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Heilige Boontjes Food Identity independently researched
Food Identity independently researched Researched

Heilige Boontjes

A Rotterdam coffee roastery and grand cafe where specialty coffee and all-day brunch fund a work-and-learning programme for young people rebuilding their lives.

The essentials, at a glance

AllergiesNot published Ask the kitchen ahead
Documented practices
Independently
researched
Social impact

Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Cuisine
International

The delicious details

Heilige Boontjes is a coffee roastery and grand cafe set in a former police station on Eendrachtsplein in Rotterdam. Its name, a play on the Dutch for holy beans, points to a social enterprise built around coffee, where every cup and plate helps fund the work behind the counter.

Founded in 2015 by a police officer and a social worker, the cafe employs and trains young people with difficult pasts through a structured work-and-learning programme, guiding them towards barista, roasting and hospitality skills. More than 400 people have taken part, and most who complete the full programme go on to further employment.

The team roasts its own single-origin beans from Brazil, Sumatra and Ethiopia, working through a direct-trade partner to pay growers a fairer price. Guests come for breakfast, lunch and cake in a relaxed, unhurried room.

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

The kitchen serves breakfast and lunch through the day, with dishes such as freshly prepared bread, salads and eggs benedict, alongside cakes. Coffee is central here: the in-house roastery produces single-origin beans and its own blends, served as espresso classics, slow coffee and pour-overs, with seasonal coffee specials. Beyond coffee and tea, the bar pours soft drinks, juices, beer and wine.

Cuisine
International
Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
1 - Starting

Founded in 2015 by a police officer and a social worker, Heilige Boontjes exists to give young people with difficult pasts a route back into work. Employees and trainees follow a structured programme covering barista, roasting and service skills; more than 400 people have taken part, and most who complete the full programme go on to further employment. Its coffee buying reflects the same values: the cafe works through a direct-trade partner to pay growers in Brazil, Sumatra and Ethiopia a fairer price and to shorten the supply chain.

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

Coffee is sourced through direct-trade partner Pure Africa, shortening the supply chain and paying growers fairly.

Direct-trade coffee sourcing through Pure Africa shortens the supply chain and pays growers a fairer price. The restaurant sources single-origin beans from Brazil, Sumatra and Ethiopia.

Strongest sourcepure-africa.com

In-house roastery and direct-trade supply chain; low-waste packaging referenced.

A directory references low-waste packaging. The coffee supply partner Pure Africa and in-house roastery both support a deliberately shorter supply chain.

Strongest sourcegrachtenbeans.nl ↗

Employs and trains formerly incarcerated young people; more than 400 helped since 2015, with roughly 70 percent going on to further employment.

Heilige Boontjes is a social enterprise founded in 2015 by a police officer (Marco den Dunnen) and a social worker (Rodney van den Hengel). It employs and trains formerly incarcerated and other vulnerable young people through a structured work-and-learning programme covering barista, roasting and service.

More than 400 young people have taken part since 2015. Roughly 70 percent of those who complete the full programme go on to further employment.

Strongest sourcesprudge.com ↗

Vegetable-based dishes such as salads available; no plant-forward menu focus documented.

The menu is a brunch and cafe offering (bread, salads, eggs benedict, cakes). Some vegetable-based dishes, such as salads, are available.

Strongest sourcehet-menu.nl ↗
Sourcing signals
✓
Fair-trade commodities

Coffee is sourced through direct-trade partner Pure Africa with Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance certifications.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Eendrachtsplein 3, 3015 LA Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€
Format
All-day brunch and coffee café
Hours
Monday09:00–18:00
Tuesday09:00–18:00
Wednesday09:00–18:00
Thursday09:00–18:00
Friday09:00–18:00
Saturday10:00–18:00
Sunday10:00–18:00
Not captured during screening; to be filled from Google Places backfill. Directory listings indicate approximately Mon-Fri 08:00-18:00 and Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00, unverified.
Style
Café
Casual
Cosy
Web
heiligeboontjes.com
Reserve a table
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 27 Jul 2026
To website
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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.
This place
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
—
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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