Venkel

I still really like this place — was in on Tuesday and had the beet soup which was very, very nice — but as the unofficial hygiene police I have to report that they don’t use gloves. Their hands were all over all the food. I know this is normal in the Netherlands but it’s disgusting, so I’m deducting one star. Sorry Venkel! Start using gloves and you can get your 5^th star back.

After traveling throughout Europe, we were dying for a healthy, fresh, veggie-​based meal. I love traveling but not eating my own food is TOUGH.
Enter Venkel. The second we walked in I knew it was going to be amazing. The environment is super cute, and all the girls who work there are very sweet. Here’s what we ordered:
Asian inspired salad– this had shrimp, slivers of seaweed pasta, greens, shredded carrots and the most delicious Asian vinaigrette. This was sooo good, the boyfriend stole TWO of my shrimp. They were perfectly done and had the best texture. Amazing and yummy.
Salad with chicken and black lentils– the boyfriend had this and it was great with the green vinaigrette provided! This was much more substantial than mine, and would be perfect if you’re super hungry. The lentils are very filling but compliment the salad well.
Herring salad– took this one to go as its a crowd favorite! My guess is this is catered to local taste, it was a bit fishy for us but I could see this being really comforting for people who love herring.
All in all this was one of the yummiest places we dined at our entire trip! If there’s such thing as the art of salad making, these ladies nail it. Every piece of your salad is perfectly done, and they really care about presentation and perfecting all the proteins. I would love to return if I ever come back!

I’ve been coming here since they opened and I love their salads. I’m a more frequent visitor now that I have my office around the corner and although I try to mix it up and order a variety of the salads, I almost always get the cauliflower and leek salad because it’s just so amazingly delicious.
Great place. Highly recommended.

There’s something about their salads. Made me think of Barbette’s feast (not sure about the spelling). Thoughtful combinations of ingredients and the way they have been prepared –fresh and energetically clean– and cooked seemed to be well reflected on the final dish.
Hope we have Venkel in Chicago, in NY, and in London.
After having two salads, coconut squares, and the brownie, I got Venkel cotton bag as well to show my support for their work.

I am a big fan of salads. And not just because I secretly wish for a body like carrot stick eating skinny b but because well, they’re so tasty if you can manage to get all the flavours right!
Imagine my surprise when I was dragged here by another fellow Unilocaler. And considering how close it is to another amazing salad place that I was starting to get a tiny little bit bored of. well, this place is it!
They have an English and Dutch menu (because yes, my Dutch is still terrible) and lots of different things I have yet to see on other salad menus so my lunch of choice that day was the sarada salad. This consisted of a base lettuce mix, bean sprouts, kohlrabi, edamame beans, radish, asparagus and salmon sushimi, topped off with a ginger, wasabi and teriyaki dressing.
I was also super sneaky and ordered the home made quinoa bread with their hummus. All of it was good. I did actually use my fingers and scrape the last of the hummus into my mouth because. well, waste not want not! HA!
Another nice touch was the tap which sits in the middle of the seating area, so you can help yourself to free water and lemon slices if you wanted as well. It was all very zen and I walked out feeling super healthy (never mind the extra hummus and bread.).
All in all, this place was lovely and so so tasty! And all of the stars because I’ll be back!

I go to Venkel all the time for lunch. It’s a great place to get a healthy salad, a drink or an almond latte (they make their almond milk themselves and it’s pretty darn good).
The food is good but the service can sometimes be a little on the slow side. It is weighed up by great taste, carefully put together salads including hot and cold elements and interesting flavor combinations though.
I appreciate that they know how to season the food and you will never leave the restaurant feeling you got served a bland meal. However. It is not my favorite place for juice/​smoothies. I am really particular with how I like my green juices and this doesn’t quite live up to my expectations. Especially when there are so many other great juice bars in Amsterdam.
My personal favorites at the moment:
Bloemtjes en preitjes
Kuskusi
Almond koffie verkeerd

Très joli et cosy, wifi gratuit, large choix de salades, salades copieuses pour 8 euros seulement, personnel sympa et toilettes propres ! Que demander de plus?

Incredible. Ambience is lovely. The service is friendly and all made to order in front of you. I got the «sarada» — raw salmon cubes on top of a bed of greens including radishes, asparagus, and, ok I would list more but it was so good, I ate it all so ravenously and didn’t examine it. The dressing they used was perfectly balanced, not overwhelming so you could taste all the ingredients but enough to support the flavors. The food is evidently all local and organic too. Located on a cute street as well. I’m only visiting Amsterdam so I won’t be able to eat here again for quite some time and I am honestly very upset over this.

I have to say I wasn’t really impressed. This place has such a fantastic rating that I really expected to be blown away. I thought that both salads my friend and I ordered were mediocre at best. His had a ketchup-​mustard dressing which I was suspicious of, yet willing to give the benefit of the doubt. But indeed it was just that: ketchup and mustard. And basically there’s a reason that this simple recipe has not gone viral. I reallllly wanted to like this place. Maybe I’ll have to give it another shot. Although, it doesn’t make up what it lacks in taste with price. While it’s not expensive, it’s not a bargain either. I hate to say it but I feel a 3 star rating is even generous, but I’m basically a bit too embarrassed to leave a 2. I will say that it smells delicious when you walk in and that the atmosphere is really nice.

It is simply amazing. Very healthy food, incredible taste and great experience to be in this place. I can only recommend.

Just bought the chicken and sweet potatosalad. They grill the chicken in front of you and the dressing is amazing!:)

Love their salads!
I’m a huge salad fan. I eat salads just about every day for lunch and dinner and sometimes even breakfast.
I love this place because the food is fresh and it’s not your ordinary blend of ingredients. In the winter time, they have warm salads as well as soup. If you’re not a meat-​lover, they also have quite a few vegetarian options.
My favorite find here is their sampling of quinoa bread with hummus. I love it and even pop in to grab it to-​go from time to time!
The interior is relaxed and cozy and the staff are helpful and friendly.
Would definitely recommend this spot!

Yes yes yes — Yay! I’m a fan.
Why?
Because it is a place where you can get your quick evening fix.
:D
No, but seriously. It is, if you have this sudden urge of wanting something fresh, yet not too simple, but not too weird either. And yes — if you do not feel like today you are going to be the creative master in the kitchen that you usually are.
What I mean is that in the end, you are getting yourself a salad. The salad, however, is no longer just a side-​dish or a selection of leafy greens. It has become the ‘healthy choice’ for dinner. And not in the ‘ah-​ma-​gawd-​i-​had-​like-​a-​leaf-​of-​romaine-​with-​water-​and-​air-​dressing’ kind of way, but in the sense that it can be packed with healthy and nutritious goodies. Have your fresh vegetables, have your proteins, have it the animal-​friendly way, or be the carnivore you truly are, and add some chicken or anchovies.
Venkel changes their menu according to what is in season, which is not only argued to be a more healthy, but in a sense also more responsible way of enjoying food. They have some nice dressings, and have around 6 combinations ready on their board you can chose from. You can take away, or sit down in their nature-​inspired eating area.
And finally: If you don’t feel like any of the pre-​created salads on the menu, you can make your own!

This place oozes health: organic local vegetables and fresh fruit juices. All this is served in a stylish interior where ‘nature’ is king. For the freshest salad of Amsterdam, try the one with watermelon.

Impressed. We just happened upon this place while looking for someplace with a light menu since we weren’t super hungry. It has a beautiful interior and thankfully wasn’t full as I was carrying my stroller so I could park it right at our table and it was out of the way. I like that there was no rush because we all decided to create our own salads since we all have dietary restrictions.
Our food and drinks were delivered to the table and everything was delicious. I am really very pleased. The portion was just enough. The lettuce was very crisp which I liked. I only wish I had more broccoli because my son swiped all of mine out of my bowl hehe. I opted for no dressing and just drizzled olive oil on my salad. The oil was SUCH high quality.
I forgot to take a photo, but I ordered a mixed lettuce base with broccoli, grilled eggplant, red lentils, and walnuts. I think there was one more veg, but that’s it if you’d like to try that combo. It was really very filling.

Tiny health food shop and lunchroom, seats approx. 16 people max. The gluten free brownie is delicious. The other gluten free option in terms of sweets is a carrot ginger muffin, both made from almond flour. Extensive menu for design-​your-​own-​salad. You can tap your own water at the fountain and take some complimentary lemon slices to go with it.

The salads here are some of the most interesting creations I’ve seen anywhere in the world. Take the strawberry salad with goat cheese and adorned with white chocolate shavings. You might think that chocolate on a salad sounds crazy. It kinda is, but it just works. I had one with chickpeas, eggplant, olives, cheese, and sardines, a deliciously savory combination that really brought together several of my favorite things. This is a great place to get a healthy meal around Amsterdam.

i’m so happy there seems to be more salad joints opening up in amsterdam and even more happy when they open up close to my home! this place is very cozy and relaxing. the décor just makes you want to take a load of and relax for a bit and eat something healthy. there are about 6 or 7 yummy salad combinations to choose from and you can add any extras to them, such as bacon, chicken, cheese etc. they also have a quinoa bread they serve with hummus that is very tasty (highly recommend). staff is also very friendly.
i can’t wait to come back and try everything else on their menu!

Finally got around to trying out Venkel. They really do have, «…lovely salads»
I had the «Kip Lekker!» salad. I enjoyed it, but would have liked a bit more chicken. The flavors of the beets, onions, red peper and hemp seeds (never had them before) mixed very well. The salad was a pretty good size and was enough for the meal.
I got my order to-​go, so I did not get to enjoy the seating area. Although the place is very nice and they do have a bench for those of us awaiting our order.
Also sampled the hummus. I will add that as a starter the next times I visit to try all the other tasty salad combinations! And perhaps build my own!
Worth a visit.

Do you know someone who is horrified at the idea of eating a salad for dinner? If you want to change their mind, take them to Venkel ;) They’ve got fantastic, delicious, and very filling salads. I normally never order from the set menu at a salad bar but I couldn’t resist because the choices all looked so delicious. I had the lentil salad (like Kim) and it was perfect — and I nearly couldn’t finish it. Great, healthy food at a great price!

This is a great new place and I am so happy it opened quite nearby! :) Today I went here for the first time, finally! I had the ‘Linzen liefde’ salad, which means Lentil love. It is a salad with of course lentils, but also goats cheese and nuts and it tastes delicious! I thought all the salads on the menu looked really good so I really want to come back soon. You can also create your own salad and choose all the ingredients.
I also a had juice; apple/​pear/​mint. Delicious! Well it should be because its pretty damn expensive. 5 euros, and not even a big glass. But well, it was good. There is also free water which is nice.
The interior was beautiful and cozy. It really felt good and I felt very relaxed. I really like Venkel! I thought SLA was the best but now I like Venkel even more. The salads just taste amazing. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Just try it soon!

I love this place !!
A very nice salad bar, the décor is cozy it feels at home, salads are plentiful (between 7 € and 15 €) and very good (very cool product).
I tasted a rhubarb juice and to my surprise I loved it.
despite a short wait (we had the right to a delicious brownie pieces offered nice touch) I loved this place and will return soon enough