Thanks to two Eurostar stops in the Netherlands - Amsterdam and Rotterdam - I've made a few visits around the country. Of all the places I've been, it's Utrecht that I've visited multiple times and that I'd love to get back to before too long.
It's the Netherlands' fourth largest city, which means it's big enough to be packed with enough things to keep you busy for a good few days, and small enough you can get around on foot and take it all in. And it's a lovely city to stroll around in - pretty streets, interesting architecture, appealing brown cafes - you can happily spend hours just following your nose and taking it all in.
Of course, you're here because you want to know about the vegan eating options, and I'm happy to say that Utrecht is punching way above its weight with the quality and quantity of its plant-based food.
If you're in the mood for fancy food, then you need to head down to Broei. It's an all vegan spot, slightly outside of the city centre (but at a walkable distance!) that's open from breakfast to dinner.
The menu is very much vegetable led, so don't expect much in the way of seitan, tofu or tempeh. But do expect a very creative menu, and one that's refreshed every eight weeks, to keep it in tune with what's in season at the time.
KLUTS
Utrecht is a great place for a long weekend visit. If you're a history nerd, Utrecht punches well above its weight in terms of tourist attractions. I really enjoyed DOMunder - an exhibition of 2000 years of history under the cathedral square (I loved a tile several hundreds years old still holding the imprint of a paw, testament to the cat that wondered over while the tiles were drying). If you're around the cathedral - the Domkerk in Dutch - there's another treat. There's KLUTS.
KLUTS is an all-vegan bakery, and a cosy spot to stop for a coffee and a cake in the shadow of the Dom tower. We stopped in a few times, enjoying the array of beautiful cakes and pastries laid out appealingly at the counter. I ordered cardamom bun after cardamom bun, because who wouldn't want an upgrade the cinnamon version? Trust me, KLUTS' version is stellar.
Life's A Peach
If you want to go to Life's a Peach - and you definitely should - wait for a sunny day. Then go early. Or go late. Just make sure you grab one of the seats outside, or by the counter, order yourself a load of baked treats, and enjoy them with the sun on your face.
You can pick from a couple of farinatas - chickpea flour pancakes - as well as a range of foccacias, all with vegan toppings. I'm not a huge fan of mushrooms but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the funghi focaccia below. (If you're wondering why a mushroom-dodger like me would order a mushroom-heavy dish, it was because the vegans of Utrecht had already got there and cleaned out a lot of the other choices. Great for them, and it turns out, great for me too!)
There's pastries and cakes too. When I was there, there were cinnamon roll and donuts, but looking at the menu now, it looks like you can get the far superior cardamom roll too. I'm glad to see the Netherlands leading the promotion of cardamom-based treats.
And once you've fnished off your vegan foccaccia, maybe a pastry, and you're finishing up your coffee - take look around at the art prints, postcards, and T-shirts too, because Life's A Peach also sells all sorts of handmade beautiful things to take home with you too.
Last Vegas
Korte Jansstraat 3, 3512 GM Utrecht, Netherlands
+31 6 40040400
There are apparently around 5,000 snackbars in the Netherlands - cafes where you go to get your fix of deep-friend goodness, normally fries and Dutch classics like bitterballen or frikandellen. On first glance, Dutch snackbars aren't the vegan-friendliest - most snackbar staples involve meat or cheese in some way.
In Utrecht, though, there's always Last Vegas - an all-vegan snackbar to cater to your junk food cravings. There's plain and sweet potato fries, vegan croquettes, nuggets, frikandellen and bitterballen, as well as vegan burgers.
There's also a section for loaded fries, including the famous Dutch kapsalon. The Gambling Rendang fries caught my eye though - a mountain of fries topped with another mountain of rendang made with jackfruit, topped with fried onion and sriracha mayo.
The only thing I didn't enjoy about the whole experience - that there was far too much food to eat in one go, so I had to abandon half of the chips.
In keeping with Dutch snackbars, Last Vegas isn't a place to go for a long dinner - it's more where grab your food and go, or sit down for a quick bite before heading off. But if you're looking for some proper Dutch snackbar food that's proper tasty, Last Vegas will see you right.
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