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Centrum · Amsterdam · Netherlands

Cultureel Eetcafé 'Skek

Student-run vegetarian eetcafé on Amsterdam's Zeedijk, combining creative plant based cooking with live music, art exhibitions and a cooperative ethos.

The essentials, at a glance

◐
Impact score
4 - Recognised
→
Documented practices
Seasonal cooking
Sustainable meat/fish plant-based kitchen
Social impact
Plant-forward menu

Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Alternative
Cuisine
International
Good to know
Terrace
Bar
Wheelchair accessible

The delicious details

Skek is a vegetarian eetcafé on Amsterdam's Zeedijk, operated as a cooperative without hierarchy under the Stichting Kriterion foundation. Every member of the team receives equal pay and takes part in shaping how the kitchen, the programming and the business run. The result is a venue that feels less like a restaurant and more like a second living room.

The fully vegetarian menu changes every three months, tested by the kitchen committee and tasted by the whole team before it goes live. Dishes range from pulled jackfruit burgers and eggplant tempura to goat cheese tartlets with pear and thyme.

Live music fills the room several evenings a week, with jazz, cabaret, open mics and rotating art exhibitions rounding out a cultural programme that keeps the Zeedijk address alive well past dinner service.

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

Entirely vegetarian kitchen with a strong vegan offering spanning starters, mains and snacks. Pulled jackfruit burgers, eggplant tempura, grilled mushroom skewers and whipped feta sit alongside creative vegan dishes like the vegan kapsalon. The menu changes every three months, tested by the kitchen team before each rotation.

Cuisine
International
Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Vegan-friendly
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
4 - Recognised

The kitchen has confirmed practice across four areas of responsible cooking. The menu follows a clear seasonal rhythm, rotating every three months through a collective tasting process led by the kitchen committee. This ensures dishes reflect what is available and in season rather than relying on a fixed offering year-round. The kitchen is entirely vegetarian, removing meat and fish from the supply chain altogether. Plants form the structural foundation of every dish, with an extensive vegan selection that places vegetables, legumes and grains at the centre of the plate.

Skek operates as a student cooperative with no profit motive under the Stichting Kriterion foundation, where all staff receive equal pay and share responsibility for running the business through democratic governance. The venue's deep roots in the Zeedijk community, including annual participation in neighbourhood events and ongoing collaboration with local artists, reflect a social commitment that extends well beyond the plate.

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

Sources reference locally sourced ingredients from partner farms, but no named suppliers are confirmed.

Sources describe the menu as 'mostly organic' and sourced locally from partner farms. However, the restaurant's own website is currently under construction and no named suppliers are published on any channel.

The 'partner farms' reference appears in aggregator listings but is not corroborated by independent sources. Without named suppliers or direct traceability, the sourcing claim remains unverified.

Strongest sourcenovacircle.com ↗

The menu rotates every three months through a collective tasting process led by the kitchen committee.

The menu changes on a quarterly cycle. The Amsterdam Alternative editorial article describes a structured process: the kitchen committee ('keukenco') organises test cooking sessions every three months, after which the full team tastes and votes on the new menu.

The iamsterdam.com tourism portal independently confirms this quarterly tasting and rotation process. The seasonal rotation is structural and recurring.

Strongest sourceamsterdamalternative.nl ↗

The restaurant operates a fully vegetarian menu with no meat, poultry, fish or seafood.

The restaurant operates a fully vegetarian menu with no meat, poultry, fish or seafood served on any menu. This is confirmed by multiple independent sources: RestauPlant (plant-food restaurant directory), HappyCow (vegan restaurant guide), food blog reviews, and the Amsterdam Alternative editorial article.

Strongest sourcerestauplant.com ↗

Student cooperative with equal-pay democratic governance and strong community engagement through weekly cultural programming and neighbourhood participation.

Skek operates as a student cooperative under the Stichting Kriterion foundation with two key areas of social commitment. Fair employment: all student staff receive equal pay with no hierarchy; the cooperative runs on democratic governance through monthly assemblies and a committee system; students manage all aspects of the business from kitchen to programming.

Community engagement: the venue hosts weekly live music, rotating art exhibitions by young artists, pub lectures and open mics. It participates annually in Zeedijk Pride, Hartjesdag, Red Light Jazz and the Wallenfestival, and collaborates with neighbouring businesses and local charities. The Amsterdam Alternative editorial article provides detailed independent corroboration of these commitments.

Strongest sourceamsterdamalternative.nl ↗

Fully vegetarian with extensive vegan selection; vegetables, legumes and grains form the structural foundation of every dish.

The menu is fully vegetarian with an extensive vegan selection. RestauPlant lists 10+ vegan and 12+ vegetarian dishes with zero non-vegetarian options. Vegetables, legumes and grains are the structural foundation: pulled jackfruit burgers, eggplant tempura, grilled mushroom skewers, vegan kapsalon, cauliflower nuggets, parsnip fake fish, and sweet potato and spinach salad.

Dairy and eggs are still used in several dishes (shakshuka, goat cheese tartlets, whipped feta), preventing a fully vegan restaurant. The menu structure clearly places plants at the centre of every plate. RestauPlant and HappyCow independently confirm the vegetarian and vegan composition.

Strongest sourcerestauplant.com ↗
Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Zeedijk 4-8, 1012 AX Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€
Hours
MondayClosed
Tuesday17:00–01:00
Wednesday17:00–01:00
Thursday17:00–01:00
Friday17:00–03:00
Saturday17:00–03:00
Sunday17:00–01:00
Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Alternative
Good to know
Terrace
Bar
Wheelchair accessible
Web
dezeedijk.amsterdam
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 27 Apr 2026
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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.
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
This place
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
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How this dimension works
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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.
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