Italy is known for its pizza, Pasta and gelato all of which contain animal products, but this doesn't mean you have to miss out by being Vegan. It does however mean that you have to be more prepared and know exactly where your available options are. The website happycow is amazing at showing you all of the vegetarian/vegan restaurants and shops in the local area, if you haven't already I'd definitely check it out.
Local food shops
Finding a local food shop close to where you are staying will let you stock up on some snacks. This just gives you peace of mind that if needed you can just reach into your bag if you feel peckish. As soon as we arrived at camping village jolly, we walked 30 minutes to the local Lidl. Whilst I was there I picked up some apples, bananas and a French stick. I had sure I had 2 fruits for each day just to make sure. The apples were huge!
Market stores
If you happen to be in the Rialto area any time between 7am-12:30 you can pick up some cheap fruit and veg from the Rialto market. This is full of fish, so if you don’t like the smell or don’t want to see the fish then I suggest avoiding this.
Also in Rialto there are about 2 little stores which sell fruit juices and a mixture of cut fruit. I had 3 wedges of fruit which were watermelon, pineapple and cantaloupe melon. This was really fresh and cool as it was kept on display in ice.
Pizzaria L’Angelo
We love Italy pasta to go
As soon as I stepped in this pasta bar and was greeted by smiley friendly staff I knew I was going to love the food. This is a takeaway pasta bar or you can opt to eat inside but you have to stand up. You get to choose your pasta, sauce and any other sides. I went with the dried fusilli and Pomodoro e basilico (tomato Sauce and basil). The dried pasta is vegan friendly however I don’t think the fresh are. This pasta was honestly incredible, the box was good quality and can clip together to keep your pasta warm when you find a lovely place to sit. We ventured off with our warm pasta and we came across a lovely place to sit. It was on the main thoroughfare so was full of gondolas and water taxies but it was a dead end so you don't have anybody walking by.
Al Vecio Canton
We left this restaurant for our last evening as the reviews told us it would be great. There are two vegan options a margarita or a mixed vegetable pizza. The mixed vegetable was lovely and the cheeses was the best I've had. It did make the base go soggy but for some reason I really liked that.
Suso Gelatoteca
This has a certificate of excellence and I can see why, we walked past several times and the queue was ever so long. I didn’t know they did vegan gelato until I looked it up online. I was so excited to try it. When I asked about vegan they gave me two choices I had the Rasbperry which has a thick layer of chocolate on the top. This was the best ice-cream/gelato I have had since going vegan. A nice touch is that you have an option to get a pot that is edible.
Gelato fancy also has vegan options, they are fruit flavours and one chocolate. I had the melon (on the left) these were both small and the portions are huge. This wasn't as good as Suso but the size made up for it.
Local food shops
Finding a local food shop close to where you are staying will let you stock up on some snacks. This just gives you peace of mind that if needed you can just reach into your bag if you feel peckish. As soon as we arrived at camping village jolly, we walked 30 minutes to the local Lidl. Whilst I was there I picked up some apples, bananas and a French stick. I had sure I had 2 fruits for each day just to make sure. The apples were huge!
Market stores
If you happen to be in the Rialto area any time between 7am-12:30 you can pick up some cheap fruit and veg from the Rialto market. This is full of fish, so if you don’t like the smell or don’t want to see the fish then I suggest avoiding this.
Also in Rialto there are about 2 little stores which sell fruit juices and a mixture of cut fruit. I had 3 wedges of fruit which were watermelon, pineapple and cantaloupe melon. This was really fresh and cool as it was kept on display in ice.
Pizzaria L’Angelo
The first meal I had was at pizzeria L’Angelo they have five vegan pizzas all of which have vegan cheese. I had the Vega which was cheese, spinach, sun dried tomatoes and olives. This was such a good pizza, the cheese was really great, but just watch out for the olives, they aren’t stoned. This was well worth the €7.50. They also have lighter options which are salads and sandwiches which again contain vegan cheese.
We love Italy pasta to go
As soon as I stepped in this pasta bar and was greeted by smiley friendly staff I knew I was going to love the food. This is a takeaway pasta bar or you can opt to eat inside but you have to stand up. You get to choose your pasta, sauce and any other sides. I went with the dried fusilli and Pomodoro e basilico (tomato Sauce and basil). The dried pasta is vegan friendly however I don’t think the fresh are. This pasta was honestly incredible, the box was good quality and can clip together to keep your pasta warm when you find a lovely place to sit. We ventured off with our warm pasta and we came across a lovely place to sit. It was on the main thoroughfare so was full of gondolas and water taxies but it was a dead end so you don't have anybody walking by.
Al Vecio Canton
We left this restaurant for our last evening as the reviews told us it would be great. There are two vegan options a margarita or a mixed vegetable pizza. The mixed vegetable was lovely and the cheeses was the best I've had. It did make the base go soggy but for some reason I really liked that.
Suso Gelatoteca
This has a certificate of excellence and I can see why, we walked past several times and the queue was ever so long. I didn’t know they did vegan gelato until I looked it up online. I was so excited to try it. When I asked about vegan they gave me two choices I had the Rasbperry which has a thick layer of chocolate on the top. This was the best ice-cream/gelato I have had since going vegan. A nice touch is that you have an option to get a pot that is edible.
Gelato fancy
Gelato fancy also has vegan options, they are fruit flavours and one chocolate. I had the melon (on the left) these were both small and the portions are huge. This wasn't as good as Suso but the size made up for it.
