Hotspots in Leiden

Leiden is a nice city right in between Amsterdam and The Hague. Leiden has the oldest University of the Netherlands and is still a popular city with students. But it’s also a great city for a day trip if you’re staying in Amsterdam or the Hague. You could visit Naturalis, a museum and research center about bio-diversity or visit the museum Volkenkunde which is about cultures from all over the world. There’s also a botanical garden and the old and new Rijn river meander through the old city center.
As always, I’ll tell you about my favorite food spots. I’m sharing my 5 favorite hotspots in Leiden, from breakfast to lunch and dinner and from coffee to cake. I’ll tell you where to eat in Leiden. All listed places have great vegetarian options.

ROOS

ROOS is my favorite breakfast spot in Leiden. Their tagline is Taste & Smile, and I’m sure whatever you’ll taste at ROOS it’ll bring a smile to your face! They have several healthy and vegetarian breakfast options like an acai bowl, a vegan kickstart breakfast with overnight oats and Greek yogurt with granola. But if you feel like a cheat-meal for breakfast I recommend their French Toast. As you can see on the picture you’ll get a generous portion! They have two versions: one with fresh berries and one with baked banana, maple syrup and (optionally) bacon.

Lot en de Walvis

My favorite outdoor hotspot in Leiden is Lot en de Walvis (Lot and the whale). Its terrace is located right next to the small harbour. They serve breakfast and cakes all day at Lot, and they’re open for lunch and dinner. They have delicious salads (the small portion is enough for lunch) and spelt bread sandwiches. I recommend the salads as the sandwich might leave you a bit perkish. Although that might be a great excuse to try one of their cakes!

Chummy Coffee

My favorite place to go for a nice piece of carrot cake is Chummy Coffee. They always have a variety of cakes available. The offer varies daily but luckily they pretty much always have their famous carrot cake. Other cakes you can expect are apple crumble cake, chocolate fudge cake and banana bread. As the name suggests, Chummy Coffee has many coffee specialties. They have no less than 7 different cappuccino’s and an impressive 11 different lattes. If you want to satisfy your sweettooth with a warm drink you can also go for one of the 10 hot chocolate drinks, for example with marshmellows, toblerone or Maltesers. They also have several frappes and milkshakes. Their coffee blend varies every 2 or 3 months and they have a different espresso blend every week!

Borgman Borgman

Speaking of coffee, Borgman Borgman is Leiden’s only coffee roasting ‘factory’. They’re located on the Nieuwe Rijn and in their small shop with Scandinavian feel they roast their own coffees. The beans are roasted with a slow-roast method two or three times a week. You can of course enjoy a good cup of coffee in their shop, but you can also buy a bag to take home with you.
They also have several sweets that you can enjoy together with your cup of coffee. I had their vegan chocolate cake with avocado!

City Hall

City Hall is an Italian bar and bistro where you can get some great Italian food for lunch or dinner. They have all the Italian classics like bruschetta, pasta and pizza. They also have ‘piatti piccolo’, small bites to share. For example olive ciabatta with pomodori-tapenade, burrata or grilled vegetables. Looking for healthy options? They have 4 salads, of which 3 are vegetarian. Pictured is the Insalata di lenticchia, a salad with lentils, rocket, ricotta and crispy polenta.
City Hall is housed in the old city hall, it has great elements like tiled pillars and a 7 meter high cabinet filled with Italian products.