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Indische Buurt · Amsterdam · Netherlands

Restaurant Elixer

A social and circular restaurant in Amsterdam's Indische Buurt where vegetables from the neighbourhood food garden form the base of a weekly rotating surprise menu.

The essentials, at a glance

◐
Impact score
4 - Recognised
→
Documented practices
Local sourcing
Seasonal cooking
Low waste
Social impact
Plant-forward menu

Style
Casual
Cosy
Alternative
Cuisine
Dutch
Good to know
Garden
Bar

The delicious details

Elixer is a social and circular restaurant in Amsterdam's Indische Buurt, founded by chefs Eva Evers and Valentijn Klap. The weekly rotating surprise menu builds on what a dedicated green picker harvests from the restaurant's own food garden and surrounding neighbourhood plots, including Anna's Tuin and Ruigte. Every course centres on vegetables, with North Sea fish or wild meat available as an optional supplement.

Beyond the plate, Elixer reinvests profits into neighbourhood initiatives: charity meals for vulnerable residents, liberation day dinners, circular workshops, and community garden days. The interior, built entirely from donated and secondhand materials, reflects the kitchen's zero waste approach, where surplus is canned, dried, or fermented, and food scraps return to the compost.

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

The fully vegetarian base menu arrives as a four-course surprise, rotating weekly with the garden's seasonal availability. Fish or wild meat supplements are available at additional cost; vegan dishes work across the full menu.

Cuisine
Dutch
Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Vegan-friendly
Dairy-free options
Allergies handling

The restaurant adapts to dietary preferences and allergies on request; vegan guests are accommodated across the full menu.

Impact score
How this restaurant rates
4 - Recognised

Local sourcing runs through the operation: a dedicated green picker harvests from the restaurant's own food garden and neighbourhood plots including Anna's Tuin and Ruigte, whilst Gulpener brewery and Zuidam distillery supply the drinks programme from within the Netherlands. The menu rotates weekly in step with the seasons, and surplus is preserved through canning, drying, and fermentation.

Circular practices extend beyond food: the dining room is furnished entirely with donated and secondhand pieces, food scraps are composted on site, and a neighbourhood barter token system encourages reuse. Elixer reinvests profits into community programmes including annual charity meals for vulnerable residents, liberation day dinners organised with Amnesty International, and circular household workshops.

Academic partnerships with the VU and HvA support ongoing research into local food systems. The restaurant won the Boost je Buurt 2025 People's Prize, a City of Amsterdam recognition for neighbourhood impact. The entire base menu is vegetarian, with vegetables at the centre of every dish and vegan options available throughout.

The impact dimensions
Local & direct sourcing✓
Seasonal cooking✓
Low waste & circular practices✓
Social impact✓
Plant-forward menu✓

Vegetables from the restaurant's own food garden and neighbouring community plots; Dutch brewery and distillery sourcing for beverages.

Vegetables are sourced from Elixer's own food garden and neighbouring community gardens including Anna's Tuin and Ruigte, harvested by a dedicated green picker. Gulpener brewery and Zuidam distillery supply Dutch beverages.

Fish is described as coming from Dutch North Sea fishermen, and meat as wild or organic when possible, but neither category names a specific supplier or certification. Local sourcing for vegetables and beverages is well documented; protein sourcing remains vague.

Strongest sourceRestaurant submission

The surprise menu rotates weekly based on seasonal availability from the food garden and local suppliers.

The surprise menu rotates weekly based on seasonal availability from the food garden and local suppliers. Canning, drying, and fermentation extend seasonal produce through leaner months.

Multiple independent sources (Van Amsterdamse Bodem, I Amsterdam, Your Little Black Book) confirm the seasonal rotation. The food garden's direct supply chain makes off-season sourcing structurally difficult, reinforcing the seasonal principle.

Strongest sourceVan Amsterdamse Bodem ↗

Composting, fermentation, canning, drying; interior furnished from donated and secondhand pieces; neighbourhood barter token system.

Food waste management includes composting, fermentation, canning, drying, and Kliekjesdag leftover events. Materials: the dining room is furnished entirely with donated and secondhand pieces; an Elixer-munten barter token system encourages reuse and circular exchange.

Energy sustainability is partially addressed through rainwater harvesting for garden irrigation. Independently corroborated by I Amsterdam, Van Amsterdamse Bodem, oost-online, and Your Little Black Book as demonstrating multiple named and credible circular practices.

Strongest sourceI Amsterdam ↗

Charity meals for vulnerable residents; Liberation Day dinners with Amnesty International since 2022; academic partnerships; won Boost je Buurt 2025 People's Prize.

Fair employment: the restaurant is described as creating safe environments for employee growth, with named staff development examples (Mirte trained in biodynamic farming; George retained 4+ years; Roos grew into hospitality expertise).

Community engagement spans recurring initiatives: annual Christmas charity meals (Regenboog Groep 2024, Stichting Life & Style 2023), Liberation Day dinners since 2022 (with Amnesty International), neighbourhood breakfasts for approximately 100 residents, Circular Household School workshops.

Academic collaborations with VU, HvA, and UvA support ongoing research into local food systems. The restaurant won the Boost je Buurt 2025 People's Prize from the City of Amsterdam; art exhibitions support relief causes (Beirut, Ukraine); Stichting Hoop voor Morgen partnership.

Strongest sourceOost-online ↗

The entire base menu is vegetarian; fish and meat available only as optional supplements.

The entire base menu is vegetarian, with vegetables described as the foundation of the kitchen. Meat and fish are available only as optional supplements at additional cost, making the default dining experience fully plant forward.

Vegan options are available across the full menu on request. The restaurant operates its own food garden supplying vegetables directly to the kitchen. Whilst the restaurant is not publicly positioned primarily as plant forward (its identity centres on circularity and social impact), the menu structure clearly places plants at the centre, corroborated by Van Amsterdamse Bodem: 'vegetables form the foundation of the kitchen.'

Strongest sourceRestaurant submission
Sourcing signals
✓
Own-grown produce
✓
Direct named-farm sourcing
✓
In-house preparation
✓
Low-impact beverage program

The restaurant operates a food garden (Proeftuin) supplying vegetables, with a dedicated green picker harvesting from the garden and surrounding neighbourhood plots including Anna's Tuin and Ruigte. Independently confirmed by Van Amsterdamse Bodem and I Amsterdam editorial coverage.

Named sources include Anna's Tuin and Ruigte (community gardens), Gulpener brewery (house beer), and Zuidam distillery (spirits). Garden sources are community plots rather than commercial farms but provide verifiable, named origins for a meaningful share of vegetables.

The restaurant makes everything in house, from the full dinner menu to flatbread chips, seasonal ice cream, hibiscus punch, lemonade, Elixerbitter, and preserved goods. Corroborated by Your Little Black Book stating 'Everything at Elixer is homemade.'

Elixer Ale from Gulpener brewery (Netherlands), spirits from Zuidam distillery (Netherlands), and multiple beverages made in house (hibiscus punch, lemonade, Elixerbitter). Local craft beer, local spirits, and house-made beverages documented.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Batjanstraat 1A, 1094 RC Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€
Format
Four-course surprise menu, weekly rotation
Hours
MondayClosed
Tuesday12:00–23:00
Wednesday12:00–23:00
Thursday12:00–23:00
Friday12:00–00:00
Saturday12:00–00:00
Sunday12:00–21:30
Style
Casual
Cosy
Alternative
Good to know
Garden
Bar
Web
restaurantelixer.com
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.

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.

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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