• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

VegKitchen logo

  • Vegan Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Baking and Sweets
    • Breakfast
    • Main Dishes
    • Pasta and Noodles
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches and Wraps
    • Sauces, Dressings, and Condiments
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups, Stews, and Chilis
    • Snacks and Dips
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
    • Canning and Preserving
    • Cheese-y Delights
    • Global Recipes
    • Raw Vegan
    • Slow-Cooker
  • Vegan Living
    • Vegan Substitutions Guide
    • Green Kitchen
    • Healthy Eating Tips
    • Food and Produce Guides
    • Vegan Food Hacks
    • Kid Friendly
    • Vegan Product Reviews
    • More Vegan Living
  • About
  • Shop Cookbooks
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Vegan Recipes
  • Vegan Living
  • Cookbooks
  • About Us
  • Freebie!
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Vegan Recipes
    • Vegan Living
    • Cookbooks
    • About Us
    • Freebie!
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Living Vegan

    Restaurant de Bolhoed in Amsterdam

    Published: May 20, 2012 · Updated: Mar 4, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Originally published in VegNews. “This has got to be fake!” That’s what I kept repeating to my two teens while in Amsterdam a few summers ago. Taking in views of tour boats plying the canals, the whimsically gabled roofs of residential homes reflected in the waters, and the only real traffic supplied by chunky black bicycles, Amsterdam seems more like a movie set than a city. Even at the height of tourist season, the pace was relaxed, even languid. And excellent English is spoken everywhere. 

    Our brief stop in the star city of the Netherlands was the perfect end to a whirlwind 4-week overseas trip. It’s more a place to just be than to go, go, go—the top “must-do” tourist spots, including the Anne Frank House, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and Vondelpark can be accomplished in short order. This leaves plenty of time for entire days spent hopping on and off rented bicycles or private “canal bikes,” exploring the narrow streets that connect the main canals that circle the city. Galleries, bookstores, cafés, outdoor markets, and boutiques abound in any of Amsterdam’s charming neighborhoods.

    Though it likely exists, we didn’t encounter much of a Dutch cuisine. Instead, Amsterdam’s eateries represent a wide range of international styles, and we sampled many of them. Indonesia was once a Dutch colony; ample evidence of this is the number of excellent Indonesian restaurants dotting the city. We also enjoyed Thai, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Italian, and Ethiopian meals during our short stay. All offered plenty of vegan choices and generous portions. With the weather so warm and fine, we gravitated as much as possible to eateries that offered outdoor seating.

    Amsterdam also boasts several vegetarian and vegan establishments. Right around the corner, or more accurately, right around the canal from our hotel, we found Restaurant De Bolhoed (meaning “bowler hat.”) one of the most established. With its decidedly bohemian atmosphere, I felt as if I’d traveled back to the radical 1970s vegetarian scene in Ithaca or Ann Arbor. Hundreds of fairy lights twinkle amid a forest of hanging plants; casual, distressed tables and chairs sit here and there against a backdrop of crudely sponge-painted walls.

    Restaurant De Bolhoed in Amsterdam

    Bolhoed’s cuisine, too, is a bit of a throwback—hearty and home style, with lots of grains, sprouts, and raw veggies Perhaps it’s not as chic and sleek as the renowned veg restaurants in the U.S.; still, Bolhoed’s food is fresh, mostly organic, and generous. Each day, a board announces the daily special soup and a vegan paté. When we visited, the soup was Tomato Coconut, and the paté was mushrooms and tofu with sage and Herbes de Provence.

    There is also a daily pasta and special vegan dish. My son and I both ordered the latter, as it consisted of several great-sounding tastings: Bulgur with pine nuts; a De Puy lentil salad with arugula; carrot, tofu and sage quiche ( a dried tomato tapenade dressed it up, and the crust was hearty with poppy seeds); roasted vegetables Provençal (pumpkin, zucchini, tomato, and fennel) and a simple salad (with a few too many alfalfa sprouts for my taste). My daughter had the Asian stir-fry (a menu staple), a plentiful bowl of thick udon noodles mingled with broccoli, peppers, zucchini, and tofu. This entree came with a beautifully arranged salad of whole romaine leaves, watercress, tomatoes, olives, red cabbage, and a creamy dressing.

    There are a small number of main dish offerings on the menu, including enchiladas, burritos, and “casserole.” Very vegan friendly, few dishes have cheese and of those, most all can be made vegan, according to our server. You can accompany your meal with freshly made juices as well as organic wines and beers.

    If you’re not too full, you can end your meal off with a large assortment of coffees and a delectable dessert. We got to sample several vegan selections, as we often stopped at Bolhoed on our late evening walks from dinner to our hotel. No matter how filling a dinner we’d had, my sons always had room for one of Bolhoed’s desserts. Pies were particularly good—chocolate strawberry, tofu cheesecake topped with strawberries, tiny cranberries and mango, and summer fruit pie were among those my hungry young men enthusiastically sampled. Vanilla spice cake, a soft cake layered with fresh apple, and topped with a mellow carob frosting, was also well received.

    Restaurant De Bolhoed's cat, Sammy

    Bolhoed has been in the same location since the 1980s, starting in its early days as a health food store. Word has it that long before that, it was a hat shop, hence its name. If you visit, please say hello to Sammy, the friendly resident cat, who is always ready for a pat on the tummy (full disclosure: I have no idea if Sammy has used up all of his nine lives). In one of our tour books, we learned that true Amsterdammers are always on a quest for gezelligheid, which translates loosely as coziness. It’s more than that, though; it’s what you’ve got when the atmosphere, the company you keep, the conversation, and feeling of relaxation converge into a pleasurable experience. Chances are, you’ll find that perfect gezellig feeling at Bolhoed.

    Restaurant De Bolhoed
    Prinsengracht 60-62, Amsterdam
    Verstuur via SMS T: 020 - 626 18 03

    Open daily noon-10pm (11pm Sat). The restaurant is very busy on weekend nights, so reservations are recommended.

    More recipes you may enjoy

    • 50+ Vegan Gift Ideas
    • No-Bake Vegan Lemon Bars
    • Beyond Hot Chicken: Check Out the 10 Best Vegan Restaurants Nashville Has to Offer
    • Eating Clean in Sin City: The 10 Best Vegan Restaurants Las Vegas Has to Offer

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    nicole malik from vegkithen.com

    Hi, I'm Nicole! I'm the creator behind VegKitchen, and the author of the popular cookbook, Weeknight One Pot Vegan Cooking. Learn more about me here.

    More about me →

    vegan substitution chart

    Featured Recipes

    • Vegan Walnut Taco Meat
    • Fudgy Avocado Brownies (Vegan!)
    • 25+ Vegan Valentine’s Day Desserts
    • 11 Best Vegan “Cheese” Recipes
    • Vegan Christmas Cookies
    • Vegan Jalapeno Poppers

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    • Shop Cookbooks
    • Free Vegan Cheat Sheet
    • About Us
    • Work with Me
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use

    Still hungry? Check out our delicious family of blogs.


    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2021 Hook & Porter Media