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Jordaan · Amsterdam · Netherlands

Café Saarein

A historic queer brown café in the Jordaan with a strong vegan bar menu and a community driven social mission.

The essentials, at a glance

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Impact score
Not assignable
→
Documented practices
Social impact

Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Alternative
Cuisine
Dutch
Good to know
Terrace
Bar

The delicious details

Café Saarein is one of Amsterdam's longest running queer meeting places, rooted in the Jordaan since 1978 when a group of ten women took over this traditional brown bar. The café now operates as a community run foundation, staffed by over thirty volunteers from the LGBTQIAP+ community, with proceeds directed to organisations supporting women and queer individuals.

The interior dates to the early twentieth century, with the feel of a classic Jordaan brown café: a pool table, freshly tapped beer and an easy going pace. The vegan chef prepares lunch and dinner menus in house each week, building the kitchen around plant based cooking with homemade pizza, quiche, soups and cakes.

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

The kitchen at Saarein centres on vegan cooking, with dedicated vegan menus on Friday evenings and Saturday lunchtimes. Typical offerings include homemade pizza, quiche, soups and sandwiches, alongside signature items like carrot cake with hemp seeds. Vegetarian options also feature, with all food prepared in house by the café's own chef.

Cuisine
Dutch
Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Vegan-friendly
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
Not assignable

Since 1978, Saarein has operated as a community meeting place for the LGBTQIAP+ community in Amsterdam. It now runs as a foundation staffed by over thirty volunteers, with proceeds directed to organisations that promote the position of women and queer individuals. Cultural programming includes street parties, open stage performances and events through the Queer Amsterdam festival.

The impact dimensions
Social impact✓
Plant-forward menu

Community-run foundation supporting LGBTQIAP+ individuals since 1978, with cultural programming including street parties and Queer Amsterdam festival participation.

Saarein has operated as a queer community meeting place since 1978 and is transitioning to a foundation model (Stichting Saarein) staffed by over thirty volunteers.

Proceeds are directed to organisations supporting women and LGBTQIAP+ individuals. Cultural programming includes street parties, open stage performances and participation in the Queer Amsterdam festival (confirmed 2024).

Strongest sourceiamsterdam.com ↗

Substantial vegan programme with dedicated menus Friday evenings and Saturday lunchtimes, offering plant-based pizza, quiche, soups, sandwiches and cakes, estimated at 60–70% of menu items.

Saarein has a substantial vegan programme with dedicated vegan menus on Friday evenings (18:00–21:00) and Saturday lunchtimes (13:00–17:00). The chef (Nicole Roozemond) prepares all food in house, with offerings including vegan pizza, quiche, soups, sandwiches, carrot cake with hemp seeds and pulled mushroom with pita.

The plant-based offering is substantial, estimated at 60–70% of menu items. Vegetarian non-vegan items such as cheese sticks and jalapeño sticks also feature on the regular menu.

Strongest sourceveganamsterdam.org ↗
Sourcing signals
✓
In-house preparation

All food prepared in house by vegan chef Nicole Roozemond for the Saturday lunch and Friday dinner vegan menus. Confirmed by independent sources including the Vegan Amsterdam blog.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Elandsstraat 119, 1016 RX Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€
Format
Weekly menus, walk-in welcome
Hours
MondayClosed
TuesdayClosed
Wednesday16:00–01:00
Thursday16:00–01:00
Friday16:00–02:00
Saturday16:00–02:00
Sunday16:00–01:00
Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Alternative
Good to know
Terrace
Bar
Web
cafesaarein.nl
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.
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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