Morris & Bella

Dutch vegetables, fruit, flowers and herbs are the biggest sources of inspiration for Maurice Leeffers and Annebel van Meegen, respectively chef and hostess. Vegetarian and vegan, delicious and creative, which translates into potato muffin...

Standing at the door, the phrase 'It starts with vegetables' welcomes you. If you add 'and it ends with vegetables', you have perfectly summarized what chef Maurice (Morris) Leeffers conjures up on the plates. "Conjuring" is indeed the right word, as there is no such thing as waste and sustainability takes precedence in this sophisticated organic vegan restaurant. Add to that that the wines carefully selected by hostess and sommelier Annebel (Bella) are also organic. The restaurant is situated in the Spaarndammerbuurt in a cozy, living-room-style setting, and the number of tables appears tailored to how much calm and relaxed hospitality Morris and Bella can naturally extend to their guests. The partially open kitchen reveals numerous preserving jars, evoking memories of grandmother’s era. Choosing from the menu is straightforward: your only decision is whether to opt for four, five, or six courses. Given the abundance of vegetables, the six-course menu is highly recommended. The Dutch quinoa arrives with salmoreta, sun-dried tomatoes and their juice, double-dipped garden beans, herb salad, and summer purslane. Forget watery tomatoes; these boast enchantingly rich flavors. The asparagus soup features paper-thin slices of both fresh and fermented asparagus, wild garlic oil, a spinach and pumpkin seed compote, and a sweet-and-sour reduction made from king trumpet mushrooms. It is not only a feast for the eyes but a gentle caress for the taste buds. This is followed by steamed Swiss chard stuffed with butter beans, nettle sauce, and pine needle oil. Pure nature served on a plate. A potato waffle follows, accompanied by a cauliflower and white bean miso cream, roasted cauliflower, fried spring onions, turnips, radishes, and a lavash sauce. Paired with this is a fruity, summery Italian red wine: Sassara Bardolino Goto. The very innovative pre-dessert features paper-thin slices of kohlrabi paired with a sunflower seed cream, rhubarb, strawberries, and verbena. This is exactly how we would love to eat vegan all the time!

At first glance, it appears to be just one of the many cozy living-room-style restaurants in Amsterdam's bustling Spaarndammerbuurt: Morris & Bella. A simple interior with wooden tables and café chairs, featuring little frills. But behind the kitchen door stands Maurice Leeffers, the chef who has decided to cook exclusively plant-based. No meat or fish, no dairy. His partner, Annebel van Meegen, is the hostess and the sole server. As for that: with admirable calm, she serves the packed house of some ten tables tonight, and manages to pleasantly share various interesting facts about the dishes along the way. But what ends up on the plate is, of course, the most important thing. And it must be said: this is one of our best culinary experiences in a long time. The fixed menu delivers one flavorful, original, and perfectly executed dish after another. A potato salad with white bean miso dressing, fermented shallot cream, pickle sorbet, sorrel sauce, blanched turnips, baby kale, and herb Robert is a delicate, tasty, and luxurious take on a classic potato salad. It looks deceptively simple, but bursts with explosive flavors. The asparagus with wild garlic and lemon beans as a crunchy accent is a find, and the leek soup with pickled lemon is both rich and refreshing. The main course is a celery root gratin with steamed carrots and radish, spinach compote, lentil cake, and an intense sauce made from fresh yeast and bay leaf oil. Mesmerizingly delicious. Hostess Annebel pours a glass of light red Dornfelder alongside it, which is an excellent choice, just like the Weissburgunder served with the potato salad. All wines are organic or biodynamic. We finish with a magnolia mousse, bird cherry blossom ice cream, sous-vide cooked rhubarb, and almond crumb: original and delightful. This cuisine should serve as a masterclass in how to cook excellent plant-based food at a high level.

Maurice Leeffers (Morris) and Annebel van Meegen (Bella) run a small and accessible living-room-style restaurant where slow fine dining takes center stage. They serve a plant-based cuisine in which vegetables, herbs, and flowers serve as a major source of inspiration. Chef Maurice works with what nature has to offer, venturing himself into fields, forests, and meadows to forage and gather ingredients, transforming them into seasonal dishes. The wine list, curated by sommelier Annebel, features exclusively European wines that are vegan, much like sodas and beers. There is a six-course menu from which you can freely choose starting from four courses. During the aperitif, delicate bites such as barramundi with lingonberry mousse and pickled chanterelles are served. The first course features grilled beef heart with oven-dried cherry tomatoes, accompanied by verbena ice cream, baby kale, and fermented white asparagus. A harmonious union of pronounced, deep flavors. What a delightful dish. This is followed by a medley of al dente cooked butter beans, green beans, lemon beans, and broad beans with kohlrabi, white and purple cauliflower, and a lightly sour lemon butter foam. Finely chopped hazelnuts provide a lovely crunch. We pair it with a matching Vermentino from Corsica: the 2019 Le Blanc Mursaglia by Nicolas Mariotti Bindi. For dessert, there is rhubarb compote with blueberry panna cotta, lemon cake, and – quite exceptionally – hay-smoked ice cream. A venue you will want to return to immediately.

Whereas Morris & Bella used to add meat or fish to dishes upon request until 2021, the restaurant is now one hundred percent vegan. This choice has worked out brilliantly. Morris (Maurice Leeffers) is a gifted chef. The amuse is already promising: pumpkin compote with sea buckthorn dressing and sea kale. The starter of smoked carrot with fermented celeriac, horseradish cream, sprouted mustard seeds, and puffed buckwheat is simply fantastic. It is incredibly impressive how Morris manages to impart intense flavors using exclusively plant-based ingredients. Other dishes could benefit from a bit more balance: the koji oyster mushroom sauce in the intermezzo is somewhat too runny, and the main course – a truly beautiful creation featuring various preparations of beetroot – is just a touch too spicy. Bella (Annebel van Meegen) is a pleasant and highly skilled professional with excellent knowledge of food and wine. The wine list reflects the restaurant's guiding principle: to source products from the region whenever possible. We enjoy a Dornfelder and an Auxerrois from Wijngoed Thorn, both of which are very good. The restaurant's fairly sparse interior – dark brown flooring, simple wooden tables and chairs – is enlivened by paintings of vegetables and a large wall photograph of a Turkish coffeehouse. A great spot!

Any chef unsure of what to serve vegetarian or vegan guests should take a lesson from Morris & Bella in Amsterdam. Through the creative use of such wonderful ingredients, we are taken from one culinary surprise to the next, barely missing any meat, fish, or other animal products: a remarkable feat. At Morris & Bella, everything is cooked entirely plant-based—Morris runs the kitchen while Bella serves as hostess and sommelier—and this approach yields surprisingly delicious dishes. The starters feature beet and sprouted rye tartare, puffed kohlrabi, fermented rutabaga, sea aster, endive cream, and a koji sauce. A crisp Chenin Blanc from the Loire is a lovely choice. The main course—a potato muffin served with eggplant compote, grilled fennel, romanesco, smoked paprika foam, and a garlic mousseline—is impressive, both in presentation and flavor. Also highly original is the “cheese” course featuring vegan “g-oats” made from pumpkin, apple, and blackberry. No dairy required, yet utterly delightful. The only letdown is the dessert, where using oil instead of butter and cream results in a somewhat sticky mouthfeel in both the cake and the ice cream. Bella handles all the service single-handedly, despite her simply furnished, living-room-style restaurant being quite busy. Tireless and hospitable, she ensures we have a truly special evening. This cuisine could very well become the future of Dutch gastronomy. Welcome to Lekker!