Turin, a charming city in the north of Italy, is a vegan-friendly place with some lovely vegan and vegetarian restaurants.
Turin (Torino in Italian) is a great destination to visit for vegans and vegetarians.
I wrote this vegan Turin guide after spending about a month in the city and exploring many of its vegan and vegetarian restaurants.
Italian cuisine is generally easy to veganise, but you won’t even have to go to meat-serving restaurants and ask them to veganise anything, because there are more than enough meat-free, plant-based restaurants in Turin.
Table of contents
Flower Burger – vegan burgers in Turin
A lovely place in a central location. This is a healthy fast food restaurant, famous for its colourful burger buns, including a black one and a pink one.
The menu on the wall is in Italian, so ask for the English menu at the counter.
The vegan burgers are delicious. My favourite was the spicy one in the yellow bun, and I also enjoyed the seitan burger in the black bun.
There’s plenty of space in the restaurant, including a second floor and some outdoor seating.
Flower Burger is part of a chain that has more restaurants in other cities around Italy, including Milan, Rome, Bergamo, Palermo and others, plus one more restaurant in Rotterdam in The Netherlands.
Ratatouille – vegan restaurant and bakery
A great vegan restaurant in a roomy space close to the river, with natural light, cool decor and outdoor seating.
As you enter you are met by a huge selection of cakes, biscuits and pastries, all 100% vegan.
The bakery and the restaurant share the same space. The food menu has lovely Italian plant based dishes and there’s a lot to choose from.
There’s no English menu, unfortunately. The waitress helped me out a bit, but obviously couldn’t translate the entire menu for me, so I used Google Translate.
When you visit Italy, it’s a good idea to download the Italian dictionary on your Google Translate app, so you can use it offline when there’s no WiFi.
I went for the menu of the day, a lunch deal that includes four dishes of your choice. It’s a lot of food, so go there when you’re really hungry if you want to pick this lunch deal 😉 Everything was fresh and delicious.
By the exit, after you go past all the marvellous vegan cakes again (and perhaps buy some for later). there’s a fridge full of vegan cheese, tofu and lots of other vegan products, so it’s a good place to stock up on these.
Selezione Naturale – vegetarian food and fresh juice
Close to the city centre on a quiet street, this cute vegetarian (almost vegan) restaurant has a really easy going vibe.
They have a menu in English, if you don’t see it on the counter, ask for it.
The menu includes original plant based dishes, almost all of which are vegan. The ones that are vegetarian rather than vegan are marked on the menu, as are gluten free options.
They offer appetizers, main courses, salads and specialty dishes, plus freshly squeezed juice and vegan desserts.
L’orto Cafe – lovely vegan cafe in Turin
This is a great place to go for a vegan lunch in Turin. It’s a popular vegan cafe in a central location, about 10 minutes walk from Piazza Castello.
The cafe is warm and inviting. Order your food from the deli: everything is vegan with some Italian delicacies.
The service was very friendly. I met the owner, who was very kind and described the dishes to me in English. .
I had some salad and lovely savoury pastries (they also have sweet pastries at the counter).
La Gastronomia Veg – Turin vegan food and health store
A lovely place for tasty home made food.
There’s a large selection of vegan dishes at the counter. Choose what you like and pay by weight. You can eat in or take out.
I had a quinoa dish, beetroot salad, wild rice and a great vegan pie.
Everything was well prepared and the service was friendly (we managed to overcome the language barrier…)
There’s a wholefood store inside the restaurant selling vegan products, including different types of tofu in the fridge and lots of plant based milks.
Extra tips for vegans in Turin
Pay attention to opening hours of restaurants in tTurin
Some restaurants are open only for lunch and dinner, so they would typically close around 2:30 or 3 pm and open again in the evening, around 7 or 7:30 pm. Other places may be open all day.
You’ll encounter this all over Italy. It’s called “riposo“, similar to the siesta in Spain, and it doesn’t apply just to restaurants but to other businesses too.
So be sure to double check the opening hours of the restaurants you choose to go to.
Coperto, service charge and tipping in Turin
Many restaurants have a cover charge called “coperto“. It’s a small amount per person that will be added to your bill. It’s not a hidden fee – it will appear on the menu.
If the restaurant has a service charge, it will also be listed on the menu, though not all restaurants add a service charge.
Tipping a percentage of the bill isn’t common in Italy and if you do tip it might even seem a bit strange.
Accidentally vegan Italian biscuits
Taralli are savoury biscuits that you can easily find at any supermarket or small shop in Turin (and other places in Italy). They are crunchy, come in different flavours and make the perfect vegan snack.
Non-dairy products are easy to find in Italy
Valsoia is an Italian brand that makes a great range of vegan products.
I first got to know them when I looked for vegan ice cream and found that they have soy based ice cream, but also vegan yogurt, vegan pizza, vegan chocolate spread, vegan lasagne, soy and almond milk, and lots more.
You can find their products in ordinary supermarkets around Italy. It will definitely make your visit to Italy so much more convenient.
Valsoia products are sold outside of Italy as well, e.g. on Ocado.
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2 Comments
Hi! I’m really enjoying the content on your site. It’s well-organized and informative. I’ll surely visit again!
What a great list of vegan and vegetarian options in Turin, Italy. I love eating vegetarian burgers and haven’t tried a seitan one before. Sounds intriguing!