Amsterdam has several amazing places for snacks, pastries, and soft serve in the city center, including Margo’s, Saint-Jean, and Green Farmer’s. We visited all three.
We began with Margo’s, where we got a pistachio brioche, which was buttery, flaky, and filled with pistachio cream. It was mostly sweet, a little salty, and absolutely amazing.
We had a quick lunch at Green Farmer’s, where we enjoyed a vegan-chicken Caesar salad and a crispy “chicken” sandwich. The sandwich was the best of the two, with vegan mayo and a fluffy bun; the salad was chopped romaine, cherry tomatoes, and a rather bland but very creamy dressing. The chicken was super crispy, and the croutons were deep-fried, so it wasn’t a healthy meal — but it hit the spot. After all this plus the Margo’s pastry, we were too stuffed to try the Oatly soft serve that was available.
We also had lunch at Saint-Jean (on a different day, in case you’re wondering), which we loved best of all; there are two all-vegan locations across the street from each other, one a vegan patisserie, and the other a deli and bakery. We got sandwiches — teriyaki “chicken” ciabatta and a vegan-cheddar sourdough toastie with caramelized onion and jalapeno. Other sandwiches available included a spiced vegan-cheese croissant, hoisin bun, an oyster-mushroom focaccia sandwich, and more.
For dessert, we had the chocolate and chili cake: a chocolate mud cake with chocolate ganache and chili sprouts. It was among the top ten greatest desserts ever: dense, squishy chocolate cake with gorgeous chili-spiced frosting.
Among the pastries we didn’t have room for that day were croissant pudding, chocolate hazelnut croissants, almond croissants, pistachio “cruffins,” chocolate and hazelnut babka, and cinnamon rolls. We also didn’t have room for the pistachio soft serve, which must’ve been delicious due to its popularity; people were coming and going all afternoon with dishes of ice cream. Needless to say, we can’t wait to return.
