Bar James

Tucked away in the east of Amsterdam is the lovely veggie restaurant Bar James. Actually, it's more a bar than a restaurant but it's still quiet and cosy with an extensive list of vegan choices. The staff are super friendly and helpful and know exactly what's vegan and what isn't. They have a choice of plant milks and even their coffee biscuit is vegan! As other reviewers mentioned it's hard to get traditional Dutch bar snacks so it's a treat to have them here. The food was great, we both had the burger which was carroty and delicious and, with chips is super filling. All their deserts are vegan and you can choose from around five but I had the vegan hot chocolate which even had vegan whip on the top! The atmosphere has the feel of an updated eetcafe and is very warm and comfortable inside. It's not cheap but it's also not overpriced and they have a really good cocktails menu with vegan choices clearly marked. Love it!





Updated from previous review on 2016-12-13

I liked the atmosphere and that there were multiple vegan options to choose from. Now this place is more focused on meat and fish eaters (!), with only 1 vegan main dish. Really a disappointment. In my opinion, not worth the trip (or price!) anymore. Just became a regular restaurant, nothing really special.

Updated from previous review on 2016-10-02

High end traditional American style cocktail bar decked out in plush fixtures and fittings. This place is dressed for success and aims to create a first and lasting impression. The fact it serves completely vegetarian food with many vegan options is a massive bonus. Located on the acceptably trendy Javastraat in the East, Bar James nestles in perfectly boasting a nice shade of blue. The gin and tonic menu here is excellent. You won't struggle to find a suitable juniper infused spirit to sharpen up your afternoon. At €8-€11 they're not cheap but this is Amsterdam. Unfortunately on our day of visit the kitchen didn't open until 18:00 so we had to make our way back to a new place called Spirit via a beer at the Brouwerij T'Ij which was very close by. Next time I'll make sure we sample the food at Bar James whilst enjoying an early evening reducer.

If I die, this is where I want to be buried. I love this place. It was honestly the best food, whisky, cocktails, people, ahhhhh!!! I love you!

My boyfriend and I went there last weekend for dinner. This was our second attempt as last time we tried for lunch and the vegan burger wasn't prepared yet so we had to go elsewhere.

First off my boyfriend called the day before to make a reservation and was told that they don't take any and there will be enough space.....well, we arrived to find out that most tables were reserved and we got a spot because we arrived early and the people weren't due for another 2 hours or so.....I don't understand a thing about their system.....

It took ages to get our order through because the service is as in most places in Amsterdam quite bad and the waiters are usually more interested in a conversation with their colleagues or guests they know than in serving customers. They also don't have one menu but like 3. One for the main dishes, one for drinks and one for snacks/aperitifs and the waitress didn't think that it would be a good idea to just pass on all 3 of them but we had to ask for it......even though her first question was "what would you like to drink?" well.....what do you have???

The snacks are pretty good. It's really nice to be able to enjoy Dutch finger food with a vegan twist. So we enjoyed that a lot.

My boyfriend took the burger and it was good. The fries and the sauce were as well. It's not outstanding but definitely worth the money.
I had the Thai Massaman curry which was okayish. Not really restaurant quality and served in the smallest bowl possible. As we had some snacks before the serving was just about right but as a main dish and for the price it's ridiculously small.

The other thing that bothered us the most was that they actually serve fondue. I have to admit I didn't look that up before so I was clueless. But I believe it's a little bit unfortunate to be serving vegan dishes and then you let your vegan guests sit in this horrible smell of steaming hot cheese....I actually felt a little bit sick and had to calm myself as I'm not used to it.

So we had some nice finger food and our stomachs were filled at the end of the evening but we are probably not coming back.

No nonsense vegan (eet)cafe in oost.

This is a newly opened bar on Javastraat in the Oost area of Amsterdam, across the road from the Walter Woodbury bar (and under the same ownership, I believe). It is very modern and trendy with nice decor and ambiance.

The food is very good by pub/bar standards, but not quite at the level of the better Amsterdam vegetarian restaurants.

The starters cost between €6 and €10, and are all vegan. The summer rolls are nice but not as good as those you'll find at Vietnamese restaurants.

The mains cost between €12 and €15, and about half are vegan or can be made vegan upon request. The burger and fries were excellent.

The desserts costs around €5 each. Vegan options include sorbet, carrot cake, and dairy-free cheesecake.

The highlight for me were the bar snacks, especially the vegan bitterballen (vegan versions of thos classic Dutch bar snack as very difficult to find). The drinks menu is excellent, and includes craft beer, decent wine, Dutch liquors (from Wynand Fockink) and a massive selection of bourbons and whiskeys.

All in all, I was impressed, though please note that Bar James it is more of a bar than a restaurant.