The Best Places to Eat Vegan in Amsterdam

This month I ticked a city off of my bucket list which I have always wanted to visit. One known for its canals, beautiful narrow houses and its abundance of colourful tulips. Guessed it yet? Last week, I spent a long weekend in Amsterdam, soaking up the sights, walking a lot, but most importantly, trying its amazing selection of vegan food offerings!

Amsterdam was only my second holiday in another country which I've ever done as a vegan. I've done far more trips vegetarian, but travelling vegan can be that much more difficult. Luckily, I was completely spoilt for choice with plant based food offerings there!

I was pleasantly surprised at how vegan friendly Amsterdam is and how easy it was to find options which I could eat. Every restaurant or cafe we came across seemed to have an inventive vegan food option, and there were plenty of joints with 100% vegetarian and vegan menus to choose from.

James and I ate a looot of good vegan meals when we were in the city and so I wanted to share a list of my favourites. From vegan breakfasts to plant based junk food for dinner, here were our top vegan places to eat in Amsterdam.

Bagels and Beans

After arriving in the City on our first day and checking into the hotel, we wanted to grab something quick and easy to eat before heading out to explore. We checked the Happy Cow app and found a Bagels and Beans on the corner of the road we were staying on which offered a few different vegan bagel options and coffee. Bagels and Beans is a chain in The Netherlands and as you can probably guess, their menu is dedicated to bagels! They're a cheap and easy lunch option and the food was really tasty and filling for us post-flight. I went for the vegan burger bagel with ketchup and vegan mayo, which is just as a random as it sounds, but tasted very good!

Meatless District

On our first night in Amsterdam we met some friends for dinner and headed to Meatless District to have a sit down meal and get our first real taste of a vegan restaurant in the city. Meatless District is a partly crowdfunded restaurant whose menu is 100% vegan. It has a classy atmosphere to it, which I always love as a break away from the laid back nature which a lot of vegan joints offer. Meatless District's menu boasts a selection of multiple burgers, 'fish' and chips, breakfast pancakes and so much more. The place has a really cool atmosphere and I loved the food. I had an 'MD Cheeseburger' which was topped with chipotle burger sauce, red onions and gherkins which was really tasty!

STACH

We visited STACH whilst in Utrecht, however they do also have branches in Amsterdam. STACH is a small deli which offers a selection of hot and cold drinks, takeaway sweet options and freshly made sandwiches. Whilst wondering around, we noticed that they had a pretty tasty looking vegan option of a vegan avocado and 'chicken' tikka baguette, with the chicken made out of pulled jackfruit. We grabbed a sandwich on the go and were so glad we did. It was fresh and so tasty, and the first time I've ever tried vegan tikka! STACH have rotating menus, so it's definitely worth checking out for any new vegan options if you happen to pass one whilst walking around Amsterdam or Utrecht.

Vegan Junk Food Bar

After a morning of walking around the city and working up an appetite, we decided to hit up one of the most well known vegan restaurants in Amsterdam - the pink and perfectly Instagramable 'Vegan Junk Food Bar'. This is not a place for the faint hearted or those with small stomachs! The menu is vast and full of every vegan junk food option you could imagine. From loaded fries to chicken burgers and extra large hotdogs, the menu is completely plant based and completely bonkers. The food at Vegan Junk Food Bar is extravagant. Complete with blue sauces and pink buns, everything is as much of a feast for the eyes as it is for your belly!

I opted for the 'Pinky Bratwurst Hotdog' which came in a pink bun complete with vegan cheese, onion bits, spring onion, mustard mayo and pink aioli, and James went for the 'Daddy Mc Chicken which was a faux chicken burger stacked in a charcoal bun', and we also shared the Supreme Loaded Fries which were topped with Chick’n, truffle oil, vegan Parmesan, Mayo, bbq sauce and friend onions. We honestly ate so much that we had to skip dinner on this day because we were so stuffed!

Mr Stacks

For one of our breakfast options, we decided to hit up Mr Stacks, an almost completely vegan pancake and bubble tea cafe in the city. This place was recommended to me by a friend last minute, but I'm so happy we decided to go! Their menu has multiple different vegan pancake stack options (all made fresh!), with the few non-vegan options on the menu marked with a star. Mr Stacks offers what I can only explain as the best pancake stacks I have ever eaten in my life! They were so light and fluffy, but still thick and filling! I opted for a stack with walnut, berries, cinnamon and a vegan cream cheese glaze. Best breakfast ever.

MOAZ Vegetarian

On our last night in Amsterdam, we were in a bit of a rush to meet friends and wanted to grab a dinner option which was easy and on the go. We came across MOAZ vegetarian, a falafel bar selling just vegetarian and vegan fast food options. You simply ask for your falafel flatbread at the counter and then load it up with salad and sauce yourself. It was really tasty, quick, easy and cheap. The service is pretty non-existence at MOAZ, but that's to be expected for a fast food joint in the centre of a city. MOAZ have multiple locations around Amsterdam, so be sure to check them out if you're after some quick and easy bean based comfort!

SLA

For our final lunch in Amsterdam, before heading to the airport, we wanted to opt for somewhere a bit more light and healthy. We decided to head to SLA, a plant based salad bar chain with multiple venues across the city. SLA specialise in big and beautiful vegan salad bowls, and we definitely were not disappointed. They were so fresh and so tasty. I opted for the 'sweet and spicy falafel' bowl and James had the 'Greek gyros'. Both were packed with healthy ingredients and definitely gave us the health  kick we needed after a few days of loading up on carbs! SLA give you the option to choose from one of their pre-made salad bowls, or make your own, so whatever healthy feast you're after, they'll have something for you.