Vegitalian Pizzabar

Vegitalian Pizzabar, located at Nachtegaalstraat 29B in Utrecht Oost, opened on Saturday, April 9, 2022. The venue was presented as a pizza bar within the broader Vegitalian concept, which pairs Italian cuisine with a vegetarian and partially plant-based approach. Vegitalian’s own communications described an offering ranging from coffee to dinner. As such, coffee was not treated as a separate entity from the kitchen, but rather as part of an all-day hospitality model.

Public sources name Sippien Baarsma, Wichert van Rijn, and Joep van den Bersselaar as the founders of Vegitalian. Baarsma and Van Rijn are also linked to other hospitality ventures in Utrecht, such as The Streetfood Club, Ruby Rose, Carmel Market, and Rum Club. Van den Bersselaar is described as a hospitality entrepreneur. Within this network, Vegitalian carved out a distinct niche: Italian food with a vegetarian twist.

The formula used phrases like “Happy people, healthy planet” to emphasize its vegetarian and plant-based options. For coffee enthusiasts, it is particularly important to note that coffee at this establishment did not constitute a separate specialty coffee program. Instead, it was part of a broader restaurant offering, alongside lunch, dinner, drinks, and takeout.

The establishment was located in Utrecht Oost, on the Nachtegaalstraat. The official location page listed the venue as a spot for “dinner and drinks” and mentioned both dine-in and takeout options. The location was also linked to delivery partners, catering, and a “Private Hub” for gatherings, lunch, dinner, or drinks.

Available data indicates that the status of the location has changed. The official location page stated that Vegitalian Nachtegaalstraat would close after April 12. De Buik van Utrecht marks the business as permanently closed. For those seeking an accurate picture of the coffee sector in Utrecht, this status is relevant, as this profile serves primarily as documentation of a former hospitality venue.

Vegitalian partnered with De Laat Coffee. De Laat Coffee stated publicly that Vegitalian had been serving coffee from this roastery since November 2020. The drinks menu featured classic espresso beverages, including lungo, espresso, doppio, espresso macchiato, cappuccino, caffè latte, flat white, latte macchiato, dirty chai, and iced latte.

The menu also listed plant-based milk options. Guests could choose from oat, coconut, or pea milk, aligning with the establishment’s broader vegetarian and plant-based profile. However, available sources show no separate offering of manual brewing methods. Pour-over, filter coffee, AeroPress, and batch brew were not publicly documented.

Coffee appeared in more than just hot and cold coffee drinks. The drinks menu also featured the Espresso Martini. Additionally, there were preparations such as affogato and spiked affogato. In the dessert selection, espresso featured in the tiramisu and the vegan pistachio tiramisu with espresso.

These applications show that coffee within Vegitalian primarily functioned as an ingredient within a restaurant context. The focus was not on origin, grind profiles, or brew methods, but rather on recognizable drinks and desserts. For readers who follow specialty coffee, this distinction is important. While the establishment worked with a named coffee partner, they did not present an extensive coffee lab or a public tasting program.

The menu information emphasized vegetarian and plant-based options. It also noted that vegetables are sourced as locally as possible. For bread, the menu listed De Veldkeuken as the supplier of sourdough bread for the Utrecht locations, describing the bread as fully organic and made with grain from local growers.

Under the drinks section, De Laat Coffee was described as coffee roasted in a sustainable, circular manner. Furthermore, the menu listed organic slow-pressed juices from Superfoodguru and organic lemonades from Roze Bunker. The drinks menu also mentioned that all wines were organic. For the limoncello, it was noted that the lemons were organically grown in Italy and processed in an organic winery in the Netherlands.

The sources primarily show standard hospitality and group functions. The location offered dine-in, takeout, delivery, catering, and private use via the Private Hub. No publicly documented workshops, coffee tastings, exhibitions, or recurring public events specifically linked to Vegitalian Pizzabar were found.

The establishment did receive regional and thematic mentions. DUIC reported on the opening in April 2022. De Buik van Utrecht wrote about the Nachtegaalstraat location as the second Vegitalian branch in Utrecht and later mentioned the business as permanently closed. RestauPlant included Vegitalian Pizzabar in its profile of vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants. De Vegetariërsbond listed the location with the LEKKER VEGA Keurmerk Goud.

For coffee enthusiasts, this profile primarily provides context on the role of coffee within a vegetarian Italian hospitality concept. Vegitalian Pizzabar served a range of espresso-based drinks with plant-based milk options and worked with De Laat Coffee. The available information does not suggest a standalone specialty coffee bar with manual brew methods. Consequently, the location fits more into the segment of restaurants where coffee is a standard part of the overall offering.