Amsterdam Restaurant Serves Vegan Meals in Quarantine Greenhouses

A vegan restaurant in Amsterdam is experimenting with a greenhouse dining experience, so that—when the restaurant reopens—diners can respect social distancing measures and still enjoy a meal out.

Mediamatic ETEN, part of the Mediamatic arts center, has placed small glass greenhouses along the waterside.

So far, the restaurant has only tested out its new concept—called Serres Sépparées—on family and friends. It is trying to get permission from national and local authorities to officially open for business. It is taking bookings from May 21.

The Netherlands is expected to allow restaurants to reopen from June 1, but at a limited capacity.

To protect both diners and staff at Mediamatic ETEN, servers will wear face shields, gloves, and give the food to customers via a long wooden board.

The restaurant used to serve seafood, but now it only offers vegan dishes. All of its menu is created using seasonal ingredients from selected local producers. As well as herbs from its own Aquaponics garden, and fermented products from the Mediamatic Clean Lab.

“Everything is vegan,” says in-house designer and food researcher Giulia Soldati. “And this system is really sustainable. Because the aquaponics system works with recycling and repurifying 95 percent of the water that goes in the plants.”

According to Janita Vermeulen—one of the friends and family members invited to try out Serres Sépparées—the new measures have not affected the quality of the food or the overall experience.

She told Reuters: “It’s super-cosy, it’s really cosy, it’s nice and the food is delicious.”

Willem Velthoven of Mediamatic added: “We are now learning how to do the cleaning, how to do the service, how to get the empty plates out again in an elegant way, so you still feel taken care of nicely.“

A Solo Dining Experience

The coronavirus pandemic has forced restaurants and bars all over the world to close their doors to customers. Many swapped to takeaway services to see them through the lockdown, others shut completely. But in Sweden, one restaurant is opening for business.

Bord för En is a completely solo dining experience. The single-seat restaurant, which serves vegan options, consists of one chair and table in the middle of a field in Värmland. To ensure a completely germ-free experience, it will only serve one person a day. Food is delivered via a rope operated basket.

Co-founder Linda Karlsson, who opened the restaurant with her partner Rasmus Perrson, told Spiegel: “A table and a chair on a Swedish summer meadow. No other guests. No operation. Just you, a three-course menu, and the right drinks.” The restaurant is currently taking reservations.