Falafel in Venice
Falafel…in Venice?!? It’s sad, I know. But what else were two budgeting vegans to do? There are no vegetarian restaurants in Venice, a city that feels more like a theme park than a place where people live. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful, if not magical, city and a great place to get lost for a day or two. There are expensive tourist restaurants where we could have found pasta with tomato sauce, pizza without cheese or a salad, but we decided against that route. Instead, we ate breakfast before commuting to Venice from Padova, and returned home for dinner.
Vegan in Venice, Italy
Gondola Ride
Visiting Venice was not really about eating the food, but about seeing the sights. And so we did….
Animal Masks
A Rainy Day in Venice
Souvenirs
Vegetable Market on the Water
Water Action
Blown Glass Figures
Laundry Time
Gondolas
Carnival Masks
Off the Beaten Track
Central Plaza
Store Window
After the photo interlude, I’m hoping you can start to see why food wasn’t top of mind.
Rosemary Focaccia
We did spot some additional vegan options. There was a Billa supermarket in the central area, which had rosemary focaccia bread made without strutto, the Italian word for pork fat. Be careful, strutto is one of those ingreidents that turns up in most bread products. Thankfully, this trend starts to fade away as you head to southern Italy.
Vegan Treats
Vegan Treats
At Billa, we also found vegan tarts, strudel and fruit bars, all clearly marked vegan with Vegan Society labels.
Valsoia Ice Cream
Valsoia Ice Cream Cones
Billa also had a selection of Valsoia ice cream, which is made with soy and vegan-friendly. We didn’t buy any while in Venice, but were excited to see it stocked.
Valsoia Pudding
Valsoia Ice Cream Sandwiches
At a small supermarket nearby, which sadly I didn’t note the name of, we saw some more Valsoia products, including ice cream sandwiches and pudding. You can find their products in supermarkets throughout Italy, meaning you’ll never have to wait long to satisfy an ice cream craving. Soy milk was also sold in this small supermarket.
Rice and Soy Gelato from Gelateria Il Doge - Credit to flickr: Aquaturquoise
Hazelnut Strawberry Soy & Vanilla Chocolate Rice - Credit to flickr: Aquaturquoise
If you’re looking for just one or two scoops of vegan gelato while in Venice, you can head over to Gelateria Il Doge, which has soy and rice milk options. Somehow, we missed out on this. Thanks to Arine who let us use photos from her flickr account Aquaturquoise.
Gelateria Il Doge
49 Campo Santa Margherita
Venice, Italy
Tel: +39 041-523-4607
Fruit Cups
If you’re looking for a healthy snack, you can find fresh fruit cups sold on the streets.
Coconut
You’ll also have no problem finding fresh fruit from street vendors or in supermarkets. Billa had some coconut, cracked and ready to eat.
Billa
www.billa.it/
Sestiere Dorsoduro, 1491
Venice, Italy
Tel: 041-241-8820
Pizza Kabab
If you want to find the place where we ate falafel, it’s called Pizza Kabab. The large falafel cost €5.00 Euros ($7.03 USD) and was big enough to share.
Pizza Kabab
Dorsoduro, 34990/B
Venice, Italy
Tel: 041-275-9501
Have you been to Venice, Italy? Did you find any vegan food we missed?
9 Comments »
Oh, I love Venice– and would be thrilled to eat a Falafel there!(haha… I’m a simple kinda gal) When we were there, I am pretty sure my husband and I subsisted solely on the fresh coconut from those little carts! Beautiful photos!!
I was just reminiscing about my time in Venice today. What a gorgeous, classical city. I ate falafel in Germany, but none in Italy!
I see what you mean about food playing second fiddle in Venice. What gorgeous sights to see!
I really want ice cream now, though.
Just returned from Venice a few days ago and had absolutely abysmal luck with food — including one dinner that was easily the worst meal I’ve ever shelled out money for — but did find one bright spot: Gam Gam, a kosher restaurant in the Jewish ghetto. Not necessarily a budget meal, but not extravagant, either. Absolutely phenomenal food and a wide range of vegan options, including stellar falafel. ;) Great service and fun atmosphere, too.
@Cassie – Thanks for letting me know about Gam Gam. I have a friend who visited Venice a few years ago and ate there. She gave a good review too. Definitely a good vegan option.
That hazelnut strawberry soy stuff looks delectable!!
That is the fantastic bunch of information really very appreciable job.I love Venice and would be to eat a Falafel there.I tried the “Falafel Valley”,which is described as falafel and fixin’s in a pita pocket.
This is all fantastic… I would love to celebrate my birthday in Venice this Summer, but I don’t want the experience to be ruined by not being able to eat very much… :s and I especially don’t want to miss out on famous Italian ice cream! :D I’m looking forward to finding and trying vegan gelato. :)
I was in Venice in May, and ate falafel at Gam Gam. We also had really bad cheeseless pizza.
However, we stumbled upon a relatively new place, Tearoom Caffe Orientale. It is a cute tearoom with mostly vegan fare — simple dishes such as spelt salad, cous cous with veggies, and tomato soup. The baked goods are not vegan, however. We chatted with the owner and she said she could veganize her cakes (all homemade) and carry soy milk if there was a demand.
We added the listing and a review for the Caffe Orientale on HappyCow.net. Besides the food being delicious, there are lovely paintings of animals decorating the walls (see the photos on Happy Cow). Plus it is open from noon to 9pm, so you could go there for lunch or dinner.
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