The most Florentine sandwich there is, the lampredotto, is made from the fourth stomach of a cow and sold from street carts all over the city. In Florence you can eat a vegan one, built from mushrooms and lowered to you in a basket from a balcony. That is the kind of city this is for a vegan: the classics are all here, done without animals, if you know where to go.
Below are the nine places I would send a friend to, from truffle carbonara in a family-run trattoria to falafel until midnight in the Oltrarno. Five are fully vegan and four are vegetarian with long vegan menus. Every other city I cover is on the destinations page.
Vegan Florence at a Glance
- Most Florentine: the vegan lampredotto panino at Tripperia Vegana TAN8
- Best trattoria: truffle carbonara and tiramisù at Nirvana
- Best cheap eat: Santo Falafel, open until midnight every day
- Best pizza: buckwheat pizza with cashew mozzarella at Raw Vegan Firenze
- Best picnic: a lunch box from Giumella
- Best dinner out: ORA in San Lorenzo
- Best Tuscan cooking: L’OV Osteria Vegetariana, all gluten-free
- Best setting: 5 & Cinque on Piazza della Passera
- Best brunch: La Brac, a bookshop with a kitchen
Best Vegan Restaurants in Florence
1. Santo Falafel: Falafel Until Midnight in the Oltrarno Vegan
Get a falafel wrap with tahini and hummus: the falafel are crisp outside and soft and green inside, and the flatbread is light and fluffy. The bright pink beetroot hummus is the one to add, and there are bowls with spiced cauliflower and pomegranate if you want to sit down to something. Finish with the house-made baklava.
Everything is vegan, the motto is “In Hummus We Believe”, and it is fast, friendly and cheap. There is a second branch at Borgo Allegri near the Sant’Ambrogio market.
💡 Tip: Open 11:30AM to midnight every day, which makes it the late-night option in Florence. Take your wrap to Piazza Santo Spirito, a few minutes’ walk away.
📍 Via Santa Monaca 7r, 50124 Florence | Oltrarno | 📸 @santo.falafel
2. Raw Vegan Firenze: Buckwheat Pizza and Raw Bowls Vegan
Order the pizza. It comes on a gluten-free buckwheat base, raw or baked, topped with cashew mozzarella and almond cheese, and it is the thing to try here. There are poke bowls, wraps and smoothies too, and the handmade chocolates are worth taking away.
Everything is vegan, gluten-free and mostly raw, and it is a small, friendly café on Via Sant’Agostino in the Oltrarno. It works well for a mixed group with different dietary needs.
💡 Tip: Ask for the pizza baked if you want it warm. It is two minutes from Piazza Santo Spirito.
📍 Via Sant’Agostino 11r, 50125 Florence | Oltrarno | ☎️ 380 593 8793 | 📸 @rawveganfirenze
3. Giumella: A Vegan Deli and Lunch Box Vegan
Giumella is a vegan gastronomia, the Italian deli that sells ready-made dishes by the portion, and the counter changes daily with the season. Order a lunch box of whatever is on, Tuscan-inspired and freshly made, and take it down to the Arno, or eat in.
It is east of the centre on Via Lorenzo di Credi, in the Campo di Marte area, and it is where locals buy dinner on the way home.
💡 Tip: Open from 10:30AM to 8PM. Go before 1PM for the full choice at lunch.
📍 Via Lorenzo di Credi 12, 50136 Florence | Campo di Marte | 📸 @giumella_vegan
4. Nirvana: Truffle Carbonara and Tiramisù Vegan
Order the carbonara. It is creamy, with a strong hit of truffle, and it is the dish people talk about. After that, the seitan cooked in Chianti red wine, a pizza with vegan cheese, and the tiramisù or the tofu cheesecake to finish.
Nirvana is a family-run vegan trattoria on Via Il Prato, west of the station, cooking traditional Italian dishes with a few Asian touches, with Italian craft beer and Tuscan wines to go with them. There are gluten-free pastas too.
💡 Tip: Open for lunch and dinner. Book for the evening, and ask which wines are vegan, because fining agents are not listed on Italian wine lists.
📍 Via Il Prato 4/B, 50123 Florence | Il Prato | ☎️ +39 346 638 1015 | 🌐 nirvanaristorante.it | 📸 @ristorantenirvana
5. L’OV Osteria Vegetariana: Tuscan Classics, All Gluten-Free Vegetarian
The house speciality is peposo dell’Impruneta, the slow-cooked, black-pepper stew from the hills south of Florence, made here without meat. There is gnocchi, a lemon pasta, a vegan chicharrón, the Peruvian street snack, and the whole menu is gluten-free, including the bread.
It is a vegetarian osteria, so dairy is on the menu, and the vegan dishes are marked. It has moved from the Oltrarno to a new home near Ponte Rosso, north of the centre.
💡 Tip: Book ahead, because it fills. Ask which dishes are vegan when you sit down.
📍 Via Faentina 2r, Florence | Ponte Rosso | 📸 @osteriavegetariana
6. ORA: Pesto Gnocchi in San Lorenzo Vegetarian
Order the pesto gnocchi, served with a cashew cream and packed with flavour. ORA cooks organic, seasonal vegetarian food with a long vegan menu, and the plates are beautiful. It is the most polished dinner on this list, and the wine list is well chosen.
It is on Via San Zanobi in San Lorenzo, a few minutes from the Central Market, and the restaurant buzzes on a warm evening.
💡 Tip: Book for dinner. Ask which wines are vegan, because fining agents are not listed on Italian wine lists.
📍 Via San Zanobi 126r, 50129 Florence | San Lorenzo | ☎️ +39 055 463 3414 | 🌐 orafirenze.it | 📸 @ora.firenze
7. Tripperia Vegana TAN8: The Vegan Lampredotto Panino Vegan
Order the TAN8, their vegan lampredotto, Florence’s famous street sandwich rebuilt from mushrooms and served in a crusty roll. The TRÌP is the mushroom version of trippa, tripe, and the Francesin is a slow-cooked onion sandwich. Leave room for the Giandui8, a chocolate dessert with a caramel centre.
The original is a “flying kiosk”: you order, wait by the bus stop on Viale Guidoni, and they lower your sandwich down in a basket from a second-floor balcony. There is also a shop in Isolotto on the west side of the city, and everything at both is vegan.
💡 Tip: The Isolotto shop is open Tuesday to Saturday, 12PM to 3PM and 7PM to 10PM. Follow Instagram for the kiosk’s hours.
📍 Via Pisana, Isolotto, Florence | Isolotto | 🌐 tripperiavegana.it | 📸 @tanotto_official
8. 5 & Cinque: Dinner on Piazza della Passera Vegetarian
The menu changes daily, Italian with a global streak, and the vegan dishes are marked. Whatever you order, save room for the chocolate cake. The cooking is organic and seasonal, and the kitchen is small and careful.
It sits on Piazza della Passera, one of the prettiest little squares in the Oltrarno, and a table outside on a warm evening with a glass of wine is exactly why you came to Florence. It is vegetarian, so ask which dishes are vegan.
💡 Tip: Open Wednesday to Sunday. Book an outside table for the evening.
📍 Piazza della Passera 1, 50125 Florence | Oltrarno | ☎️ +39 334 742 1258 | 📸 @5ecinquefirenze
9. La Brac: Brunch in a Bookshop Vegetarian
La Brac is a bookshop with a kitchen, a few minutes from the Uffizi, and the weekend brunch is the thing to come for. The lunch menu changes every day, the dinner is more creative, and vegan dishes sit alongside the vegetarian ones.
It is vegetarian, so dairy and egg are on the menu, and the staff will point out what is vegan. Browse the art books while you wait for a table.
💡 Tip: Go for brunch on the weekend, and book for dinner.
📍 Via dei Vagellai 18r, Florence | Santa Croce | 📸 @labracfirenze
The Oltrarno, Florence’s Other Side
Cross the Ponte Vecchio or the Ponte Santa Trinita and you are in the Oltrarno, “beyond the Arno”, where the crowds thin out and the city goes back to being a neighbourhood. The streets are full of artisans’ workshops: bookbinders, framers, goldsmiths and furniture restorers working with the doors open.
Piazza Santo Spirito is the heart of it, with Brunelleschi’s plain-fronted church at one end and people drinking on the church steps until late. Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens are a few minutes away, and at sunset the climb up to Piazzale Michelangelo gives you the whole city, the Duomo and all, turning pink below you.
Vegan Florence: What to Know Before You Go
- Stay walkable. The centre is compact. Santo Falafel, Raw Vegan Firenze and 5 & Cinque are all in the Oltrarno, a few minutes apart.
- Learn three phrases: sono vegano or sono vegana, I am vegan, senza formaggio, without cheese, and senza burro, without butter.
- Watch the bread and the soups. Tuscan bread is traditionally made without salt and is usually vegan, but ribollita and pappa al pomodoro, the bread soups, are sometimes finished with cheese.
- Book dinner at Nirvana, ORA and L’OV.
- Supermarkets: Esselunga, Carrefour and Coop all carry plant milks and vegan basics, and there is a supermarket at Santa Maria Novella station.
When to Visit Florence
April, May, September and October are the best months: warm enough to eat outside, and quieter than summer. July and August are very hot and very busy, and many locals leave the city in mid-August, when some smaller restaurants close for a week or two. Winter is cold and quiet, and the museums are easier to get into.
Vegan Florence FAQ
Is Florence good for vegans?
Yes. Five of the nine places in this guide are fully vegan, including Nirvana for Italian classics and Tripperia Vegana TAN8 for a vegan lampredotto, and the vegetarian restaurants have long vegan menus.
What is the best vegan restaurant in Florence?
Nirvana, a family-run vegan trattoria. Order the truffle carbonara and the tiramisù.
Can you eat vegan lampredotto in Florence?
Yes, at Tripperia Vegana TAN8, which makes it from mushrooms. At the original kiosk they lower your sandwich down in a basket from a balcony.
Where can I eat vegan late at night in Florence?
Santo Falafel in the Oltrarno is open until midnight every day.
Is there vegan pizza in Florence?
Yes. Raw Vegan Firenze does a buckwheat pizza with cashew mozzarella, and Nirvana makes pizza with vegan cheese.
Is L’OV Osteria Vegetariana vegan?
It is vegetarian, and the whole menu is gluten-free. L’OV marks its vegan dishes, including a meat-free peposo.
Which part of Florence is best for vegan food?
The Oltrarno, south of the river, with Santo Falafel, Raw Vegan Firenze and 5 & Cinque within a few minutes of each other.