cabbage and home made hummus. Model Fabienne thinks the vegan vanilla pie is “a must! ”

To read more about Lavinia Good Food click here.

Juice Brothers, several locations

Our favourite spot for a vitamin packed juice is Juice Brothers. Founded in 2015 by four friends on a canal holiday, it’s now a huge success and has  several branches in Amsterdam, plus two in New York. We love their Haarlemmerbuurt branch with its view of the iconic ”Willemsbrug”. The café and grab and go is modern and minimal. You order at the bar and the eating area is upstairs.

Juice Brothers have a mega choice when it comes to drinks: ten juices, three tonics, three mylks, six shots and ten smoothies! We suggest the Unicorn’s Blood – a fresh and spicy mix of watermelon, pineapple, ginger and lemon.

And there’s the smoothie bowls… all the smoothie and açai bowls are made with made with non dairy organic products. We love their signature bowl the Almond açai.

Finally, they sell Van Leeuwen the vegan ice-cream brand. Fabienne and Fleur suggest grabbing one to go. Plant-based heaven.

To read more about Juice Brothers click here. 

The Meets, De Pijp

The Meets is in the Pijp, one of Amsterdam’s coolest neighbourhoods, packed with cafés and home to  the Albert Cuypmarkt street market.
This brick walled café focuses on locally sourced produce, using organic ingredients as much as possible and staying away from refined sugars . The menu is international.  It includes açai bowls and 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.

On the drinks front, student Fleur loves their fresh coconuts with lime juice,

“I have tasted many fresh coconuts in my life (in Vietnam, Malaysia and Bali), but I must say this was one of the best coconuts I ever had!”.

Also, don’t miss their blue smoothie. The ‘Samui Blue’ consists of banana, mango, coconut water, whey protein, spirulina and bee pollen.

To find out more about The Meets click here.

 

The Meets, Amsterdam

‘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 €