My Treats ← Food Identity portal
Search restaurants About Methodology Contact
Food Identity by My Treats Researched
Grachtengordel-Zuid · Amsterdam · Netherlands

Golden Temple

Amsterdam's longest running vegetarian restaurant, drawing on Indian and global traditions to serve a fully plant based, multi-cuisine menu on the Utrechtsestraat.

The essentials, at a glance

◐
Impact score
3 - Endorsed
→
Documented practices
Low waste
Sustainable meat/fish plant-based kitchen
Plant-forward menu

Style
Casual
Cosy
Alternative
Cuisine
Asian
Fusion
International

The delicious details

Golden Temple opened its doors on Amsterdam's Utrechtsestraat more than four decades ago, making it the city's oldest vegetarian restaurant. The kitchen draws on Indian Sikh traditions, with food prepared according to Kundalini yoga principles that emphasise nourishment of body and spirit alike. Colourful spiritual murals cover the walls, creating the feel of a fairytale forest.

The menu spans Indian curries and thali plates, Vietnamese rice paper rolls, Mexican blue corn tortillas with jackfruit, and vegan pizzas. No meat, fish, or eggs enter the kitchen; roughly 70% of all dishes are fully vegan, with the remainder using small amounts of dairy. An international team of cooks brings direct experience from Serbia, Mexico, Thailand, and India to the kitchen.

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

Golden Temple's fully vegetarian menu spans Indian, Vietnamese, Mexican, Japanese, and Italian traditions. Approximately 70% of dishes are vegan, with the remainder using small amounts of dairy in options like paneer tikka and cheese naan. Vegan items are marked with a V, gluten-free choices with GF, making dietary preferences easy to navigate.

Cuisine
Asian
Fusion
International
Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Vegan-friendly
Gluten-free options
Dairy-free options
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
3 - Endorsed

Plants are the foundation of the entire menu: no meat, fish, or eggs enter the kitchen, and roughly 70% of all dishes are fully vegan. Vegetables, grains, legumes, and beans form the core of every plate.

On environmental practices, the kitchen runs on green energy, offsets its carbon output, and uses eco friendly cleaning products throughout the operation.

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

No named local suppliers or farms are identified. The organic sourcing claim lacks a named certification body.

The restaurant claims 70% of vegetables and dairy products are organic and references fresh ingredients. However, no named local suppliers, producers, or farms are identified anywhere on the website, social media, or editorial coverage. No regional sourcing language is used.

The organic claim itself lacks a named certification body. Without any named, traceable local supplier, engagement with local sourcing cannot be substantiated above this level.

Strongest sourcerestaurantgoldentemple.com ↗

Three specific named practices: green energy, carbon compensation, and eco-friendly cleaning products. Food waste and packaging practices are not documented.

The restaurant names three specific environmental practices: green energy, CO2 compensation, and eco-friendly cleaning products. These are concrete and named, not generic, satisfying the threshold for score 3. All three practices fall within the energy and general environmental sub-area.

No food waste reduction practices (composting, food waste partnerships) or plastic and packaging practices are documented. The practices are self-declared via the restaurant's own channels and relayed through editorial coverage.

Strongest sourcepuuruiteten.nl ↗

The restaurant serves no meat, fish, poultry, or eggs. Only vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, and some dairy are used. Dimension does not apply to fully plant-based kitchens.

Golden Temple serves no meat, poultry, fish, or seafood on any menu. The restaurant explicitly states it does not use meat, fish, or eggs. Only vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, and some dairy products are used. This is confirmed by multiple independent editorial sources (HappyCow, Pure Food & Travel, Vegan Amsterdam, RestauPlant) and the restaurant's own website.

For fully plant-based kitchens with no animal protein, sustainable animal sourcing does not apply.

Strongest sourcepurefoodtravel.com ↗

Hosts recurring community activities including Kirtan workshops, yoga classes, and Friday live music. No formal partnerships or employment initiatives are documented.

The restaurant hosts recurring community activities including Kirtan workshops, yoga classes, and Friday live music evenings. Its philosophy of openness and inclusivity is rooted in Sikh tradition, welcoming everyone regardless of background. An international kitchen team works together.

No named charitable organisation, formal employment initiative, or ongoing social commitment with a verifiable partner was identified. The community activities are recurring but represent the restaurant's own programming rather than a partnership or formal social mission.

Strongest sourcerestaurantgoldentemple.com ↗

Fully vegetarian with no meat, fish, or eggs. Approximately 70% of dishes fully vegan. Vegetables, grains, and legumes form the structural core.

Golden Temple is a fully vegetarian restaurant with no meat, fish, or eggs on any menu. Approximately 70% of all dishes are fully vegan. Vegetables, grains, legumes, and beans are unambiguously the centre of the kitchen's identity.

Dairy is used only in a small number of lacto-vegetarian dishes like paneer tikka and cheese naan, but many can be adapted to vegan on request. The restaurant has been publicly described as a vegetarian and vegan destination by multiple independent editorial sources and has operated as such for over 40 years. Plants are the entire structural foundation of the menu.

Strongest sourcepurefoodtravel.com ↗
Sourcing signals
✓
Fair-trade commodities

Coffee, tea, raw cacao, and juices are explicitly named as fair trade. Multiple commodities are sourced with fair trade principles.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Utrechtsestraat 126, 1017 VT Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€
Hours
Monday16:30–23:00
Tuesday16:30–23:00
Wednesday16:30–23:00
Thursday16:30–23:00
Friday16:30–23:00
Saturday13:00–23:00
Sunday13:00–23:00
Style
Casual
Cosy
Alternative
Web
restaurantgoldentemple.com
Reserve a table
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 27 Apr 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.
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
This place
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•