Food Spots in The Netherlands

As you might know, I live in the Netherlands. I love going out for breakfast, lunch and dinner in restaurants in every city that I go to. On this page I’ve listed all my favorite food spots in the Netherlands. For every city I’ve listed my number one favorite. All food spots listed below have good vegetarian or vegan options. 
I’ve been to all the places myself. If you have any suggestions, you can email me at info@annetravelfoodie.com.
I’ve sorted my favorite food spots in the Netherlands by city, arranged in alphabetical order.

Almere – The Black Cockatoo

This lunchroom in the city center of Almere serves some great vegan lunches. The entire menu of The Black Cockatoo is plant based, so it’s not only great for vegans but also for lactose intolerant. On the menu you’ll find a delicious granola bowl with homemade granola and coconut yogurt, smashed avocado toast, hummus toast and almond butter apple toast. They also have the vegan versions of two typical Dutch warm dishes: Kroket and Kapsalon (fries with vegan shoarma). They also have platters to share and sweets. Besides their homemade pies and cakes they also serve the vegan and refined sugar free treats from Sharp Sharp in Rotterdam. They also have a separate kids menu.
Click here for all my favorite food spots in Almere.

Amersfoort – BAS

Amersfoort is a lovely city close to Utrecht in the center of the Netherlands. One of my favorite restaurants in Amersfoort is BAS, short for Bites and More. It’s located a bit out of the city center but worth the walk! 
Click here for all my favorite food spots in Amersfoort.

Arnhem – Stan & Co

I really love the STAN restaurant in Arnhem. They’ve got a big terrace for warm summer days but also a beautiful interior with many matching details for winter days. On the menu are several delicious vegetarian options.  This is their ‘herb garden’, which is crispy vegetable sticks, red beet hummus and feta on a slice of bread.
Click here for all my favorite food spots in Arnhem.

Bergen op Zoom – Restaurant Hemingway

Restaurant Hemingway is the restaurant located in the oldest hotel of the Netherlands: Hotel de Draak. They’ve been rewarded by both Bib Gourmand as Gault & Millau, so you can guess the quality of the dishes! At Hemingway you can go for a menu or order a-la-carte. I went for a 4 course surprise menu and the kitchen staff made 4 lovely vegetarian dishes for me. The starter was this beet carpaccio with goat cheese, balsamic vinegar and mustard. Doesn’t it look like a painting? It tasted as good as it looks. Make sure you save room for the dessert, as it can get quite spectacular at Restaurant Hemingway!

Breda – In Kannen en Kruiken

I love it when a lunchroom dares to stand out! Let yourself be surprised by the original menu from In Kannen Kruiken. No simple cheese sandwiches here. IKEK serves overnight oats with banana and chia seeds or.a prawn salad sandwich They have a vegetarian club sandwich and they’re willing to make it vegan by skipping the cream cheese and adding an extra layer of hummus. They also have gluten free bread if desired. Although the older generation might frown upon the menu when they walk in, they’ll be pleasantly surprised when they walk out.
Read more about Breda here.

Delft – Hummus

If there’s one type of kitchen that I absolutely adore, it’s the Middle-Eastern one. I could eat pita with hummus, baba ganoush and falafel everyday! So it’s no wonder that my favorite restaurant in Delft is called ‘Hummus’. The kind, enthousiastic and hard working owners make this restaurant even more likeable.

Den Bosch – NomNom

NomNom is a cosy place for lunch, drinks or dinner. I love them especially because they have many vegetarian options! Their menu changes regularly so I can’t promise you that they’ll still have these options; but when I was there the last time they had yogurt with granola, a quinoa burger and a delicious halloumi cheese salad (click here if you want to make one yourself). They also had a delicious vegan option: sourdough bread with pumpkin hummus! Click here for all my favorites in Den Bosch.

Den Haag – Café Blossom

Cafe Blossom is located nearby the Peace Palace and a perfect place for breakfast. They’re open early and have a delicious breakfast ‘plankje’, where you get a variety of breakfast items.They also serve nice lunches and great homemade pies. Look at this vegan cheesecake for example! They have several (vegetarian) sandwiches for lunch, but also serve warm meals for big eaters. Please note that they’re closed on Sundays.
Read here about my other favorites in The Hague.

Dordrecht – Bluebirds in the Backyard

Blue Birds in the Backyard in Dordrecht is a vintage store, lunchroom, playroom and meeting room in one. In a beautiful large, old building you can find all these things. In the rooms of the mansion are the beautiful gifts, clothes and jewelry on display. In the back you’ll find the restaurant. It’s a big, open space. There are all kinds of nice dishes on the menu like this Goodness Bowl with coconut yogurt, granola, fresh fruit and honey. 

Eindhoven – The Happiness Cafe

The Happiness Cafe is a great name for this cafe, because it makes you very happy! It’s right across the street from Usine and serves all day breakfast, salads, sandwiches and homemade sweets. They have many vegetarian options and even a few gluten free and vegan options. Especially the latter is quite unique in Eindhoven where many cafes still serve the usual ‘meat, fish or cheese’. Just look at the delicious vegan sandwich with hummus, avocado and pumpkin they have! I can also recommend the vegan salad with tempeh and the homemade raw pastries.
Check all my Eindhoven hotspots here.

Gouda – Lunchcafé Curcuma

Lunchcafe Curcuma in Gouda is a vegetarian and organic lunchroom in the city center of Gouda. The restaurant is housed in an old building with a nice interior. There’s a big mural of the plant curcuma and a part of the cafe is elevated while the bathrooms are actually a few steps down. On the menu you can find many healthy dishes. Eating vegan or gluten free is not a problem at Curcuma.  

Haarlem – By Lima

By Lima proves that a healthy lifestyle isn’t boring. This ‘good food cafe’ is open for breakfast and lunch and has many healthy options to go or to stay. For each item on the menu it’s marked if it’s vegetarian, vegan or gluten free. Besides all their home made options, they also sell healthy sweets from Sharp Sharp (check their website for all their selling points) The treats from Sharp Sharp are sugar free, gluten free and vegan.
For more Haarlem tips you can check this page.

Leeuwarden – Proefverlof

Restaurant Proefverlof is located in a former prison! The name is a reference to the previous use of the building. Proefverlof means trial leave, but the word ‘proef’ in Dutch also means ‘taste’. Proefverlof is open for lunch and dinner. They have a great terrace next to the water for sunny days. On the lunch menu are all your classic lunch staples like grilled cheese sandwiches and omelets. I went for the Eggs Bennedict. It had perfect poached eggs and a tasty Hollandaise sauce.
For dinner they have a separate vegetarian menu that you can ask for!
Click here for all my favorite food spots in Leeuwarden.

Leiden – Bikini Bikini

Leiden is a nice University town with many canals, located in between The Hague and Amsterdam. With many outdoor seating options, Leiden is great to visit on a sunny day. My favorite outdoor hotspot in Leiden is Bikini Bikini (previously the location of Lot en de Walvis). Its terrace is located right next to the small harbour. They’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have delicious salads and sandwiches for lunch.

Maastricht – Ceramique

Ceramique is a sustainable restaurant that has been housed in a monumental building close to the Maas for over 20 years. Although they’ve been around for a long time they might be the least old fashioned restaurant in Maastricht. Besides meat and fish they serve many vegetarian and vegan dishes. On the menu the vegetarian and vegan dishes are clearly marked. They have a great vegan chickpea mango soup as a starter and a delicious pumpkin risotto for dinner (pictured above). Read my full review on Ceramique on this page.

Check all my Maastricht favorites on this page.

Nijmegen – Downtown

Nijmegen is one of my favorite cities! I lived there for several years and I still visit it regularly. There are many nice restaurants in Nijmegen and Downtown is one of them. Downtown offers an all-day breakfast menu. For people who love breakfast as much as I do, this is heaven. They’ve got all your favorite breakfast staples like American pancakes and banana bread. But also for lunch it’s a great option with mushroom toast or the pictured avocado toast with feta cheese and a poached egg. It’s located just around the corner from the market square. Are all tables taken? Nextdoor Bairro Alto is also a nice place!
Click here for more healthy hotspots in Nijmegen.

Oss – De Nieuwe Wereld

I have to be honest, I don’t think that there are many reasons to visit Oss. Although I like that it’s conveniently located between Tilburg, Den Bosch and Nijmegen. If you do happen to be in Oss, or if it’s also a good meet-up point for you and your friend(s), I absolutely recommend De Nieuwe Wereld. It’s (probably) the best place to go for lunch or dinner in Oss. Fellow food blogger Puur Suzanne recommended it to me and I’m glad that she did! They have delicious sandwiches here, like Suzanne’s favorite with goat cheese and red beet hummus. I went for The Moroccan Spiced Bowl with falafel, pearl couscous, chickpeas, red beats, hummus and flatbread.

Rotterdam – Baker&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.
Read about all my favorite Rotterdam hotspots at this page.

Tilburg – De Houtloods

Tilburg is my hometown! After living in Amsterdam I moved to Tilburg in 2016 to live with my boyfriend. Luckily more and more new nice spots open up here. A relatively new hot spot in Tilburg is De Houtloods, in the Spoorzone area behind Central Station. Here the kitchen has a central place in the restaurant so you can see the chefs prepare your dinner. I love the outside area even more, with its romantic illumination. Furthermore: the staff is friendly and very professional and the menu has many vegetarian options.
Next door you’ll find De Wagon, where you can have lunch or dinner in a real old train compartment!
Read all about my favorites in my hometown Tilburg here.

Utrecht – Gys

If I would ever start my own restaurant, it would be pretty much like Gys. It’s an organic restaurant with many vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options. They’re open for lunch and dinner, and their prices are very reasonable. Gijs, the owner, didn’t want anything over 10euros on the menu. So you can have a delicious meal, a drink and a vegan dessert for less than 20 euros. The restaurant at the Voorstraat is very popular, luckily Gys opened a second branch at the Amsterdamsestraatweg.
For more Utrecht tips, you can check this page.

Click here for all my restaurant reviews.