We asked locals where to get the city’s yummiest salads. Herewith a compilation of the best of this summertime staple.
BERTMANS
A good address for healthy food with vegan and lactose-free options. The roasted Portobello mushrooms with carrot, little gem lettuce, spicy wakame, miso mayo, daikon pickle, sesame and spelt toast – delicious! As is the healthy ‘pizza’ with salad; a chickpea pancake with beetroot, red chard, glazed shallots, tarragon, cashew-nut cream, dukkah and chermoula. There’s no other place to eat your greens on the Rotte river that is as healthy or as delicious as here.
Zaagmolenkade 15
OP HET DAK
The Dakakker on top of the Schieblock near Central Station is Rotterdam’s first large, harvestable roof garden. Vegetables, fruit and herbs are grown here, and there’s also an organic restaurant (Op Het Dak) with a sun-drenched terrace. This is the place to go for a good, honest Rotterdam salad, and a great view over the city centre. The fully loaded seasonal salad bowl is a standard option on the menu.
Schiekade 189
MANGIARE
The market and the season decide what’s on offer in Mangiare’s two eateries. But no matter what, there’s always an amazing salad on the menu. Like the lettuce, tomato, grilled vegetable, stuffed pepper, mushroom and boiled egg ensemble that is served up as an antipasti platter. The formula is simple at Mangiare (the Italian word for food): the blackboard menu describes what’s on offer for the day, and the specials are explained at your table by the lovely, young waiting staff.
Van Oldenbarneveltstraat 150, Pannekoekstraat 93a
WESTERKAATJE
A Mediterranean catering and restaurant business where you go for the ambiance and the freshly made meals and snacks, or mezzes as they are known. There are olive tins, jars of preserved lemons and crates of fresh fruit and vegetables everywhere. The food cabinets are full of salads, meats, cheeses. Sitting inside or out on the charming little terrace, you can order a salad from the vitrine or the salad primavera, which includes avocado, watercress, an egg and, if you wish, some crunchy bacon.
Benthuizerstraat 60d
SPIRIT
A canteen in De Groene Passage shopping hub and Rotterdam’s only 100% organic vegetarian restaurant. A veritable smorgasbord of a buffet awaits you, with at least 50 different vegetable and fruit dishes to choose from, including both steamed and fried. Following the restaurant’s principle of zero waste, you dish up what you want yourself, weigh your plate to determine how much you have to pay for the meal, and then tuck in. It’s entirely up to you what salads you want to eat, with or without its Spiritual Mayonnaise.
Mariniersweg 9
By Ellen Scholtens
