Update 2020: Sane is closed now.

When it comes to lunch, Amsterdam has a multitude of options for every taste. I find it much easier to choose a good place for lunch than a good place for dinner in this city (especially being a vegetarian).

One of the places I often go for a healthy lunch is Sane. Located on the lovely Haarlemmerdijk, Sane is a salad&juice bar introducing a new concept, of “self-assembling” salads and shakes. I love the fact that they let you decide what ingredients are going in to your food, offering a rich and fresh variety to choose from. Don’t worry, there’s no need to do anything except select the ingredients, they’ll put it together for you – just bring in your culinary creativity (and if you don’t feel like being creative, they also have some recipes of their own).  It’s my favourite place for a warm or refreshing soup (it’s one of the few places where you can find a soup without dairy), a good juice or a very green wheatgrass juice for detoxing. Every salad/soup comes with a piece of delicious brown bread – if you’re not on diet, take it!

The place itself is cosy and quiet, perfect for a relaxing lunch with a friend or for spending few hours alone. The staff are extremely friendly and willing to help even the most undecided customer.

Oh, and don’t forget to have a look around on the walls if you go there – there are often some paintings hanging up, waiting to be admired or bought!