Milan Vegan Eats
June 2nd, 2024 | 3 minutes to read
I used to think the south of Europe has a lot of vegan options, due to warmer climates and possible available fruits and vegetables. I was somehow wrong. This was the second time I traveled to Italy and I have to admit I am somehow disappointed at what's offered to a vegan traveler.
There are indeed quite some vegan restaurants and cafes around in town in Milan, but they tend to be limited. Most of the venues offer ready-made food, where you can simply point and order from the counter. The food then is re-heated and served, surprisingly, on a disposable plate most of the time. We seldom have a chance to eat freshly prepared food with fresh salads and tasty dressings, for instance. Everything seems to be cooked here and the overall taste is bland and not very flavorful. Also, water is sold as bottles and not freely available as we are used to in Stockholm.
Milan - Radicetonda
A dedicated vegan cafe/restaurant that offers organic plant-based food. We only tried the cafe near the Porta Venezia. The portion tends to be a little small, but you can always eat a full dessert to finish the meal. I guess I am allowed a bit extra calories if I walk all day long.
- Website: https://www.radicetonda.it/home-en
Milan - Alhambra Gastronomia Naturale
A vegan restaurant that offers easy take-away food. You can also sit inside or outside along the street. A meal usually goes with a piece of bread and hummus, then you can choose whatever you want and pay by the weight. They seem to only serve one dessert, which is the famous Tiramisu. In my opinion the flavor could have been stronger, and should have slightly more crumbles layers than the cream. The cream is a bit overwhelming.
Milan - Flower Burger
Flower Burger has unique and color burger buns and hand-crafted layers. They are available in many joints around Milan but we only had time to try one of them. The decoration of the restaurant is very colorful and vibrant. According to their website they are available in many cities in Italy as well as in Amsterdam and Marseille. So if you are a vegan traveling around the south of Europe, you might want to check if this is available in one of the places you are going to visit.
The one we tasted are a bit dry overall, but still good enough to eat. It's interesting to sample such colorful buns after all.
Milan - Cibo Natura
I had a bit high hope for this one since it's one of the "sit-down-to-eat" places. It's located in a nice and quiet neighborhood. However, like many other places we've tried, here they have similar offerings as well, and the only difference is they don't use disposable plate.
- Website: https://cibonatura.com/
Besides those vegan restaurants or cafes, another option is to look for "poke bowl" places. They usually either offer at least one vegan bowl, or you can pick vegetables and choose your sauce. They can be more convenient if you end up in some areas which are far away from your ordinary vegan places.
Also, important to mention, within the grand Milan Central Station, we did find one tiny place catering ready-made vegan breakfast. This can be handy if you need to catch a train early and want to bring a breakfast/lunch to eat, or eat a little before you hop on the train. Keep in mind many restaurants do not serve until 12:00 pm! And for dinner, many of them do not serve until 7:00 pm or 7:30 pm!
Milan - Base V Juicery
- Address: Via Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Piazza IV Novembre, 2, 20125 Milano MI, Italy
Bergamo - Masa Pizzeria Vegetale
I would never guess that my best vegan dinning experience of this trip ended up in a small town called Bergamo near Milan. Masa Pizzeria Vegetale is a small restaurant located on a quiet street a bit outside of the main town. The pizza dough is a bit like super crispy Ciabatta, presented in Focaccia style with all the dents, then served as pizza squares with toppings. We tried three different types and they were all delicious! Even the vegan cheese chunks tasted much better than the ones we tried in our ordinary melted vegan cheeses on pizza in Stockholm. The only regret was that I didn't have more space to try more. I would have come back for more if this is located in Milan!
- Address: Via GianBattista Moroni 156/A, Bergamo, Italy 24122
Bergamo - Sweet Irene
It's a tiny vintage cafe and bakery which offers simple handmade lunches, coffee, cakes, candies and gelato. Not everything is vegan, so do read the sign. The place is very small and busily decorated with vintage shelves, pictures and tins. I think it suits the town atmosphere very well. A nice place to stop for a little snack or afternoon tea/coffee and enjoy the cute countryside charm.
- Website: https://www.sweetirene.it/
Pavia - Juice Bio Bistrot & Café
There aren't many options in Pavia and this was the only one we found which offers at least one vegan option.
- Website: https://www.juice-bistrot.it/
- Address: Via Pusterla, 9, 27100 Pavia Italy