Hey everyone, I’m Adelina and I live in Amsterdam. I am from Romania and I have been living in Amsterdam for 2 years now. Amsterdam is a world-famous city filled with exciting adventures and experiences for everyone, including vegans. What’s more, Amsterdam was ranked the 8th most vegan-friendly city in the world in 2022 by Happy Cow! So let me take you on a journey through my favourite tried-and-tested plant-based restaurants.
#1 – The Vegan Junk Food Bar
This is hands down my favourite place to go in Amsterdam. This restaurant has it all: delicious food, tasty cocktails (and mocktails!) and a fun atmosphere. Even though the food selection is quite limited as they mainly offer fries and burgers, I like to come here for their colourful pink and blue sauces, and their buns which come in pink and black. They take fast food to a whole new level and I like to come here for the fun experience.
They have 4 locations in Amsterdam and you can also find this chain in other cities like Barcelona and Cologne – so be sure to check it out on your next European trip!
#2 – The Vegan Sushi Bar
The Vegan Sushi Bar is another favourite of mine as they offer excellent plant-based alternatives to traditional sushi. To tell you the truth, when I became vegan several years ago, I thought that this would mean that I would have to only eat cucumber and avocado sushi for the rest of my life. But I’m very happy to say that this was not the case and that I discovered this restaurant which serves some really surprising and delicious recipes. They have 2 locations in Amsterdam so make sure to check it out! Also, I can’t recommend their matcha cream cake enough.
#3 – Plant Based Sushi
I initially visited Plant Based Sushi when I first moved to Amsterdam in September 2021. It was the first vegan restaurant that I went to here and it’s a small local business located in the West. I can’t say I was very impressed by their sushi (see before picture above), but they have the best plant-based gyoza in town! I went to this restaurant again in March 2023 and I was very surprised by how much their recipes developed since I first visited. Their food evolved a lot, both looks-wise and taste, and I will definitely go back again soon for more.
#4 – De Patchka
De Patchka is another small business located right in the De Pijp neighbourhood in the centre of Amsterdam. It’s a plant-based restaurant that offers affordable and authentic Korean and Japanese inspired food. I have never had the chance to try Korean food before because their cuisine is so heavily focused on meat dishes, so this was my first time going to a Korean restaurant and I highly enjoyed their plant-based Kimchi. So if you’re looking to support a small local business and to try out some new cuisine, be sure to check out this restaurant.
All pictures are from Adelina.