9x lunch in Leiden

Leiden is best known as a student city with many beautiful canals and monuments. You can also have a great lunch there. In summer, sit on a terrace by the water. In winter, warm up in one of the cozy lunch spots. These are our favorites.

Leidse Lente

In this messy living room just outside the city center, there is plenty to do besides having lunch. For example, there are exhibitions by different artists, cabaret performances and game nights. The food is simple, but good. The croquettes are a favorite, with a filling that changes each time.

Happy Tosti

People with disabilities work at Happy Tosti. These always-cheerful employees serve excellent toasted sandwiches and homemade lemonade. You can choose from no fewer than ten different sauces to dip your toastie in. And if you find sitting on a chair boring, you can also take a seat on one of the swings.

Lot en de Walvis

At Lot en de Walvis by the harbor, you can enjoy sitting by the water, especially in summer. You can also visit the atmospheric restaurant in winter. Don’t expect a simple toastie. At Lot, for example, you can have a sandwich with roasted Jerusalem artichoke cream and homemade kimchi.

Van de Leur

In this spacious, quiet living room on Breestraat, they serve not only sandwiches but also flammkuchen topped with anything you could wish for. Have a hot chocolate or flavored coffee with it, such as caramel, hazelnut or white chocolate.

Roos

At this tiny spot by the market, you get plenty of food on your plate and the sandwiches are generously topped. We love that. The sandwich with chicken thigh, avocado and truffle is to die for. You can also order entire cakes there, by the way.

Roast and Toast

At Roast and Toast, Leiden sisters Lisa and Nikki take care of our toastie cravings. They make simple ham-and-cheese toasties, but also the Club Toasti. It has pretty much everything you could put on a toastie. If you don’t feel like going outside on Sunday, go for the lazy Sunday bag filled with a surprise brunch.

Logica

This is the place to be for vegetarians and vegans. Except for the salmon sandwich, everything can be ordered vegetarian or vegan. Everything is organic, and the fish is sustainably caught. You can have a simple sandwich or a toastie on sourdough bread.

Francobolli

They have come up with something fun here. You choose a card, and Francobolli sends it on the day you select. This way, you can send all the birthday cards for the entire year at once, and then forget about everything again. While writing your card, you can enjoy a tasty sandwich, and in summer you can sit wonderfully on the small terrace by the water.

Passion Food

Here you can attend workshops by MasterChef finalist Mascha. But if you don’t feel like making food yourself, you can also simply enjoy a delicious lunch. You can decide whether you want your toppings on a sandwich or in a salad.