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Food Identity by My Treats Researched
Binnenstad · Utrecht · Netherlands

Springhaver

A characterful arthouse cinema café in central Utrecht serving an eclectic, plant-forward menu built around organic meat and fair, regional ingredients.

The essentials, at a glance

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Impact score
3 - Endorsed
→
Documented practices
Local sourcing
Seasonal cooking
Sustainable meat/fish
Plant-forward menu

Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Alternative
Cuisine
Dutch
Fusion
International
Good to know
Terrace
Bar
Private dining room

The delicious details

Housed in a beloved arthouse film theatre that has drawn Utrecht audiences since 1978, Springhaver pairs the glamour of old Hollywood with the ease of a classic Dutch eetcafé. It is a place to linger over coffee and cake, a long lunch, an aperitif or dinner, on either side of a film.

The kitchen keeps sustainability front of mind, working with local meat and fair, regional ingredients, and the menu roams cheerfully across borders, from Indian palak paneer to Japanese okonomiyaki and Italian pappa al pomodoro.

A dedicated vegetarian and vegan section leads the dinner card, all the meat on the menu is of organic origin, and the seasonal kitchen is rounded out by weekly specials chalked on the board. Long counted among the city's most authentic cafés and best-loved beer bars, it also opens its rooms for private gatherings.

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

An easy-going mix of cuisines, from Dutch café classics (tosti, bitterballen) to palak paneer and Thai-style mushroom soup. Vegetarians and vegans are well looked after with clearly marked sections and meat-free options throughout; all meat is organic. An allergen list is available and staff can help with dietary choices.

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

An allergen list is available and staff are happy to help guests with dietary requirements.

Impact score
How this restaurant rates
3 - Endorsed

Springhaver brings together responsible sourcing, seasonal cooking and a plant-forward menu at a relaxed arthouse cinema café in central Utrecht.

The kitchen works with local meat and fair, regional ingredients, keeping its supply close to home, and it cooks to the seasons with a summer menu and a rotating weekly special. All the meat on the menu is of organic origin, at a café that describes itself as animal-friendly.

Plant-based cooking is central rather than an afterthought: a dedicated vegetarian and vegan section leads the dinner menu, and roughly half of the main courses are meat-free.

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

Local and regional sourcing is described across self-declared and partner-vouched sources, but no specific farms or suppliers are named.

The summer menu states the kitchen works with 'lokaal vlees en eerlijke ingrediënten' (local meat and fair ingredients), and the Duurzamer030 sustainability directory lists Springhaver as using '100% biologisch vlees, eerlijke regionale ingrediënten en fair-trade'.

Local and regional sourcing is described consistently across a self-declared and a partner-vouched source, but no specific farms, growers or suppliers are named.

Strongest sourceduurzamer030.nl ↗

Named seasonal card (summer menu 2024) and rotating weekly specials shown on chalkboards.

The kitchen runs a named seasonal card (Zomerkaart 2024 / summer menu) alongside a rotating 'weekgerecht' (weekly special) shown on chalkboards, indicating menus that follow the seasons.

Strongest sourcespringhaver.nl ↗

All meat is of organic origin; fish dishes include sea bass and shrimp, with animal-friendly sourcing stated.

All meat on the menu is of organic origin, corroborated by two sustainability directories ('Al het vlees op de kaart is van biologische oorsprong'; '100% biologisch vlees') and labelled on the menu ('biologische rundvleeskroketten').

Fish appears in dishes such as sea bass fillet and shrimp croquettes, and Springhaver is described as an animal-friendly restaurant.

Strongest sourceallesduurzaam.nl ↗

Plant-based cooking is central: the dinner menu opens with a dedicated vegetarian/vegan section, roughly half of main courses are meat-free, and lunch skews further plant-based.

Plant-based cooking is a defining feature of the menu. The dinner card opens with a dedicated 'Vegetarisch & vegan' section, featuring palak paneer, vegan miso burger and pappa al pomodoro.

Lunch skews even further plant-based with vegan pulled-oyster-mushroom pita, mango-avocado salad with tofu, vegan mushroom soup and vegan croquette options. Vegan and vegetarian dishes are clearly labelled throughout.

This assessment rests on the restaurant's own menu, lightly corroborated by sustainability-directory listings noting vegetarian and vegan options.

Strongest sourcespringhaver.nl ↗
Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Springweg 50, 3511 VS Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€
Format
À la carte
Hours
Monday11:00–00:00
Tuesday11:00–00:00
Wednesday11:00–00:00
Thursday11:00–00:00
Friday11:00–01:00
Saturday11:00–01:00
Sunday11:00–01:00
Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Alternative
Good to know
Terrace
Bar
Private dining room
Web
springhaver.nl
Reserve a table
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 11 Jul 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.
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
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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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