De Waaghals

We went there few days ago - desperately seeking for food in the late evening (9 PM). We had called few places before and no one accepted us ... it seems strange but also in Amsterdam you have to go early to get your dinner. So in this situation the Owner was extremely friendly. They waited and cooked vegan food for us. The food was not the best but it was ok.

We had dinner here some time ago, the host is atypical but nice. We ordered a beetroot risotto and a middle eatern dish. The latter was quite nice, but the risotto was really tasteless. I didn't even finish it, blegh.
I'm giving this place the benefit of the doubt (3 stars) due to the other dish and a nice chocolately dessert.

The most delish food we had during our amsterdam holyday. We loved it. Yummy!

Atmosphäre is awful..service desinterested..no tablecloth..food boaring and tasting stale..all only incredible hot..so you cannot eat..but more than expensive.. ABSOLUT NOT RECOMMENDATION. NEVER EVER AGAIN!!!

Cozy place with nice vegan options. The menu is not big but it changes twice a month and you get great fresh food, which is great!

This entirely vegetarian restaurant had some great looking options on the menu, which sadly I couldn't try. The vegan options were very limited; there were only two vegan main dishes. The overall quality of the food was nothing special; some dishes a little bit like dutch fast food even. The carrot pudding for dessert was very disappointing.

This restaurant was amazing. My (carnivorous) husband and I just got here from Paris and it was both of our favourite meals of our trip so far. We made reservations about an hour ahead of time which I would recommend. It was busy. The service was great and very friendly. The food was exceptional. My husband is still raving about it!

A fully vegetarian restaurant, but there are no vegan options marked on the menu which contains a lot of cheese. However there are monthly and seasonal dishes, so some months may be better for vegans than others; I'd recommend checking online or phoning in advance.

EDIT: It is now possible to view the menu for the current two weeks, with vegan and vegan on request items marked, on the website. So vegans can check here before getting disappointed. As of weeks 36-7, 2015, there are three vegan items.

Updated from previous review on Sunday July 20, 2014

We came here for dinner during our last of three nights in Amsterdam and had our favorite meal here. Although I generally find plant-based cuisine in Europe to not quite be on the same level as what you might find in the States, this was pretty close. Tasty and surprisingly inventive. Furthermore, the service was friendly and attentive and the desserts were excellent. Highly recommended.

Just be sure to make a reservation as the restaurant was packed while we were there.

Despite being quite full on a Friday night, our server was attentive and the service prompt. We both had the Caribbean selection (this month's highlight) - I had the vegan version, my husband the vegetarian. A cornucopia of flavors and textures, it was very good. My husband also enjoyed the peanut soup (a savory peanut purée with a hint of spice) and the vegan-gluten-free carrot cake (a treat for someone with celiac, filled with nuts, raisins and carrots - but not too sweet.). Everything is vegetarian and a number of items are vegan and/or can be served as such. Not a big menu, but certainly sufficient. Would go back monthly to see what the special is.

We had a the "japanese vegetable tofu burger with shiitake mushrooms and chinese cabbage soy and ginger dip sauce and brown rice". The name sounds very good but the tofu burger didn´t taste good at all, it´s tasted to a certain spice I could not recognize (maybe aniseed?) which was very strong and spoiled the burger. The rest of the plate (the vegetables and the rice) didn´t have any taste at all :(

fresh and tasty food, nice atmosphere with friendly staff

a place to go twice or more

Update on 5 August, 2014:
We visited de Waaghals again this past month (July, 2014) and were less enthused than the first time. The menu for vegans was quite limited and what we ordered was OK, but not terrific. It is only about 3 weeks since we were there and yet we cannot remember exactly what we ate, and since they change the menu, we can't refresh our memories. I remember that some of what was on my plate was good and the kimchi was too spicy (even though I was assured that it wouldn't be). I wouldn't make a point to go back. Amsterdam does not have the quality restaurants that vegans can enjoy as I've found in Rome, for example, and New York has some amazing places. I love Amsterdam, but vegan food is not up to par.
de Waaghals was not inexpensive, but after eating in a dumpy place and an informal place, we decided to splurge and see if Amsterdam has a more gourmet-type, upscale vegetarian restaurant. de Waaghals did not disappoint, but the options for vegans are limited. The waiter was helpful in explaining what was good for vegans, and they were able to switch one side dish for another so as to make one of the menu items a viable option. The food was tasty, a fairly nice size portion (not huge, but decent), and served very nicely. I could see from what others were eating that if you are not vegan (and not worried about cholesterol), then there was really a nice variety and scrumptious-looking desserts (they are big on whipped cream). The decor was informal, but very nice and attractive. When we arrived, it was full or fully reserved, so they put us down for a table for a half hour later and we went for a walk and came back. So I recommend reservations. I don't think this was quite as good as the best veggie restaurants that I've been at in Rome (and a very good one in Paris), but if you are looking for something beyond the usual vegetable stews and want something more gourmet, then this would be the choice in Amsterdam.
Updated from previous review on Sunday October 21, 2012

After first visiting in December 2004 to find it closed, it was a very long time to wait to finally eat here in February 2011. It's a superb place but the food on that particular evening was of a Vietnamese theme that didn't really appeal too much. Other menu choices were available but they didn't stand out. The crispy sweet potato cake starter was delicious but the main course was a mis-match of many so-called Vietnamese flavours and ingredients that didn't complement too well. Overall, this is gourmet vegetarian dining which I will definitely try again but would prefer a different food theme. Staff were friendly, maybe slightly laid back (I like laid back), surroundings were plush and there was an angry house cat. On a third visit in May 2013 we found the whole experience to be simply magnificent with fabulous staff, a wonderful atmosphere and delicious well presented food that left us with a strong desire to return again later in the year. On returning in December 2013 the angry house cat was still there, the staff were wonderful and for me this is a clear personal top 10 Happy Cow venue. Be daring and visit the Daredevil.

the food was really good. kinda disappointing that there was only one Vegan option though. i loved the kitty (the mascot) it was really busy, and the staff was very friendly and relaxed. will differently go back

De Waaghals has a really tasty menu, with food combinations I wouldn't have thought of but are really delicious. They had three mains options when I visited; the autumn dinner, the De Waaghals classic and the Japanese main as well as a couple of other cheaper options. The food is really good and the atmosphere is pleasant. The staff were friendly and polite, plus they speak absolutely perfect English. It may not be good for vegans, as it is not obvious which meals would be suitable. They also have a cute, fluffy cat wandering around but perhaps don't try to stroke it unless you're used to slightly stroppy cats!

Saw this place listed on happycow and went to check it out when I was in Amsterdam this spring. When I went inside, no one greeted me. Perhaps the owner/staff were having a bad day? They seemed upset that I even showed up. Eek. I inquired about menu options for vegans and was told there was only one dish that I could have; everything else had cow milk or what not. Too bad, cuz I wanted to eat here, but I left.

We've spent an amazing evening with addition of superb dishes. The tomato/coconut soup was something totally unexpected and delicious. Soup of the day potato and curry also tasted very good. The dishes that we tried were very interesting with lots of different flavors on a single plate. For example combination of peach and some sort of blue cheese just blew me away that was one of the most delicious things I've tried.

For the finish we were recommended a banana pie and it's not your everyday pie fromthe oven it had some pieces of banana inside and crust from seed and nuts also some kind of cream that by the taste of it looked like made from some sort of grains - I have no idea what was in there, but we really liked it. Will definitely visit this place next time.

A very nice place with good food and friendly staff (and I like the cat, too!). I wish they had more vegan options but what they have is very creative and really good. The food is mostly organic and, as it was already said below, it is never boring and comes usually "with some interesting twists". Popular also among non-vegetarians.

A lovely little place with great atmosphere, super friendly staff and excellent food. There are three mains food options that are plates of several different items that go really well together. I can recommend both the Summer Plate and the Waaghals Classic, though the menu probably changes. They also offer organic beers and lovely wines. Both on-street (a quiet lane) and inside seating.

I've been to De Waaghals several times, over the past 5 years. I've always been satisfied with the service and the food, although some times were better than others.

De Waaghals has a very varied cooking style and they switch menus often. This keeps things fresh and new every time you come in. Dishes usually consist of multiple components with some interesting twists. I've rarely had a boring, straight forward meal.

I've come to get to know the staff a little over the years. They know a lot about their products and have always been very friendly. Not always as quick, but that's mostly on busy days.

As I've read in other reviews, the vegan options are scarce. However, I've always enjoyed the vegan dish they do have. A big plus is that, as a vegan or vegetarian, you can easily bring you omnivore family and friends to De Waaghals. The atmosphere is not hippy/woolly/spiritual or anything, but rather on the modern side. It's quite clean and neat; sutable for most occasions. Furthermore, very important: my experience is that omni's love the food as well!

De Waaghals has a nice atmosphere and knowledgeable staff and we had no problem with getting a table on a Thursday night 1 hour before our reservation. However, there is not an extensive menu (maybe 5 entrees) and very few of the dishes or appetizers are vegan (maybe 1 was vegan and another could be made vegan). I opted for the non-mushroom vegan choice, which turned out to be steamed vegetables with a very simple peanut sauce. Totally adequate and healthy, but not what I'd expect from a vegetarian restaurant, more like something an omnivore restaurant would throw together for the odd vegan. I think my appetizer (don't recall what) was good, though. My girlfriend (an omnivore) absolutely loved her meal, though, so if you're non-vegan, it's probably good. Otherwise, I'd say it's OK, but don't go out of your way. Golden Temple and TerraZen have way better vegan options.

After reading the good reviews on HappyCow, we had great expectations for this restaurant, and we weren't dissapointed.
The server was very friendly, the atmosphere was cosy, we didn't have to wait long for our food although it was full.
My companion is not a vegetarian, but he didn't miss meat at all. They bring out the true flavours of the ingredients. We had the 'Waaghals classic' and the 'Libanese special' and there were some unconventional combinations, but everything worked perfectly.
You can tell this restaurant has been around for more than 25 years, because everything has been perfected into the smallest details.
Recommended to all, we will definitely go back there when we're in Amsterdam again.

I was in Amsterdam last week for holidays. As always, my husband and I checked on the Internet the available vegan and vegetarian restaurants in the city. We decided to take a look on this restaurant, since it was good qualified according to others on Internet. It was around 11:00 am when we decided, as a part of our tour in the city to look for the restaurant and the Menu. As we arrived at the restaurant we got the disappointment right by the door. At the same time as we got there, a lady, most probably the owner had just arrived and was unlocking the door. While she was doing that, we asked about the opening hours and whether it was necessary make a book for dinner. To our surprise, immediately after the door was opened, a cat apparently very familiar with the person came out from the inside of the restaurant. The lady "greeted" the cat, that was most certainly sleeping there and both of it came inside the restaurant. It is a shame that a vegetarian/vegan restaurant didn't own a basic principle of hygiene. A cat can be a beloved animal but it doesn't fit to live in the restaurant. Of course, we did not eat there, but was thinking about the others who did not have the same luck as we did to see with our eyes the lack of hygiene like that. For me it is a public health case, and a restaurant like that, should not be allowed to operate. We hope that this post can reach the right competent organ to take care of it. The Overall rating for the restaurant choosen in that Review was the number 2-" because it was the lowest rate available.

My partner and I came here on a Tuesday evening for dinner without a reservation. It was obviously a very popular place as almost all the tables were reserved. Good thing we arrived early, they were able to squeeze us in.

For food we ordered some olives and two coconut crepes to start with, a pesto minestrone and a Turkish stew for mains, and shared a panforte for dessert. Everything was tasty, not strong on flavors, but properly seasoned. Presentation was simple yet lovely. The highlight was definitely the panforte with pineapple sorbet - the only vegan dessert on the menu that day. The two made such good complements! Just one pet peeve though... I found the title of the "Turkish stew" kind of off. It wasn't a stew at all, but a thin layer of dal topped with some veggies and vegan meatballs served with brown rice, and I didn't understand what made this dish Turkish at all except it got three small pieces of meatballs in it. Yummy nontheless!

Portions were moderate, setting was minimalist and cozy. I found this restaurant pretty good, while my partner absolutely loved it. Out of the several vegetarian restaurants we visited in Amsterdam it was for sure one of the better ones.

When I visited Amsterdam with 3 non-vegies, I decided to look for a vegetarian restaurant. When we entered "De Waaghals" it was 2 minutes past opening and already alot of people were waiting. It was not crowded though.

To bad there was only one waiter. Occasionally, one of the cooks helped him out.

For starters, the meals were nice, hot/warm and nice portions.
We all had different main dishes which were large and had alot of different flavors and tasted great!

Because of the large portions, there was almost no room for dessert left, but a choose to share 2 desserts. To be really honest, they disappointed me a bit, but non the less, the rest of the experience made that up.

All ingredients used were fair-trade & organic.

Be carefull of the cat by the way, you can pet him, but do not touch his lower back. It gave me some nasty scratches.

If you're vegan they only had ONE vegan dish, the Turkish stew, and it didn't taste much. Brown rice with red lentils, a dish worth like 5 euros and cost around 14 euros. When we arrived we didn't make a reservation. They said that it was very busy that night, although we could choose any table we wanted and the place was far from crowded. We waited about 30 minutes just for our drinks.

A very good vegetarian restaurant, tasty and original food. Nice place.
Expensive, but it's worths it.

It is better to book a table.

I hate to write negative reviews, but this place really ticked me off. I called the day before to make a reservation and to confirm that they would have vegan options on the menu. All sounded good. We arrived on time for our meal, and were told that our table wasn't ready and that we could sit outside. Not a big deal. After a twenty-minute wait, I finally went inside and asked for a menu and two glasses of wine. The server (or owner? Same guy who took my reservation) said he was coming. We waited another twenty minutes. Still no sign of a table, or a waiter, let alone a glass of wine. I went inside again, and told the waiter were were willing to eat outside and were ready to order. I reminded him I'd called and was told there would be vegan options. He waved the menu in front of my nose, and said "yeah, the Indian dish can be made vegan". That was it! We waited another fifteen minutes or so to see if our wine would ever come (was having serious doubts by then), but it didn't, so we finally stood up and left. This is the worse experience I've ever had at a restaurant where I'd taken the time to reserve and check the menu ahead of time.

Good meal. Asaparagus soup on special. dutch love that in the spring. Then an excellent pad thai and weiss beer.

25 Euro all in per person. It's that kind of place. Good food though. Recommended.

i'm not exaggerating. this was the best vegetarian restaurant experience of my life. the servers were friendly, the meal was so delicious, and to top it of they served my favorite dessert: banana cream pie! a friendly cat sat by my feet during the meal (this is very common all over amsterdam). I highly recommend this restaurant, but please make a reservation, as it's very busy and popular. i however, had no troubles with the service. i'm definitely coming back!

De Waaghals is conveniently situated within walking distance from Amsterdam's main museums. After a long day visiting the city, we were looking forward to a warm meal and luckily we had made a reservation - the restaurant was almost full already by 6 pm! Most of the menu (which is not very extensive) is vegetarian but they have a couple of vegan options - the vegetarian dishes are the stars though and are a lot more elaborate than the vegan ones. Portions are generous; the atmosphere is warm and friendly although the one server was indeed a bit overwhelmed, as another reviewer mentioned. We were told we had to clear the table by 7.30 and were a bit stressed out by the fact that she left us unattended for relatively long periods of time. Will return next time we're in Amsterdam.

I figured with all the reviews and popularity this place would be amazing...I was wrong. It was too busy for the 1 server to cope. We sat down before 2 other tables that were served before us. I figured with the price for a dish it would be a big serving...again I was wrong. I left hungry and for 2 people to spend 80 euro on food, you shouldnt be hungry. It was a bit snobby here as well, even the cat roaming around bit everyone.

Out of the four places we went in July 2010 this was rated the best and should have awards. It was well managed and very professional. The manager was friendly and welcoming. The food was delicious and there was enough options on the menu. We were very suprised at the price which we thought was good. Would go back again.

There were a few vegan options available when we visited De Waaghals (as opposed to the one option that some other reviewers found). There wasa good variety of tasty food, with good portion sizes, and some local organic beers. It was very full, and we were quite lucky to get a table without waiting, so a reservation might be a good idea, especially at weekends. It's also definitely not a place for budget travellers, as all the mains are fairly pricey, though you do get a good meal for your money.

Always one vegan option, nothing more, nothing less. Changes every two weeks, so if you go twice a week as a vegan, you'll eat the same thing. Place is always packed, so make reservations. Food is great! People are friendly. Dogs are allowed, but beware of the cat. ;-)

It was full when we went, but luckily there was a table in the back. Unlike the last review we found about 4 or 5 vegan options, but all were fried so they made us a special plate! 5 happycows earned in my book instantly! Very nice staff and perfect English spoken. Loved the local organic beers, too! On a side note, we took our carni friends here and they licked their plates clean! They loved the lentil burger (has cheese) and the indian dish. Usually they hate dining with us and they were highly impressed!

I ate here on a Saturday night and enjoyed it. The restaurant looks great and the staff were pleasant but I was a bit disappointed that when I asked which main courses were vegan I was told only one was. It was however very tasty!

Yum! Simple menu, informal dining,and very tasty fare. "The Classic" offers a beautiful spinach soufle with goat cheese and nice mushroom and fennel roast all accompanied with polenta cake and roasted tomat. There is a monthly special and the orgainc beer and wine choices compliment everything. Save room for dessert. The fig cake is delish. We will come again!

A great range of veggie food - most of which can be vegan on request. Worth booking - staff speak excellent English if your Dutch isn't great. Fab range of local organic beers.
They do have a cat which occasionally wanders around - that may be a plus or minus depending on how you feel about cats :-)
It's about a 10 / 15 minute walk from the city centre.

Hoi. Nice place to have a proper meal. Call to reserve. Place was full when I was there. Nice staff. Can recommend. It's close to Maria Heinekenplein (De Pijp).

very good food, chic atmosphere, dishes are little and the bill big but the price is for quality and not for quantity. in the heart of Amsterdam.

It's in a lovely street and there's the vegetarian store De Aanzet just next door. There's a changing dish, but mostly the menu is vegetarian and not vegen.

We visited in May 2007 for dinner. We had the De waaghals Classic and the Lebanese Special. I thought the food was great, the atmosphere comfortable, and the service just fine. My friend was not very impressed with the 'Classic', and it was not as flavoursome as the Lebanese dish. We had to wait a while for the food to arrive, but you could tell it was very fresh so no problem.

Food is great and healthy. It's also a classy place, not a standard veggie restaurant. They use organic products mostly. For a meal you pay 10 to 18 euro's.

This place is one of our Amsterdam favorites. The menu always has some pleasant surprises: healthy food, tasting well, looking good. We are in the habit of dining early (6 PM), which is probably the reason why we experienced no trouble with cigarette smoke. The interior is modern in a friendly way.