Offers vegan food, cake, ice cream, and complimentary tea. Sample dishes might come with tofu, seitan, or hummus and falafel. Atmosphere is warm. Previously operated as and affiliated with Alhambra Mensasana but no longer. Open hours may vary - call ahead. Open Mon-Sat 12:00pm-2:30pm, Mon-Sun 7:30pm-11:30pm.
Category: Vegan, Italian, Western, Mediterranean, Fast food, Take-out
Reviews (34)
First Review by artilibere
Contributions +30
Everything here is perfect - Edit
All the food choices that i tried out were super delicious especially the lasagna made me speechless when i first ate it! Even the bread served together is very good. All of the staffs are very kind!
Pros: Diverse food choices, Great staff, Taste
Contributions +30
winner - Edit
Loved the food! I especially enjoyed the seitan and the lasagne. Had a good German beer with it as well. It's not that cosy inside, so you need to be quick to sit outside.
Contributions +65
One of the best in milan - Edit
it is a buffet style that is weighed you have a very nice selection of baked fried stir fried foods different vegetables samosa falafel tofu tempeh. I had a decent plate and a coke for 17 euro and was very happy with my meal. It is not the cheapest option for sure but definitely one of the more quality options of milan.
Pros: lots of options, good taste
Contributions +14
STREPITOSO!!! - Edit
Piatti davvero ottimi e personale gentilissimo! Super
Pros: ampia scelta!
Contributions +134
fantastic! - Edit
Amazing variety of dishes - so glad it was set up so you could try most of them. For some reason, dessert (truly excellent tiramisu and a creamy pie) was located around the corner at their cafe location which doesn't seem to be listed here yet.
Contributions +40
Wonderful place!! - Edit
very good and cheap food. 100% satisfaction :)
Contributions +44
Vegan by the kilo - Edit
This little buffet-based restaurant is conveniently located near Milan Central station, it's modest and a little cramped but it offers an amazing variety of vegan foods. You pay by the kilo, there were so many options that I went a bit crazy and took much more than what I actually needed, but I left satisfied and willing to come back for more (so much choice that I couldn't taste all the dishes). Everything was tasty and I particularly appreciated the seitan in tomato sauce, the samosa with spicy vegetable and the falafel. It's a mix of different cuisines. You get complementary bread and hummus and an Indian-spiced kind of tea. It can get expensive if you take too much. Nice discovery.
Pros: Great variety, Convenient location, Complementary bread and hummus
Cons: Can get expensive, Cramped place
Contributions +93
for the food - Edit
The place is a little sad as a restaurant. Very small with cramped tables and not particularly aesthetically pleasing.
The food is amazing though!
You can choose from a wide array of different dishes every day.
Even the simple baked vegetables are exquisite.
Everything is super tasty and well seasoned.
Keep away if you are health snd diet obsessed.
Complimentary hummus and bread.
Pros: tasty food, quick , wide variety
Cons: sad location
Contributions +46
Do not recommend this place! - Edit
I will never ever go here again! And don't recommend this place.
Although everything is vegan I'd like to know what I eat, but unfortunately the personnel was hardly willing to explain what the dishes where. So eventually I ended up with a plate full of proteins. The guy who helped me was the only one willing to explain it a bit, but after 3 dishes he rudely said everything is vegan anyways...
Everytime I asked a question they pretended not to understand, I was speaking in English but I also speak Spanish. So when they were speaking in Italian among each other I clearly understood what they where saying about me and their unwillingness to help me. They just pretended not to understand me.
It's about €22,- per kg which I think is expensive compared to other places.
The girl at the cash register also wanted to charge me extra for my own water, then (they just opened) she had no change and said I can only pay by card. I refused it and went to the other location to pay.
I'm used to going to vegan places in other major European cities, but this was seriously the worst experience ever. The food was oke, but not that great either.
The other location though, the personnel is great! Really nice and understanding. I absolutely do recommend the cafe!
Pros: It's vegan
Cons: Expensive for what you get, Rude personnel, Not willing to explain dishes
Contributions +247
Costly but tasty - Edit
Gf and I had come from touring eastern Europe so the prices were a surprise. I know Milan is not a cheap city but it's easy to fill up a plate and spend more than you intended. The staff spoke English but service was basic and the small place felt crowded when busy.
Food was varied and quite filling, always important.
Pros: Great variety
Cons: Below par service , Gets expensive fast
Contributions +130
wide choise - Edit
you can choose from the huge buffet, costs per kg. small place -you should reserve, but totally worth it! the bread with hummus is very tasty. great variety from italian, indian or chinese style. opens at saturday again on 19:30. sells also panettone in whole.
Pros: great variety
Cons: small place
Contributions +87
Generally happy - Edit
We enjoyed the idea of having a a whole variety of things to choose from (although we also would have preferred self-service - also this would have reduced the waste from the temporary cardboard plates the waitor used).
The food was very nice, and unlike XiangyuCao's review I loved the lasagne! The price was reasonable, but there was no tea (although nice local beer in the fridge!).
Also they didn't have ice-cream, but we saw afterwards that it was at Gelato Giusto which shares their address:
http://www.happycow.net/reviews/gelato-giusto-milan-42140
Pros: Good choice, Nice food, Reasonable price
Cons: Not self-service, Wasted cardboard plates, No tea
Contributions +26
Exciting vegan food! - Edit
There's a huge choice of food and it's all really tasty! It's quite small restaurant and has a nice relaxed feel. There is also complementary home-made hummus and bread which is so tasty! We'd highly recommend going it!
Pros: Fast service, Nice atmosphere, Exciting, varied food
Contributions +1010
Great food and value, but cash only (!) - Edit
This is yet another weight-based buffet restaurant. They seem to like this style in Europe, which I'm weary of because most of the time they are overpriced to begin with and you won't know how much your plate costs up until you bring it on the scale, which very often turns into a shocking revelation... Well, at least for me anyway. Personally I'd much rather pay more for all-you-can-eat.
That being said, this place was a fairly decent value at €19/kg. A bit more for desserts (€30/kg) but we didn't see any throughout our meal. Food was very good. The preparations and seasonings were exotically distinctive - heavily African-inspired I could only assume given the ethnic background of the whole team. We got in early and they were still setting up, so we just sat nibbling at the homemade bread while waiting. I loved that bread a lot; it was very unique - dark brown in color, savory, spiced and redolent of cinnamon. I probably ate much more of it than I should have.
We started with sambusas and hummus, which were both excellent. Then we had our our main plates full of various kinds of veggies, rice, beans, tofu, tempeh, seitan, etc. All delicious. The lasagna was the only one dish that I wasn’t too crazy about. It was greasy, had very little filling and thereby structure… pretty much just pasta sheets in some oily gunk. Skip it. Another thing about this place that kind of bugged me was that I didn’t get to spoon my own food, but rather, they had to do it for me. I'd like to control the portions myself because usually I would get a small spoonful of everything first, then go for seconds on the good stuff. However, the staff here somehow insisted on piling up my plate even though I kept telling them otherwise. This was the only reason I rated this place a 4 instead of 5.
Pros: good value, tasty food
Cons: can’t personally spoon food
Contributions +23
Guru of Milan veggie eateries - Edit
It's a very demanded restaurant. When we arrived at 7:30pm (opening hour for evening), there was already a queue and all the tables indoor were booked. I guess this is quite common, especially for a Saturday night. We were proposed to eat in until 8:30. Despite the time constraint, the staff were kind and efficient. Ps: Whole bread & hummus served for free for eat-in.
For food, there were no less than 15 salty dishes sold at 19 euros/kilo. We've got a variety of seasoned veggies, beans, seiten and samoussa. The flavors were rich and sometimes pronounced (even for an Indian food loving Chinese that we were). Special mention to their lasagne and tiramisu, just sinful :)
Regrettably, they were closed Sunday, so we could not go there 2 days in a row. I guess Alhambra is the guru of Milan veggie eateries and perhaps has the best food. Yet it's maybe not the top choice if you look for somewhere quiet and intimate where the staff have time for a nice talk.
Contributions +39
Fantastic vegan restaurant in Milan! - Edit
Went here for dinner on a trip to Milan. Excellent food. You order it deli style, pointing at whatever looks good (read: everything!), they warm it up for you and serve it to you, you pay by the kilo. We had a fantastic mix of delicious dishes -- seitan, tofu, veggies, noodles, pasta. Really great place, great atmosphere and wonderful vegan food! Tip: After dinner, head around the corner to their cafe for tea and dessert!
Contributions +62
Carino! - Edit
E' una gastronomia che vende a peso. Il cibo è saporito e gustoso, ma viene scaldato.
Il personale è confusionario e indaffarato, il locale piccolo con troppi posti a sedere, l'ambiente non risulta gradevole.
Ma per un pranzo veloce è ottimo, buona anche la soluzione dell'asporto.
Pros: good value , tasty food
Cons: Tables are too close to each other , Food is reheated, little space
Contributions +81
Excellent restaurant végétarien au kilo - Edit
L'Alhambra, à mi chemin entre la gare centrale et la porta Venezia, est un excellent restaurant végétarien comme on aimerait en voir davantage en France :
- système de prix au kilo (19€/kg quand j'y étais, prix identique le soir, ce qui est déjà suffisamment rare en soi)
- si le prix ne vous dit pas grand chose, sachez qu'une grande assiette variée (cf. Photo uploadée ici même) coûte de 8 à 11€
- pain brun à la cannelle et hummus offert en entrée
- pas de mauvaise surprise puisque le service est inclus
- grande variété de légumes, légumineuses, et plats à base de protéines végétales (protéines de soja, tofu en sauce, seitan à la tomate...), falafels.
- quand j'y suis allé, il n'y avait malheureusement pas soupes, et un choix limité de desserts.
Le service est basique mais sympathique. Le lieu est agréable, notamment pour sa terrasse, et une musique de fond légère (ce qui change des trattoria diffusant de la soupe FM à grands renforts de décibels), mais ne vous attendez pas à un endroit particulièrement confortable ou trendy : c'est assez basique, et l'on se bouscule un peu pour faire la queue et choisir son plat.
Au final, une excellente cantine veggie, offrant un très bon rapport qualité prix, et un système intelligent de nourriture au kilo.
Pros: Tasty, Cheap, Nourriture au kilo
Contributions +24
Cheap and Very Good - Edit
This place is definetely one of the best vegan reataurant you can find in Milan. You can have a lot of variety food for 10-13 euro. The owners are really gentle and friendly.
Contributions +84
Good food but, almost all reheated. - Edit
Like the previous reviewer, when I visited in October 2013 I was also asked to leave the table and it was the same experience with most tables around me, in a fairly busy evening. To be noted that we had booked a table and we were hoped to be treated a bit more kindly.
Anyway, the venue does not look like much as the space has been taken over from a previous restaurant and the decor has not changed. Yet, the atmosphere was warm, although tables were so close to each other it was easy to listen to others' conversations.
However, I enjoyed the food: you are presented with a large choice, you pick what you want to eat and the food you have chosen gets weighted and you pay by weight. The food is mostly pre-cooked and it just get reheated at the last minute but this did not detract from the taste. Everything was presented nicely on a plate and I enjoyed it all until I was asked to go.
They definitely take too many bookings: in a coldish evening, they had a lot of people who were dining outside...
If they stopped being greedy with their tables, this could become a good vegan restaurant.
Pros: Good food, Decent location
Cons: We were asked to leave the table, Tables are too close to each other, Food is reheated
Contributions +106
Bit rude.... - Edit
I don't want to be negative about a vegetarian restaurant as I really want to support them...but we really were quite upset by how we were treated at this restaurant.
It was very busy and when we tried to order a hot drink after the meal we were told we couldn't have it and that we would have to leave because they needed the table :-(
We had eaten so much of the very yummy food it was quite unpleasant to have to get up and walk miles home straight away. Suppose it's a good thing that a vege restaurant is so popular though....So would definitely recommend it for a quick lunch, but not for a sociable dinner perhaps.
Pros: Amazing food
Cons: Rushed, Too busy
Contributions +195
Wow - Edit
I've heard about Alhambra for months from vegan friends and I had never been able to try it. Until today.
It's a small and very crowded (reservation is almost necessary, especially during week end) buffet restaurant. As [email protected] you compose your dish by choosing between 20-30 available food types: cereals, veggies, legumes, seitan, tofu etc. and pay by weight of the plate. The thing is that food is freshly made just before each lunch and dinner, not the day before as other popular chains, and the difference is enormous.
Plus, the owner and waitress are infinitely gentle and warm-hearted it will be a pleasure to eat at their place. Strongly suggested!
Pros: Fresh cooked food, Kindness of the owner, Soo good!
Cons: Small and crowded, reserve your table!
Contributions +14
GREAT FOOD!!! - Edit
My wife & I visited this establishment twice in the week we were in Milan & both times experienced good value for money & very tasty food from warm & friendly owners!
Pros: Buffet choose what you like, Good value in Milan, Friendly & welcoming
Cons: None
Contributions +293
Good Meal near Central Station - Edit
Lots of good tasty choices at this buffet pay-by-weight restaurant. We had a few hours between trains and so were happy to have lunch here, about 15 minutes' walk from Central Train Station. Each big meal cost about 11 euros [we were hungry]. There is a gelato place next door for dessert.
Pros: Tasty, friendly, helpful staff, outdoor tables on the sidewalk
Cons: Didn't open until 1230 Saturday, not expensive but not inexpensive either
Contributions +15
Excellent vegan restaurant in Milano - Edit
Excellent food, very helpful staff. Was quite busy at lunch time and so we sat outside but even though this was a "self service" operation, the staff insisted on helping set up our table and bring out our food. Food was very good.
Pros: Good vegan food, Super helpful staff
Cons: Can be crowded at lunchtime
Contributions +22
Lovely. - Edit
I loved it! The staff were so caring and smiley! There was a massive selection of different dishes and I love that it's pay by weight. I tried a bit f everything ha ha and it was all really yum. Lots of veges. Delicious tofu and seitan. They Gave us a gorgeous salad for free as well as a few samosas and a delicious green pea dip they'd made - all on the house! Lovely wine and free delicious fruit tea. Looking forward to returning soon
Pros: Portions, Price, Staff
Cons: None!
Contributions +532
Great lunch break - Edit
I am lucky enough to work quite near to Alhambra.
When I get the chance I go and have lunch break there. It is a pay per weight place, where food is prepared by the owners in a very tasty way.
There's not much space and word is spreading they offer great food, so it's often packed.
I love their food, and the owner Salvatore is so caring and kind.
I would definitely advice giving it a try. Be early, otherwise food may end.
Pros: Great food, Reasonable price, Kind owner and people
Cons: Often packed: little space, You don't have to be in a rush
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