Café de Ceuvel — Restaurant in Amsterdam

@Reservation Dinner-1 person- September 3. 2022 Saturday

@Impression very enchanting environment, fine cooking, creative and well designed vegan menu, BUT very disappointed on service

@What was ordered -4€ Bread with Olive Oil, starter -18€ Ravioli in seaweed butter,main dish -2€ Glass of sparkling water -6,5€ Glass of IPA from tap -33€ In total for 1 person with tips

@Sum it up Looking forward to enjoying the whole sustainable and local economy oriented dining experience, I found the service and attitude offered by the staff somewhat disappointing.

@Greeting Personally greeted and accompanied to my seats upon arrival, the beginning was very pleasant. But the service only went downhill after that.

@Unaware ordering Before I was even reaching my chair, my waiter offered me bread and olive oil, without explaining that this would charge 4€ on the menu. Being used to house-served free bread and olive oil in most restaurants in Germany, Austria, France and Italy, just to name a few countries in Europe, I didn’t hesitate and said yes please. I only realized my order without being aware of it after I had time to actually look at the menu.The bread came however quite quickly so I decided to overlook this quite frankly trickery-move from my waiter and went further with main dish ordering.

@Actual ordering He did a good job in taking the actual orders, but didn’t notice that I barely touched the bread. The fact was I didn’t like the powdered dip and wanted some salt with my olive oil instead. But since no one asked once how I liked it, I was a bit offended so I barely touch it and asked for it to be packed in a paper bag. Yet no one even bothers to think about or care about why. Later I was also fighting with my main dish as I suddenly felt not so well, of course I think it’s not their fault that I felt sick, but even though I shared with my waiter when he came to take my plate away, that I wasn’t feeling so great, he didn’t respond at all and just left with my leftover. The sustainable way would be asking if there’s anything wrong with it or if I would like to have it packed it up with my bread.

@Contradicting concept & service quality Yes it was Saturday night, and I could see they are fully booked and very busy. But for a business that openly talks about beliefs in quality dining, sustainability and the awareness of the damages food industries bring to our planet, being busy shouldn’t become an issue. The service staff pushed customers to order and didn‘t really bother with the perception of their food. As a result there was food waste and I am sure this happens to other customers too. Hopefully only when they are super busy.

The concept and action doesn’t...

Café de Ceuvel is a restaurant on a mission: the menu carefully articulates there is a wider vision to deliver an eco-friendly and low environmental impact. There is a rough and ready feel; a reflection on the increasing trend towards sustainability and authenticity at the expense perhaps of luxury and, perhaps, the basic proposition. So with very high praise and reviews, we came here for lunch. Both the inside and outside decor give the feeling of an American style summer camp assembled by a shipwrecked crew with nothing to make shelter with other than washes ashore in the island with its mismatched tables and seating, home-made decorations and deliberately contrasting use of panel colour. If a small group of dreadlocked hippies revealed themselves slouched onto patchwork beanbags wielding archaic musical instruments and lamenting the tax dodging and well-heeled patriarchy: I would have asked them where I could purchase the nearest fair trade, organically grown cold brew. So we find ourselves at a school desk ordering from a concise lunch menu during a semi busy Saturday service. Oh, and it’s vegan bang in trend with most restaurants I went to in two weeks of grazing around Amsterdam. Much like the decor, the food was a bit cobbled together and didn’t make much sense. Our oyster mushroom croquette with mustard greens over sourdough (it’s an open face sandwich) was less croquette and more suppli sized mushroom flavoured dough with a crust. It is a ‘croquette’ in the style of the local Dutch bitternballen which would work if it was the same size - the texture would make the dish better but not take it over the line. The open face sandwich proposition is pointless. This dish would be better conceptualised as a starter oyster mushroom bittenballen with a dip. The cheesy padron pepper toastie is gooey and cheesy but doesn’t rise above the level of a home comfort sandwich regardless of the padron peppers. Vegan food is a hard sell for many people and there are restaurants that are fighting to change paradigms and perceptions about vegan food making it exciting, winning hearts and minds. This is not that place. There’s a lot here with a good location and the shabby chic is on trend but the core proposition of paying for food for...

Arriving into my hotel at Amsterdam Noord on a Sunday evening, I went walking in search for something relaxed for food. Being summer, I didn’t realise how late it was. I arrived at Cafe de Ceuvel at around 9.20pm but they allowed me to get an order in.

A vegetarian restaurant using locally sourced produce, the surroundings are hippie chic, but it works and feels comfortable and relaxing. What you need after a long Eurostar journey.

The servers were impeccable, fun, and lively. I ordered the Lemon Pearl Barley Risotto, with green asparagus, yellow zucchini, with crispy oatmeal and a birch vinaigrette. The dish was so light and refreshing. The citrus was just the right level to renew my palette and went amazingly well with the glass of Zeebonk beer.

I followed this up with a main course of Nettle Saag Paneer, with raita, zarda millet, and naan bread. Creamy and light, but filling and wholesome. What a dish to help me doze off to the land of Nod when I returned to my hotel.

This place is perfect for a summers afternoon lunch! I...