Koffie ende Koeck vegan high tea review

Koffie ende Koeck is a cosy vegan lunchroom in Amsterdam. This place was highly recommended by other Dutch vegans, so we looked it up and saw photos of the vegan high tea on their website and Instagram. The cakes and sandwiches looked absolutely stunning, so we decided to try it out.

We seriously couldn’t have chosen a better day to go. It snowed heavily the night before and the roads were frozen. We had to transfer several times between buses and trains to arrive at the final bus stop. Though we walked the wrong way, like always, we still managed to arrive at Koffie ende Koeck after 3 hours.

We were welcomed by two ladies with a warm smile and were seated by the wall with a heater. The owner, Maartje, came over and asked us what kind of tea we would like to have. They normally serve rose petal black tea, but because we don’t eat onions and garlic, she explained that most of these people wouldn’t drink black tea as well. So she asked us to make sure we liked it, which was really attentive of her. And soon after, a large pot of rose petal black tea was served.

Avocado cream cheese sandwich

The sandwich bread had a crispy edge and a super fluffy inside. The combination of avocado and vegan cream cheese was heavenly! We were very happy to see a generous amount of avocado on our sandwich. It totally matched the “powered by avocado” and “avocado toast” t-shirts we wore that day.

Smoked oyster mushroom with horseradish spread sandwich

Maartje explained to us that they omitted the onions for us. So instead, they used horseradish spread and caper (flower buds). We never tried horseradish before. The taste is very unique/distinct and sharp. The slightly sour taste went well with the apples and herbs. And we were totally in love with the smoked oyster mushrooms! Definitely going to try making it at home.

Lemon curd

The first thing we noticed was the jelly-like texture of this lemon curd cake. We took lots of photos before eating, and by the time we started devouring, it looked like the cake was melting away. The cookie base was very delicious. The lemon curd was too wet for the base, so it became soggy. There was nothing wrong with it though, but it looked less attractive and made it difficult to eat because the base couldn’t hold it up. The lemon flavour was very tangy, maybe a tad bit too strong for us. And it had a bitter aftertaste.

Carrot cake

This carrot cake was really flavourful, the best one we had so far. The cake itself was fluffy and not overly sweet. The slightly sour frosting combined well with the rich cinnamon flavour. The flowers and walnuts made it attractive and pretty.

Scones

The scones were very light and crumbly. It wasn’t too sweet; just right for a scoop of jam. The clotted cream was silky and creamy. We loved the combination of jam and clotted cream. It balanced out the sweetness very well.

Cookie and Lemon cake

The oat and spelt cookie was alright, but compared to the other treats, it wasn’t super thrilling. It had a bit of a cinnamon flavour and the texture was nicely soft. The lemon cake was one of the best desserts in the high tea set. It had a perfect balance of sweetness and sourness. They also added passion fruit seeds to it, which was a bit difficult to chew on. We would’ve prefered this cake without the seeds.

Chocolate cake

This chocolate cake was so rich and velvety. Our taste buds were in heaven after taking a bite in this. The texture was very fluffy and moist. The glaze was creamy and chocolatey. It literally melted in our mouths.

Overall impression

The high tea set was €23 per person. The portions were exactly right to make us feel stuffed. It contained 8 different treats, so we were very pleased with the variety and amount. The owner, Maartje, was super friendly and smiley. They also offered to refill our tea. There were about 6 tables, mainly small ones with one bigger table. The lunchroom was very cosy and comfortable like home. We would definitely visit again when we’re in Amsterdam!