Hotspots in Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second biggest city in the Netherlands and a major port city. Where Amsterdam has the feel of a small village, Rotterdam feels more like a big city. Rotterdam is listed in Lonely Planet’s top 10 cities to visit in the world! Enjoy the many museums and the architecture in this city in the province of South Holland. And if you’re wondering where to eat (healthy) in Rotterdam, you can check this page with my favorite lunchrooms and restaurants.
I’ve listed my favorite food spots in Rotterdam for you on this page. Visiting other cities in the Netherlands? Click here.

Hotel Bazar

Hotel Bazar is both a hotel as a restaurant. Both the rooms and the menu are very exotic. They have many meat free options, like the vegetarian platter pictured above. The prices are very reasonable and the service is fast. But you might just want to come for the colorful interior. It makes you feel like you’ve traveled to a far-away place with bright colors and patterns. Bazar also has a restaurant in Amsterdam.

Baker and Moore

Baker and Moore is a lunch room meets working space. So you can bring your laptop, use the free wifi and get stuff done. Or just go there for their delicious food. They’ve got a ‘create it yourself’ concept where you can choose your sandwich or salad and all the ingredients you want on or in it. You can also choose one of their combinations if you find it difficult to choose from the extensive list of ingredients. They have gluten free bread and several vegetarian and vegan options. They have a vegan salad with avocado and grilled vegetables for example (pictured above), but they also do a great goat cheese and walnut sandwich.

Nine Bar

My coffee loving friends praise Nine Bar for their good coffee’s. The place is even named after the 9 bar pressure for the perfect the perfect espresso. But also non-coffee lovers have good reasons to visit Nine Bar. The friendly service for example but also the good lunches. On the menu are breakfast items like sourdough toast with avocado and soft-boiled egg and cinnamon French toast with forrest fruit compote. For lunch you could go for toast with sweet potatoes, olive-hummus and feta or for the Nine Bar Salad pictured above with bulgur, cucumber, feta and pomegranate seeds. They also have several sweets for dessert or to accompany your coffee like cheesecake and gluten free chocolate cake.

Urban Salad

At Urban Salad they serve freshly prepared salads and wraps. It’s a great stop if you’re looking for a healthy, fast and tasty meal. You can either eat-in or take-out at Urban Salad and they have plenty of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options. They can be found at the Stadhuisstraat. So it’s a perfect lunch break for when you’re shopping or to take home with you to have a healthy meal in the evening.

Burger Club

Burger Club in Rotterdam has been voted Best Burger of Rotterdam in 2016 and 2017. They’ve got a big choice in burgers, with more than 10 different ones there’s something for everyone.For vegetarians and vegans they’ve got the Dutch Weed Burger, my favorite veggie burger. This burger is 100% plant-based and made with seaweed. Choose a side salad and French fries if you think the burger isn’t enough, or order your burger ‘naked’ (without the bun) for less calories.

Bertmans

Bertmans has two restaurants in Rotterdam, one in the city centre and one in North. They’re open for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. There are many great vegetarian dishes on the menu. Not only this veggie spelt toast with red beet-hazelnut spread, avocado and roasted vegetables, but also a mashed avocado sandwich with poached eggs or a portobello burger just to name a few. They also have gluten free and vegan options that are clearly marked on the menu. My favorite are the gluten free and vegan buckwheat pancakes with either banana and blueberries or apple and cinnamo

Atithi

Restaurant Atithi is an Indian restaurant in Rotterdam. They serve all kinds of traditional Indian dishes like curry and naan bread. They have a tandoor oven to make the traditional tandoori dishes, that give extra flavor to the food. It’s very vegetarian and vegan friendly, as they have many veggie items on the menu that are clearly marked.

Lilith

Lilith opens early, you can enjoy your morning coffee or breakfast here from 7am onward. Or if you’re not an early bird, enjoy a late breakfast here until 3pm. They have many healthy options like an acai bowl or a smoothie bowl. But you can also spoil yourself with a pile of delicious pancakes. They’ve got a sweet version with red fruit or the savoury version pictured above with salmon and spinach.

Restaurant Floats

As the name suggests, Floats is a floating restaurant! It’s located at H2Otel, the hotel that’s also floating on the water. This French-International restaurant serves delicious lunch and diner while you overlook the water. It’s nice in summer when the sun is shining and you can sit outside, but it’s also very cosy in winter when you overlook the calm water through the window. My absolute recommendation is to leave room for dessert and go for the Royal Choco Cake.

Spirit

Spirit is a buffet style restaurant located in ‘the green passage’, next to organic supermarket Gimsel. Just grab a plate and walk around the counter digging into anything you’d like. Everything at Spirit is organic and vegetarian and they have many vegan and gluten free options. Everything pictured above is vegan; a quinoa salad, sushi and even a vegan samosa. You pay for the weight on your plate at the check-out. You can come back for your round of desserts when you’re done with dinner. They also have everything available for take out.

Sue Food

Sue Food is your go-to place in Rotterdam for sugar free, gluten free, vegan and raw sweets. Yes I said ‘and’, not ‘or’. All the treats at Sue Food are all of the above. Sue Food started because owner Kim Sue Palm was looking for a healthier alternative for cakes and pies. She first started making the sweets and selling them elsewhere. But since the start of 2016 Sue Food opened their Sue Store in Rotterdam. Besides drinks and the healthy sweets the Sue Store also sells a few nice food related objects like cooking books and bamboo plates.
The owner of Sue Food, Kim, has written a cookbook full of vegan and sugar free recipes. Click here to read more about Zoet Zonder Suiker.

De Gele Kanarie

De Gele Kanarie is a brewery and cafe in one. They brew their own beers at de Gele Kanarie (the yellow canary) which is a nickname for beer in Rotterdam dialect. I don’t like beer myself, but I love going to the Gele Kanarie for their cakes and pies. Pictured you see their cheesecake, lemon cake, chocolate cake with cherries and the delicious apple-cinnamon cake with whipped cream.

The Tea Lab

As the name already suggest, The Tea Lab is specialized in tea. They’ve got more than 40 different kinds of tea. From classics like earl grey to ‘specialteas’ like the Beauty, a white tea with antioxidants. Besides tea they also sell smoothies, sandwiches, salads, yogurts and cakes. They’ve got several vegetarian and vegan options. And the real treat at the Tea Lab is their High Tea. You can order the regular version, but they also have a vegan and low gluten version.

Markthal

With this modern market hall Rotterdam made its own version of the local markets you see in Mediterranean countries. The locals get their daily groceries, like nuts and fresh fruits, at the market stands. Or they go shopping in one of the shops at the side of the hall, like the Hong Kong style supermarket. The more younger crowd arrives later as they sit down for dinner at one of the restaurants located in the Markthal like Jamie’s Italian. Because of this variety, you’ll find a nice vibrant atmosphere at any moment of the day.

Fenix Food Factory

Fenix Food Factory is a food hall located in an old port warehouse. Several local entrepreneurs are located in this ‘food factory’ where you can buy food and food products. There are different kind of food stalls; you can buy quality cheese or coffee. Vegetables or bread. Across the water from Fenix Food Factory you’ll find Hotel New York, easily accessible by a pedestrian bridge. From here the cruise ships to New York used to depart, and now you can drink a cup of coffee or have a nice meal here.

Click here for my favorite food spots in other cities in The Netherlands