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Grand Café De Dikke van Dale Food Identity independently researched
Food Identity independently researched Researched

Grand Café De Dikke van Dale

A lively grand café on the Nieuwestad canal in central Leeuwarden serving Dutch café classics and grill dishes alongside a deep specialty-beer list.

The essentials, at a glance

AllergiesNot published Ask the kitchen ahead
Documented practices
Independently
researched
Low waste
Sustainable meat/fish

Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Cuisine
Dutch
International
Good to know
Terrace
Bar
Children's menu
Recognised by
Green Key·Certified

The delicious details

Grand Café De Dikke van Dale sits along the Nieuwestad canal in the historic centre of Leeuwarden, bringing lunch, dinner and late-evening drinks together under one roof. The kitchen runs from midday until late, and a boat terrace on the water gives guests a front-row view of the old canals.

The café is known for its beer culture, with more than a hundred specialty beers on the list and its own home-brewed Van Daal Limoncello Wit. A high-heat American grill sears the steaks and grill plates that anchor the dinner menu, next to lighter salads, starters and homemade pastries.

Responsible practice runs through the day-to-day: the café holds the Green Key certification, serves meat carrying the Beter Leven welfare mark and fish from responsibly managed sources, and sends its used coffee grounds off to be cultivated into oyster mushrooms.

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

A high-heat grill drives the dinner menu—ribeye, picanha, pike-perch and cod—with starters from beef carpaccio and salmon tartare to burrata. Vegetarian mains include pappardelle with pear and gochujang-roasted cauliflower; several vegan dishes are available. Both meat (Beter Leven certified) and fish (responsibly sourced) carry sustainability marks.

Cuisine
Dutch
International
Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Vegan-friendly
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
2 - Engaged

De Dikke van Dale holds the Green Key certification, the international sustainability mark for hospitality businesses, awarded in April 2025.

Its used coffee grounds are collected and cultivated into oyster mushrooms, a circular loop the kitchen plans to bring back onto the menu as an ingredient. Reducing waste is a structural part of its certified programme.

The meat it serves carries the Beter Leven animal-welfare mark and its fish comes from responsibly managed, non-overfished stocks.

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

Menu described as prepared with fresh and local ingredients. Frisian sausage appears in a soup, suggesting regional sourcing.

The menu is described as prepared with fresh and local ingredients. Frisian sausage appears in a soup, suggesting regional Frisian sourcing.

Strongest sourcededikkevandale.nl ↗

Menu includes seasonal produce such as summer watermelon salad; management references ongoing menu updates.

The menu carries seasonal produce such as summer watermelon salad. Management references an updated menu, suggesting the offer changes over the year.

Strongest sourcededikkevandale.nl ↗

Used coffee grounds are collected and cultivated into oyster mushrooms, which the kitchen plans to feature on the menu; waste reduction is certified.

As part of its Green Key certification, the café arranged for its used coffee grounds to be collected and cultivated into oyster mushrooms, which it plans to buy back and feature on the menu, forming a documented circular loop.

Waste reduction is a structural part of the certified programme.

Strongest sourceGreen Key ↗

Meat carries Beter Leven welfare certification; fish sourced from responsibly managed stocks. No foie gras served.

The café serves meat carrying the Beter Leven Keurmerk, a recognised Dutch animal-welfare certification, and fish from responsibly managed, non-overfished stocks.

Both commitments are confirmed in an independent Green Key certification article. No foie gras was found on any menu.

Strongest sourceGreen Key ↗

Menu offers vegetarian mains including pappardelle with pear and roasted cauliflower. Third-party listings report several vegan and around a dozen vegetarian options.

The menu features vegetarian mains such as pappardelle with caramelised pear and gochujang-roasted cauliflower. Third-party listings identify several vegan and around a dozen vegetarian dishes.

The kitchen is meat-forward, centred on a high-heat grill and a wide range of steaks.

Strongest sourcerestauplant.com ↗
Sourcing signals
✓
In-house preparation
✓
Low-impact beverage program

Homemade pastries including apple tart, and own home-brewed beer (Van Daal Limoncello Wit), are produced in-house.

Over 100 specialty beers including own home-brewed beer (Van Daal Limoncello Wit), plus an organic red wine in a recyclable bottle.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Nieuwestad 69, 8911 CK Leeuwarden, Leeuwarden, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€
Format
Open daily for walk-in and reservations; see website for booking
Hours
Monday11:00–02:00
Tuesday11:00–02:00
Wednesday11:00–02:00
Thursday11:00–02:00
Friday11:00–02:00
Saturday10:00–02:00
Sunday12:00–01:00
Hours from the official website; the kitchen closes at 22:00.
Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Good to know
Terrace
Bar
Children's menu
Web
dedikkevandale.nl
Reserve a table
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 23 Jul 2026
To website
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.
This place
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
—
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.
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