My Treats ← Food Identity portal
Search restaurants About Methodology Contact
Food Identity by My Treats Researched
Stadsdriehoek · Rotterdam · Netherlands

BACKYARD

An all-day plant-based café in the heart of Rotterdam, pairing comfort-driven vegan cooking with locally roasted coffee and a relaxed urban-garden setting.

The essentials, at a glance

◐
Impact score
2 - Engaged
→
Documented practices
Sustainable meat/fish plant-based kitchen
Plant-forward menu

Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Trendy
Cuisine
International
Good to know
Terrace
Bar
Laptop-friendly

The delicious details

BACKYARD is an all-day plant-based restaurant on Korte Hoogstraat in central Rotterdam, where owner Yunlai Ye set out to make plant-based eating an easy everyday choice. The fully plant-based menu runs from breakfast and brunch through lunch, dinner and evening cocktails.

The interior leans into an urban-garden feel, mixing upcycled materials, hanging planters and reclaimed wood with warm lighting for a relaxed, cosy space. In good weather there is a terrace, and the all-day format suits both a quick coffee and a longer sit-down.

Coffee is roasted locally by Rotterdam roaster Giraffe, and the bar pours organic wines, local beers and cocktails. Signature plates such as the black-bean Backyard Burger and cauliflower wings keep the kitchen entirely plant-based.

Menu
What's on the table, and what's left off

Entirely plant-based, the menu reworks comfort-food favourites—black-bean Backyard Burger, cauliflower wings, kapsalon, bowls, toasts and waffles—alongside brunch staples and specialty coffee. Dairy is offered only as an optional add-on, so most dishes suit vegans and those avoiding dairy.

Cuisine
International
Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Vegan-friendly
Dairy-free options
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
2 - Engaged

The kitchen at BACKYARD is entirely plant-based, with no meat or fish on the menu, putting vegetables, pulses and plant proteins at the centre of every dish. Coffee is roasted locally in Rotterdam by the Giraffe roastery, and the bar pours organic wines and local beers.

The impact dimensions
Local & direct sourcing
Seasonal cooking
Low waste & circular practices
Sustainable animal products✓
n/a
Plant-forward menu✓

Local sourcing for beverages is documented (Giraffe coffee, local beers) but food suppliers are not named.

Food sourcing is described in generic terms (fresh, seasonal ingredients) with no named farms or producers. The one named, traceable local supplier is beverage-side: coffee roasted by Rotterdam roaster Giraffe, alongside local beers. This keeps local sourcing above passing-mention level for drinks but leaves food categories unsubstantiated.

Strongest sourcebackyardrotterdam.nl ↗

Seasonal ingredients are mentioned but without evidence of a rotating seasonal menu.

The website and editorial coverage repeat seasonal-ingredients language (freshly prepared with seasonal ingredients), but there is no evidence of a structured seasonal menu programme or documented rotation. Seasonal language reads as decorative rather than structural.

Strongest sourcebackyardrotterdam.nl ↗

The interior uses upcycled materials and reclaimed wood; no documented food-waste or packaging practices.

The interior is built from upcycled materials, reclaimed wood and creative details. No composting partnership, plastic-elimination measure, or named waste organisation was documented in available sources.

Strongest sourcewandersmiles.com ↗

Not applicable to fully plant-based kitchens.

BACKYARD is a fully plant-based restaurant with no meat, poultry, fish or seafood on the menu. Independent listings confirm it eliminated meat in 2019 and operates as a 100% plant-based kitchen.

Strongest sourcehappycow.net ↗

Entirely plant-based by design, with no meat or fish; 100% plant-based kitchen.

BACKYARD is fully plant-based by design: the entire menu is plant-based with no meat or fish. This positioning dates to 2019, when the kitchen eliminated meat entirely. Multiple independent listings describe it as a 100% plant-based / vegan restaurant. Plants, pulses and vegetables form the entire kitchen identity, placing it at the top of the plant-forward scale.

Strongest sourcehappycow.net ↗
Sourcing signals
✓
Low-impact beverage program

Specialty coffee from Rotterdam roaster Giraffe, local beers, and organic wines.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Korte Hoogstraat 14, 3011 GL Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€
Format
All-day café, reservations via Zenchef
Hours
Monday09:00–17:00
Tuesday09:00–17:00
Wednesday09:00–21:00
Thursday09:00–21:00
Friday09:00–21:00
Saturday09:00–21:00
Sunday09:00–21:00
Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Trendy
Good to know
Terrace
Bar
Laptop-friendly
Web
backyardrotterdam.nl
Reserve a table
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 12 Jul 2026
Link copied
How we score
The My Treats impact scale

Every restaurant is assessed against SEERO, our six-dimension sustainability framework — covering sourcing, seasonality, waste, animal products, social impact, and plant-forward cooking. Each finding is weighted by how strongly it is corroborated. The combined result is translated into a planet rating from 1 to 5.

The five levels

SEERO is an acronym for Starting, Engaged, Endorsed, Recognised, Outstanding:

Starting First verified signals of sustainable practice.
Engaged Credible practice across two dimensions.
This place
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
Outstanding Top-tier practice, confirmed by recognised third-party audit.

How a level is reached. Each level needs two things together: a minimum number of dimensions covered, and a minimum overall strength of evidence across them. A dimension only counts once its evidence is specific and substantiated — a passing mention doesn't qualify. Meeting only one of the two keeps a restaurant a level lower.

Ratings of four or five planets require human validation and, at the top tier, an external audit. Scores are based on publicly available evidence and restaurant submissions at the time of assessment.

Full methodology→
Impact dimension
—
How this dimension works
—
How evidence is weighted
Self-declared Stated by the restaurant on its website, menu or in a submission. Plausible, but not yet independently corroborated.
Researched Found through independent research; one credible third-party source backs the claim.
Vouched Corroborated across more than one independent source. Some gaps may remain.
Audited Fully corroborated across independent sources or by a recognised third-party certification.
What the sourcing checkmarks mean
✓ Full check — independently verified: corroborated across more than one source, or audited / third-party certified (vouched or audited).
✓ Light check — self-declared or from a single source. Not yet independently verified.
About• Contact• Methodology•