Rome for Vegans

Rome for Vegans

The plant-based eating movement has swept through Europe, catching cities like Paris, Lisbon and Madrid in its wake. Rome is the latest city to jump on board, and the vegan community here grows by the minute.

More and more Roman restaurants are joining the movement, too. There are more vegan dining options in the ancient city than ever before, and meat inclusive restaurants have begun adding vegan options to their pre-existing menus.

Rome – by Dries Augustyns – Unsplash

Exciting times for a cuisine so deeply rooted in the inclusion of cheese and animal protein. If you’re en route to Rome, here’s what you need to know:

Restaurants

Ops! in Rome

The neighborhood of Salario is mostly known for shopping and perhaps a guided walking tour here and there. This was the last place in Rome I expected to discover a vegan eatery of this magnitude.

Ops! Was the first vegan restaurants I tried in Rome and it remains my favorite one. Firstly you can’t beat the opening hours, they’re open virtually all day, seven days a week. This is very unusual for a vegan restaurant in the Italian capital as most of them are still testing the waters with opening hours and retail days.

Ops! is a buffet restaurant serving up an astounding amount of dishes at breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner… all one hundred percent plant based.

Ops! in Rome – by Ops! – Sourced from their Facebook

You dish up to your hearts desire and then pay per the weight of your plate. It works out to about €24 per kg of food, which is reasonable in comparison to the quality and variety on offer. The average plate of food rarely exceeds 500-600g.

If you are going to eat here during any main meal time I recommend reserving a table with them. The place gets packed — not one of Rome’s best kept secrets by any means.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday – 8:30am to 11:30pm

ADDRESS: Via Bergamo, 56, 00198 Roma RM, Italy

METRO STATION: Castro Pretorio 

100% BIO in Rome

I found 100% BIO by accident while on foot searching for a yoga studio in the area. The concept is largely the same as the restaurants I looked at before this: plants based buffet where one pays by weight.

The buffet is a lot more condensed at this eatery. The breakfast buffet is basic with pastries and fresh fruits, from there it moves into lunch which commences around midday, and dinner from around 6pm.

100% BIO in Rome – by 100% BIO – Uploaded by them

The food is tasty, and although they do offer a lot of salads, a lot of the mains are essentially gourmet vegan junk food like hamburgers, pizza and sandwiches.

They have lovely outdoor seating with shade overhead.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Monday to Wednesday – 7:30am to 9pm

ADDRESS: Piazza di Porta S. Paolo, 6/a, 00153 Roma RM, Italy

METRO STATION: Piramide

Il Margutta in Rome

The owners of Il Margutta saw a need for a plant based take on traditional Roman foods, and so this restaurant in the city center was born.

It’s an up market eatery; there is carefully consideration put into the plating of every dish, particularly around dinner service.

Il Margutta – by Il Margutta – Uploaded by them

This is a vegetarian restaurant, which means the menu makes use of cheese to some degree. There are, however, extensive vegan options and almost all of the vegetarian mains can be made vegan upon request.

There is a daily lunch buffet special that gets you a soup, salad, main, dessert and water for just €15. This is only available from 12:30pm to 2pm.  On Saturdays at the same time they do an “all you can eat” buffet for €25 per person.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION:

Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday – 9:30am to 11:30pm

ADDRESS: Via Margutta, 118, 00187 Roma RM, Italy

METRO STATION: Spagna

So What?!? in Rome

If you find yourself exploring the Pigneto neighborhood while in Rome, you might struggle to eat as a vegan. The movement is scarce down in this part of the city, but one restaurant has stepped in to save the day.

So What?!? is both the thought process of every vegan when asked how/why they decided to give up bacon, and the name of this vegan eatery.

The restaurant has basically taken all traditional Italian dishes and turned them into plant-based renditions. They’ve chosen to stick to the pasta side of Italian dining, leaving pizza off of the menu this time.

So What?!? in Rome – by So What?!? – Uploaded by them

What gets me at So What?!? is the incredible affordability of the meals. Mains cost no more than €8 each, and one can easily enjoy a starter, main, dessert and drink for under €15. 

You’ll want to keep space for dessert, because So What?!? has perfected a vegan Tiramisu recipe. Mascarpone cheese is one of the most difficult ingredients to make using just plants, so this is a huge feat.

So What?!? are also environmentally conscious through to their operation. They have almost eliminated the use of single-use-plastic in their establishment and make use of glass wherever necessary.

This spot is well worth your support while in Rome!

PRACTICAL INFORMATION:

Opening Hours: Wednesday to Monday – 7:30pm to 11:30pm

ADDRESS: Via Ettore Giovenale, 56, 00176 Roma RM, Italy

METRO STATION: Pigneto

La Sciuscella in Rome

Portuense is the district that boarders the lower end of the Trastevere. I quite like it down here because it’s less of a tourist trap; an area still frequented by the Roman locals.

La Sciuscella showed me that a lot more Italians are adopting vegan diets than I originally thought. This is a “vegan taverna”, that, like the afore mentioned restaurant, have adapted a traditional Italian menu to be mostly plant-based.

I say mostly, because la Sciuscella acknowledges that some people might be slowly transitioning with their foods. Because of the addictive side-effect of the casein proteins found in milk, many struggle to give up cheese early on in their attempt to eat vegan.

La Sciuscella in Rome – by La Sciuscella – Uploaded by them

The menu at la Scuiscella is suitable and adjustable depending on where one is at with their plant-based diet. Some of the dishes have a cheese element, and others don’t.

It’s a wonderful spot for the whole family. One can get a starter, a main and a drink for just €13. Dessert is extra; you won’t mind once the fig cheesecake is in your mouth. 

PRACTICAL INFORMATION:

Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday – 12:30pm to 3pm // 7:30pm to 10:30pm

ADDRESS: Via Gerolamo Cardano, 105, 00146 Roma RM, Italy

METRO STATION: Garbatella

Grezzo in Rome

Grezzo came to me one day out of the absolute blue. A friend of mine had flown into Rome for a 24-hour getaway, and so naturally we spent the entire day walking the streets seeing as much as possible in a very short amount of time.

By 4pm we were spent, and found ourselves somewhere in the Monti district craving chocolate. I insisted the chances of us finding chocolaty, vegan desserts at this hour, in this neighborhood were slim to none.

Wandering for a while longer, we spotted a dessert fridge in the distance, standing in the window of a small store that looked like a bakery. To our absolute delight, the labels of every single baked treat in the fridge and window display proclaimed to be absolutely free of milk and eggs.

Grezzo in Rome – by Grezzo – Uploaded by them

Grezzo is an anomaly. The tarts, cakes, ice cream, chocolates, raw cheesecake and brownies that they manage to create using only raw ingredients is astounding.

So over the moon with our discovery, my friend and I ordered our first round of goods. One of which was a giant chocolate ball frozen with some sort of hazelnut filled center.

By the end of our three plates we weren’t ready to leave. We both stated what our favorite item had been, and got one more of each. These were said frozen hazelnut ball and the raspberry cheesecake.

I would pay a monthly subscription for Grezzo to deliver weekly to my house, if I could. Do not miss this spot!

PRACTICAL INFORMATION:

Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday – 11am to 11pm

ADDRESS: Via Urbana, 130, 00184 Roma RM, Italy

METRO STATION: Colosseo

Bakeries

Radagast in Rome

No need to miss out on Italian baked goods while in Rome either. Radagast is a traditional bakery that went completely plant based a few years ago. They have since seemingly perfected all Italian baking recipes without the use of any animal products at all.

The bakery is situated in the far eastern suburbs of Rome, quite a journey from the city center. Oddly enough, this is the same neighborhood in which one finds some of the best vegan burgers in Rome as well.

Radagast in Rome – by Radagast – Uploaded by them

They have everything you’d usually find in a well equipped Italian bakery: cheese cakes, tarts, sandwiches, brownies, cinnamon rolls…

Sit down dining is available if you’d like a tea or coffee to go with your treat. Specialty cakes or tarts can be ordered by request.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday – Various Times

ADDRESS: Via Teano, 309, 00177 Roma RM, Italy

METRO STATION: Teano

Wani in Rome

Wani is a mission to get to just for vegan baked goods, especially if you are going to be staying in the city center. 

It’s far down south, even past Pigneto and Ostiense, in a very small suburban neighborhood.

Wani caught my attention because a fellow plant-eating friend directed me to their exceptional vegan croissants; something relatively unheard of in cities outside of France.

Wani in Rome – by Wani – Uploaded by them

Wani does more than just great vegan croissants. Every day they prepare hundreds of cakes, tarts, biscuits, pies, donuts and even vegan ice cream.

Another spot that makes environmentally conscious effort with their packaging; everything from Wani is biodegradable.

Oh, they also do vegan Nutella…

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday – 8:30am to 8pm

ADDRESS: Via Gabriello Chiabrera, 162b, 00145 Roma RM, Italy

METRO STATION: Marconi

Grocery Stores

iVegan in Rome

Solely vegan grocery stores have become a new trend in Europe. They pose as a retail space where plant based shoppers can walk in and shop freely, never having to check a label twice to confirm the ingredients used in production.

These stores stick fresh produce, cold store items, tinned foods, beauty products, Earth friendly home cleaning supplies, dog foods, readymade meals, baked goods… you name it.

iVegan in Rome – by iVegan – Uploaded by them

At present Rome has just one vegan food market. It’s called iVegan and it is situated right outside of the Vatican City; you can enjoy a guided walking tour and do your vegan shopping simultaneously.

The supermarket has a small cafe inside of it, so you can eat here as well as shop. It’s a communal initiative and it’s safe to say there will be more and more branches popping up around Rome as its popularity continues to grow.

If you’ll be staying in an Airbnb or private apartment while in Rome, then you’ll want to keep this spot in mind in which to do your grocery shopping. Regular Roman supermarkets will have fresh fruit and veg, but their everyday dry-store products (pasta, breads) will almost always contain egg and milk. You must remember you are in Italy!

At the moment iVegan don’t open at all on Sundays.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

OPENING HOURS: Monday TO Saturday –  10am to 8pm

ADDRESS: Via Angelo Emo, 125, 00136 Roma RM, Italy

METRO STATION: Cipro