Ciao! I’m so glad you’re back for today’s post. Just to notify you, this is the second post of my Rome Travel Diaries. If you missed part one, simply click here. if you already read the previous post, hello there! I suggest you grab a yummy snack before reading this post because I’m sure after seeing all the pictures below, you will be hungry 🙂

Oh,  Rome… I will just say this: Italians take their food seriously and they definitely know what they are doing. The food in Rome in almost all the places I’ve been to was absolutely delicious! They make the best pizza, pasta and ice cream. During my vacay in Italy I decided to live like an Italian, and take my food seriously too. I also found the best restaurant ever, and today I’m going to share with you all the lovely spots I found in the magical city.

Vegan Croissants for breakfast at Gatsby Café 

This cool place was very close to the Hotel I stayed in, so I just came in to ask for something to drink but I was beyond surprised to discover how vegan-friendly it is! They, of course, offer soy milk (like any other place in Rome) and have some vegan dishes on their menu, but for me, the most amazing surprise was the vegan croissants they carry. Oh, mama mia, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw not one, but two vegan croissants. I was so happy, that I just ordered them both and I’m so glad I did. They were warm and delicious, and there is nothing better than starting a day in Rome with a nice, warm croissant- yay! Also, the restaurant has such a cool interior design. Their logo and the whole theme is all about hats. Keep your head up when entering this place to see hats hanging from the ceiling:) how nice.

You can find all the info about this place right here.

Ma Va’? Vegan restaurant

This lovely vegan restaurant feels like entering someone’s home, in a good way. The staff there is lovely and the food is absolutely delicious. I ate Pasta with Garlic oil and chili which was nice (and HOT),  Mediterranean pasta with tomato which was very good, but the most amazing dish was the lasagna. Do not miss it 🙂

You can find all the info about this place right here.

Ice cream stop

When in Rome… it’s a must: eat some ice cream!

“Gelato” Homemade Ice Cream

This Gelato has a nice selection of yummy vegan gelato and it’s located very close to Trevi Fountain. The staff is absolutely incredible, and the ice-cream was very delicious. I highly recommend the Dark chocolate, Lemon and coconut flavors.

Address: Gelato, Via del Lavatore, 54 Roma

Gelarmony

I found this place accidentally, like all the other places I’ve been to, really. This lovely gelato has a very nice separate selection of vegan ice cream and I highly recommend the Vanilla and Almond flavors. so yummy!

You can find all the info about this place right here.

iVegan – Vegan supermarket & Restaurant

WOW! a whole vegan supermarket in the city of Rome, what a lovely surprise. This lovely supermarket offers all the things vegan- from food, snacks, candies and pet food to makeup, cosmetics and even their own version to vegan Nutella (which was so good! don’t forget to buy it) they also have a nice, tiny restaurant that offers burgers, toasts, wraps and hot dogs- all vegan and delicious! I tried all of their burgers and I highly recommend the Mexican one and Classic one.

You can find all the info about this place right here.

Venchi Chocolate Store

In Venchi you will find luxurious, high-quality chocolates. Yes, they are more expensive but I absolutely love their vegan options. I’m a huge fan of their extra dark chocolates (most of them are vegan, but you need to check their website. I highly recommend the 60%, 75% and 85% pick&mix extra dark chocolates, they were amazing! I recommend checking out the store near Trevi Fountain- there is a chocolate waterfall there and it’s so cool. By the way, If you came just for chocolate, you don’t need to wait in the long line to pay for it, but in the line to pay for the chocolates- it’s way shorter most of the time. Ahh, I wish I had my chocolate bag with me there, I’d just fill it up with all the vegan chocolates!

You can find more info about this place right here.

AND….. I kept the best spot for the end.

Best Vegan-Friendly Resturant in Rome

Rifugio Romano

Rifugio Romano became my second home when I was in Rome and I can hardly explain how much I love it. This lovely restaurant is a family business located very close to Termini. Benedetto, the father, is making all the pizzas together with other chefs who are responsible for the long menu. His wife, Rosana, and their children: Fabiola, Valentina, and Christiano running the restaurant in every aspect and field possible, together with lovely waitresses. This restaurant is running for over 30 years now, offering a 6-page-long vegan menu and every single one of the dishes I ate there was absolutely delicious, no exceptions.

In the restaurant, I got to meet almost all of them, but I really had the chance to chat with sisters Fabiola and Valentina. Fabiola is such a stunning, strong woman with a kind heart. She is so motivated, dedicated and working hard with passion and love and it really shows. Her amazing sister, Valentina, became vegan a few years back and made Fabiola and her mother become vegan too. After becoming vegan, they decided to prove that it’s so easy and delicious to be vegan- that’s why the vegan menu is so long and a lot of non-vegan order dishes from it, simply because the food is absolutely delicious. After chatting for a while it turned out Valentina is a blogger too, and her successful food blog, Vegan a Roma, is all about the most delicious vegan food in Roma. Another person, that became an actual friend (and we keep in touch!) is the sweetest, kindest waitress there- Marco. He was just so nice and had so much passion for what he’ was doing- if you see him, Say hello to him from me.

And now, the food…

I ate a lot. And all my favorite food in Rome literally was in this restaurant; that’s why I came back three times. If you come for one visit, I highly recommend you to try out Pizza Matta (ordered it twice!), Pizza Bomba and the lasagna, and for dessert.. well, I got a bit crazy with the number of desserts I ordered there and eventually tried the whole vegan dessert menu. I highly recommend the Vegan zoccolette Romane, Vegan Panacota, and vegan chocolate Pizza. This place for me is a must-visit, and you will 100% enjoy it too.

You can find all the info about this place right here. If you visit the restaurant, tell them you came thanks to my post! and NO, this is not at all sponsored, it’s pure love!

Where to stay- Sunshine rooms

Sunshine Rooms isn’t a hotel, but a hostel located very close to Vittorio Emanuele Metro station. I would rate it 7/10- it was definitely good for the price- as it is a very affordable place.

The good things:

+ THE PRICE! super affordable.

+Very close to the Metro station

+The room & bathroom were clean and nice + Great room service that cleans the room every day. There is a tiny fridge, a closet, hairdryer and a mirror in the hotel, as well as AC.

+ The owner was lovely.

+There is a local supermarket right under the hotel- very handy.

It takes about 13 minutes of walk to arrive at the Colosseum by walk, but of course, you can just take the metro 🙂

The downsides were:

+The WiFi connection wasn’t really good,

+ The mattress was not the comfiest but ok for my needs (if you are very tall – 1.80cm+ it might not be good for you)

+ The area of the hotel becomes shady at night. There are many alcoholics there.

I really hope you enjoyed this post.

Let me know in the comments which of those places or dishes you want to try out. Do you have vegan-friendly spots in Rome that you absolutely love? Let me know.

Interested in booking a hotel in Rome or any other place in the world?   I highly recommend you to book your hotel with Booking.com by clicking here

want to learn how to plan the best trip ever? >> click here

For my ultimate packing guide (+packing list) click here

Part 3>> Click here

See you soon,

xoxo,

Noa