Carbonara, amatriciana and gricia, the three pastas Rome is proudest of, all start with guanciale (cured pork cheek), so the city’s vegan cooks have spent years perfecting a smoky plant-based version. The rest of the Roman table is already on your side: carciofi alla romana (artichokes braised with garlic and mint), cicoria ripassata (chicory sautéed with chilli) and pizza bianca (olive-oil flatbread) come vegan without anyone trying.
I would split a Rome trip between pasta, gelato and pastry, and this list covers all three, from a pasta kitchen by Termini station to a pastry lab in Ostiense. The rest of the cities live on the destinations page.
Vegan Rome at a Glance
- Roman pasta classics near Termini: Rifugio Romano
- Dark chocolate gelato: Grezzo Raw Chocolate
- Pizza with omnivore friends: Origano Campo de’ Fiori
- All-day meals in the centre: Buddy
- Weekend brunch buffet: Il Margutta
- A special-occasion tasting menu: Vrindaa
- Vegan cheese to take home: Fermaggio
- A quick burger near the Vatican: Flower Burger
- Maritozzi and pastry: Julietta Pastry and Lab
Best Vegan Restaurants in Rome
1. Rifugio Romano: Roman Pasta Classics Near Termini Vegan
The carbonara is the order here, made with a smoky plant-based bacon that recent diners call full of flavour, and the cacio e pepe (pecorino and black pepper pasta) and gricia get the same praise. Portions are generous, and the tiramisu (coffee-soaked sponge layered with sweet cream) keeps getting called exquisite, so leave room for it.
Beyond pasta, there are breaded seitan scaloppine, vegan sausages and a plant-based pollo alla cacciatora (hunter-style stew), plus pizza, with the spicy Diavola getting a lot of love. The whole menu is vegan, the gluten-free options get good marks, and omnivore friends tend to leave happy. It sits a few minutes on foot from Termini station.
💡 Tip: The restaurant is small and fills up fast, so book ahead. It is closed on Mondays and open 11AM to 11PM the rest of the week, which makes it an easy first dinner after a late train.
📍 Via Volturno 39/41, 00185 Rome | Esquilino | ☎️ +39 06 488 0945 | 🌐 rifugioromano.com | 📸 @rifugioromano
2. Grezzo Raw Chocolate: Silky Chocolate Gelato in Monti Vegan
The dark chocolate gelato gets the loudest praise, described in recent reviews as deep, dark and silky, and the gianduia (chocolate and hazelnut), pistachio and salted caramel scoops follow close behind. Everything is raw, gluten-free and made without dairy or refined sugar, and the flavours still land rich, fresh and strong. Get two scoops, because one will not be enough.
In cooler months, order the hot chocolate with whipped cream, and pick up a few salted caramel bombs or a chocolate bar for the train home. Grezzo has three shops: Via Urbana in Monti, Piazza Mattei in the old Jewish Ghetto and Piazza Euclide in Parioli. The Monti shop is the prettiest stop, an easy walk from the Colosseum.
💡 Tip: The Via Urbana shop opens at 12PM daily and closes at 8PM from Sunday to Thursday, staying open until 11PM on Fridays and Saturdays for a late scoop.
📍 Via Urbana 130, 00184 Rome | Monti | ☎️ +39 06 483443 | 🌐 grezzorawchocolate.com | 📸 @grezzorawchocolate
3. Origano Campo de’ Fiori: Wood-Fired Pizza by the Market Square
Order a pizza from the wood oven, and if the white pizza with pesto, vegan mozzarella and pine nuts is on, grab it, because a recent diner called it excellent. The vegan carbonara and vegan supplì (fried rice balls with a molten centre) follow, and one reviewer called the meal some of the best vegan food of their life.
Origano is a traditional Roman restaurant that also serves meat and fish, with a full vegan menu of antipasti, pasta, pizza and desserts prepared separately. That makes it a good table for mixed groups, a minute from Campo de’ Fiori, the square with a market every morning except Sunday. For more dough, see the best vegan pizza in Rome.
💡 Tip: Origano is open every day from 10AM to 10:45PM without a break, and it gets busy, so book for dinner. The kitchen cannot guarantee the vegan dishes are free from traces of animal ingredients.
📍 Largo dei Chiavari 83/84, 00186 Rome | Centro Storico | ☎️ +39 06 6880 8074 | 🌐 origanocampodefiori.com | 📸 @origano.campodefiori
4. Buddy: All-Day Roman Comfort Food Near Piazza Navona Vegan
Recent diners rave about the cacio e pepe, cooked al dente with a savoury vegan cheese, and the pasta with vegan sausage, praised for its taste and texture. The carbonara gets called properly authentic, and the tiramisu, including an Oreo version, is the dessert people keep mentioning. Pinsa (a light, oval Roman flatbread) topped amatriciana-style is another good order.
Breakfast brings bruschetta with scrambled tofu or avocado, and later there are Buddha bowls and Beyond burgers for anyone who needs a break from pasta. Buddy is fully vegan and sits on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, a short walk from both Piazza Navona and Campo de’ Fiori, so it slots neatly between sights. Service is friendly, though waits can stretch.
💡 Tip: Buddy opens at 10AM on weekdays and 9AM on weekends and stays open until 11PM every day, so it works for a late lunch when every other kitchen in the centre has closed.
📍 Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 107A, 00186 Rome | Centro Storico | ☎️ +39 06 8772 8433 | 🌐 buddyroma.com | 📸 @buddyroma
5. Il Margutta: Vegetarian Cooking and Art off Piazza del Popolo Vegetarian
The vegan pesto pasta draws the warmest praise from recent diners, who describe amazing flavours and careful presentation, and the seasonal menu leans on vegetables from the restaurant’s own garden. On Saturdays and Sundays the brunch buffet lays out hot dishes, pastas, vegetables and desserts, with vegan and vegetarian recipes side by side, and it is the reason most people book.
Il Margutta has served vegetarian food on Via Margutta, the old artists’ street between Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps, since 1979, and the dining room doubles as a gallery with rotating exhibitions. Dairy and eggs appear on the menu, so ask staff to point out the vegan dishes, especially at the buffet. Some diners find the fried dishes heavy.
💡 Tip: Weekday lunch has a set menu for €16, a proper bargain this close to the Spanish Steps. Weekend brunch runs from 12:30PM to 4PM, so book ahead for Sundays.
📍 Via Margutta 118, 00187 Rome | Tridente | ☎️ +39 06 3265 0577 | 🌐 ilmargutta.bio | 📸 @ilmargutta
6. Vrindaa: Vegan Fine Dining on Via Salaria Vegan
Recent diners talk about extraordinary flavours and textures, singling out the blueberry pasta and the risotto, and finishing with La neve sulla montagna (snow on the mountain), a vegan flan with cashew cream and mango. Several reviewers compare the meal to Michelin-level dining, praising inventive, delicious combinations and plating worthy of a master chef.
You can order à la carte or go for the tasting menu of around six courses. The cooking follows Ayurvedic satvik principles (a yogic diet that avoids pungent, stimulating foods), so there is no onion, garlic or mushroom, and most of the produce comes from the restaurant’s own farm. Prices sit firmly in special-occasion territory, and a few diners question the value.
💡 Tip: Vrindaa is small, so book well ahead, especially for weekend dinners, and ring before you go if you want lunch, because service times vary by day.
📍 Via Salaria 203, 00198 Rome | Salario | ☎️ +39 06 8693 2756 | 🌐 vrindaa.it | 📸 @vrindaa.it
7. Fermaggio: Handmade Vegan Cheeses in Salario Vegan
Order a cheese plate and taste your way through the range: recent visitors praise the peppered, herbed and smoked cheeses, and one named the black garlic cheese a favourite. The sandwiches, built on fresh ingredients, get called great, and the house ravioli and Mezzarè pizza use the same cheeses. The vegan blue goes its own way, so taste it fresh.
Fermaggio makes its cheeses at its own lab in Cave, a town outside Rome, and the Via Bergamo bistro doubles as a shop, so you can take home the Blue, the bloomy-rind Pri or the smoked Affumicata for an apartment aperitivo (the early-evening drink and snack ritual). I would build a picnic from this counter before a day in Villa Borghese.
💡 Tip: Fermaggio is closed on Mondays. It opens from 10AM to 8PM Tuesday to Saturday and from 10AM to 4PM on Sundays.
📍 Via Bergamo 27/29, 00198 Rome | Salario | ☎️ +39 06 4007 9137 | 🌐 fermaggio.it | 📸 @fermaggio
8. Flower Burger: Colourful Vegan Burgers Near the Vatican Vegan
Order the Spicy Burger or the house Flower Burger, both served in brightly coloured buns, and add the cheesy fries, which get called genuinely good. The burgers are more patty than tower, the prices stay friendly, and your food arrives in a wooden crate when the buzzer goes off, so think of it as a fun, quick lunch between Vatican queues.
Flower Burger is an all-vegan Italian burger chain, and the Via dei Gracchi branch sits in Prati, a short walk from St Peter’s and the Vatican Museums. Ordering is by QR code and you clear your own table, which keeps things moving. A second Rome branch on Via Alessandria, near Porta Pia, covers the north-east of the centre.
💡 Tip: The Prati branch closes between services, serving from 12PM to 3PM and again from 7PM, until 10PM most nights and 10:30PM on Fridays and Saturdays.
📍 Via dei Gracchi 87, 00192 Rome | Prati | ☎️ +39 06 540 4267 | 🌐 flowerburger.it | 📸 @flower_burger
9. Julietta Pastry and Lab: Maritozzi and French Pastry in Ostiense Vegan
Start with a maritozzo (a soft Roman bun split and stuffed with whipped cream), then try a New York roll or one of the glossy single-portion cakes. Recent reviewers say the pastries melted in their mouths and tasted incredible, though a few found the cream fillings very sweet and rich, so share one if you are not a big sugar person.
There are savoury options too, from mini quiches to club sandwiches, plus kombucha and organic juices. Julietta is entirely plant-based, with no milk, eggs, butter or honey, and the lab makes its own cheeses, tofu, seitan and tempeh, sold with granola and jams. Seating is a handful of stools, so plan on takeaway and a walk past Ostiense’s street art.
💡 Tip: Julietta is closed on Mondays and opens from 8:30AM on weekdays. Garbatella station on Metro Line B is the closest stop, so pair it with a wander through Ostiense.
📍 Via Francesco Negri 25/27, 00154 Rome | Ostiense | ☎️ +39 06 6928 0419 | 🌐 juliettapastryandlab.it | 📸 @juliettapastryandlab
Rome’s Nasoni: Free Cold Water on Every Corner
Rome has more than 3,000 public drinking fountains, and the cast-iron ones called nasoni (big noses, after their curved spouts) have been pouring since 1874. The water is the same cold, clean supply Romans drink at home, so carry a bottle and refill it all day for free, even in the middle of August.
To drink like a Roman, block the end of the spout with a finger and the water shoots up through a small hole on top, straight to your mouth. More than 200 stand in the historic centre alone, and the Acquea app from Acea, the city water company, maps the nearest one.
Vegan Rome: What to Know Before You Go
- Pecorino lands on most Roman pasta by default, so ask for dishes “senza formaggio” (without cheese), and remember that carbonara, amatriciana and gricia are built on guanciale.
- Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino (garlic, olive oil and chilli) is vegan on almost every trattoria menu, and dried pasta in Italy is usually made without egg.
- Bakeries sell pizza bianca and pizza rossa (tomato-topped flatbread) by weight, the cheapest vegan snack in the city.
- Gelaterie (gelato shops) almost always have sorbetto (dairy-free fruit sorbet), but ask about chocolate sorbetto, because some recipes use milk.
- Many restaurants add a coperto (cover charge) of a couple of euros per person for bread and service, and it is printed on the menu.
- Many kitchens close one day a week, often Monday, so check opening days before crossing town.
When to Visit Rome
April to June and late September to October bring warm days that suit long lunches outside, and carciofi alla romana are at their best from February to April. July and August are hot, and around Ferragosto (the 15 August holiday) many family-run restaurants close for a week or two, so check before you go.
Winter is mild and quieter, with shorter queues at the Vatican and the Colosseum, and it is the best season for Grezzo’s hot chocolate and a warm maritozzo from Julietta.
Vegan Rome FAQ
Is Rome good for vegans?
Yes. Rome has fully vegan restaurants such as Rifugio Romano, Buddy and Vrindaa, and many traditional dishes like carciofi alla romana and pizza bianca are already plant-based.
Where can I eat vegan carbonara in Rome?
Try Rifugio Romano near Termini, Buddy near Piazza Navona or Origano Campo de’ Fiori, which serves a separate vegan menu alongside meat dishes.
Where is the best vegan gelato in Rome?
Head to Grezzo Raw Chocolate for raw, dairy-free gelato. The dark chocolate and gianduia (chocolate and hazelnut) flavours are the ones people rave about.
Is there vegan fine dining in Rome?
Yes. Vrindaa on Via Salaria serves a fully vegan tasting menu of around six courses, cooked without onion, garlic or mushroom. Book well ahead.
Where can I find vegan pastries in Rome?
Go to Julietta Pastry and Lab in Ostiense for maritozzi, New York rolls and single-portion cakes, all made without milk, eggs, butter or honey.
Where can I buy vegan cheese in Rome?
Fermaggio on Via Bergamo makes its own aged and smoked vegan cheeses, sold in its shop and served at its bistro. It is closed on Mondays.
Which vegan places are near the Vatican?
Flower Burger on Via dei Gracchi in Prati is a short walk from St Peter’s and the Vatican Museums, for a quick vegan burger between sights.