Amsterdam · Netherlands
Gillian McKeith's guide to healthy restaurants in Amsterdam.
Written by Gillian McKeith
Amsterdam has been feeding people vegetables properly since the 1980s, long before the rest of Europe worked out how, and the city has never made a fuss about it. That quiet confidence is exactly why I enjoy eating here.
De Waaghals in De Pijp has put vegetables at the centre of the plate since 1981 and it still does it better than kitchens a third of its age. Golden Temple on the Utrechtsestraat is the oldest vegetarian dining room in the city. De Bolhoed sits on the Jordaan canals doing generous vegetarian plates with real vegan choice, and Meatless District cooks fully plant based sharing plates with proper ambition. For lunch I send people to SLA for organic salads made without additives, or Alchemist Garden on the Overtoom for raw, organic and cold pressed.
My test does not change for the Dutch: purity, wholesomeness, organic wherever the chef can manage it, and an abundance of fresh fruits, vegetables, pulses, grains and seeds. Not one restaurant on this page has paid me a penny to be recommended.
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9 restaurants in Amsterdam
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Eating well in Amsterdam: your questions
- What is the best vegan restaurant in Amsterdam?
- De Waaghals on the Frans Halsstraat. It has been cooking vegetables seriously since 1981, the whole menu is plant based, and the sourcing is the sort I like to see rather than the sort I have to ask about twice.
- Where can I get a healthy lunch in Amsterdam?
- SLA for organic salads, pitas and bowls put together without additives, or Alchemist Garden on the Overtoom for raw and cold pressed. Both feed you rather than leaving you hunting for a second lunch an hour later.
- Which is Amsterdam's oldest vegetarian restaurant?
- Golden Temple on the Utrechtsestraat, named after the temple in Amritsar. De Bolhoed in the Jordaan is the other veteran, and both were doing this decades before anyone thought to call it a movement.
- Do I need to be vegan to use this Amsterdam guide?
- No. The guide is plant-forward, not plant-only. Some of these kitchens are entirely vegan, others simply treat vegetables as the reason you came in. Order as you like.
- Can an Amsterdam restaurant pay to appear here?
- It cannot. I select every listing myself on sourcing, freshness and what genuinely reaches the plate. The day that becomes purchasable is the day this guide stops being worth reading.
Every Amsterdam restaurant in the Gillian McKeith Restaurant Guide
Every Amsterdam kitchen in the guide, with my notes on each.
- Alchemist Garden
- De Bolhoed
- De Waaghals
- Golden Temple
- Meatless District
- SLA
- Vegan Junk Food Bar
- Vegan Sushi Bar
- Vegan Temple Bar
Eating a particular way in Amsterdam
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About the author
Written by Gillian McKeith
I'm Gillian McKeith: television presenter, creator of the global hit show You Are What You Eat, writer, nutritionist, and the editor behind this guide. Every Amsterdam entry here is chosen and written by me. I judge kitchens on the things that actually matter: real ingredients, honest sourcing, vegetables cooked with care, and food you feel better for eating.
Nothing on this page is a paid placement. Restaurants cannot buy a recommendation, and any listing marked as sponsored is labelled as such. If a kitchen slips, it comes out of the guide.
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