Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
Pizza
Chinese
Italian
Non-veg

Serves meat, vegan options available. Serves burgers, pizza, salads, stir-frys with diabetic, vegan, and celiac choices. Owner knows what vegan and vegetarian mean and speaks some English. Menu in English and Spanish. Free Wi-Fi. Open Mon-Fri 11:00am-3:00pm.


Venue map for Comida Naturista Irene's
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26 Reviews

First Review by cincorobles

cincorobles

Points +120

Vegan
22 Apr 2014

Good Option In Colonia

There aren't many vegan options in Colonia and Irene's offers a fairly good selection of basic health conscious choices. She has whole grain breads and pastas, soy preparations, green and fruit drinks. There are meat options also on the menu.

Pros: Vegan Choices, Bilingual Menu

Cons: Afternoon Hours Only

IgnacioBarquín

Points +27

Vegan
12 Feb 2024

Irene`s

Variada comida vegana y vegetariana con menú propio y señalado correctamente en el menú general. La comida es muy rica y hay varias opciones muy ricas.

Pros: Buena comida, Variedad de opciones , Menú propio

Cons: Tiempo de espera

ArielaSchnitman

Points +1072

Vegan
10 Jan 2024

Excelente chivito vegano

El Chivito vegano al plato estaba riquísimo! Súper completo y abundante.
Tenían también muchas otras opciones que todavía no probé

AndreaNygren

Points +165

Vegan
12 Dec 2023

Good vegan options in Colonia

They have a vegan menu which you can ask for (although some items are vegetarian where they remove eggs/cheese). I had the Chivito with bread and the apple strudel which were both tasty.

milenamantelli

Points +67

Vegan
20 Oct 2023

Chivito muito bom

Chivito de seitan bem servido com legumes e saladinha. Várias opções vegetarianas que podiam se tornar veganas retirando queijo e ovo.

WilldsonMendes

Points +583

Vegan
08 Jul 2023

Many vegetarian options

They have the national dish chivito in a vegetarian version. Other many vegan and vegetarian dishes

Pros: Chivito, Many options , Reasonable prices

Cons: The food take longer to get ready , Chivito could be more alike with the original

ChristianWeng

Points +20

Vegan
02 Feb 2023

Buenas opciones veganas

La pasta boloñesa y el chivito de Seitan están excelentes. Muy buena la atención y el strudel delicioso también

Dice en happy cow que cierra a las 15 pero son las 16 y sigue abierto

Updated from previous review on 2023-02-02

Fredbaeta

Points +35

Vegetarian
02 Sep 2022

Muito bom

Várias opções veganas e vegetarianas, incluindo às versões de pratos típicos, como o chivito e a milanesa!!

rodrigoazs

Points +2250

Vegan
01 Jul 2021

Good food

Very grateful to find this place with vegan options in Colonia, many of the restaurants only offer meat. Food is good.

Updated from previous review on 2021-06-25

ana_pas

Points +1563

Vegan
31 Jul 2020

Bueno!

Algunas opciones veganas. Las que hay son buenas :)

aleal

Points +202

Vegan
12 Jan 2020

Tasty!

Im not sure why the bad reviews? We had the chivito and the vegan spaghetti bolognese and both were delicious. Maybe we went early because the service was fine. In a place with limited options, this was definitely good.

voyegan

Points +2094

Vegan
13 Jun 2019

Simple but good

I had the vegan daily menu which was a lentils stew. It was tasty and rich, could have been a bigger portion.
Staff was simple and friendly, but could have been a bit more attentive.

CSL

Points +307

Vegan
31 Dec 2018

Mediocre at best

Food was pretty unremarkable. Mixed fruit "smoothie" seemed like just juice from a bottle. I don't usually comment on service, but have to agree with others that this is definitely service without a smile. Wouldn't even have commented on this, but when they asked for a tip, it really felt a bit much.

Pros: At least they try to cater to vegans...

Cons: Mediocre in taste, service, & value for money.

agusdelgado

Points +13

Vegetarian
17 Sep 2018

Irene's

Lugar familiar, agradable. La comida estaba rica, pero nada excepcional. Hay varias opciones vegetarianas y veganas. El precio es razonable.

Pros: varias opciones vegetarianas y veganas

ArynCY

Points +54

Vegan
05 Feb 2018

Nothing Fancy

This resto had a few vegan options and a seperate vegan menu, which was super helpful, but the food wasn’t anything special. I got the vegan chivito al Plato which was just a piece of gluten (unlike any gluten I’ve had before) that was fried and placed a top a plate of fries and lettuce and topped with onions, peppers and mushrooms. It was inexpensive by Uruguayan standards, but I don’t think I’ll be heading back anytime soon.

Pros: Cheap, Vegan menu, Wi-Fi

Cons: Warm inside, Food was lackluster

gigiveg

Points +284

Vegan
07 Dec 2017

Best vegan option in Colonia

Good food and nice atmosphere! Prices are reasonable for Colonia. Definitely the best place for vegans! Free WiFi

bmt1039

Points +33

Vegetarian
29 Oct 2017

To get you by

We were looking for a place that served vegetarian food to get us by in Colonia, which is hard to find since it is all about beef, barbecues, and seafood, and that is exactly what we’ve found. It is a plain site, with plain food, with plain to bad and slow service. However, we were still grateful to find a place with vegetarian options, which I always like to support. A shame tho that food and service quality is was not very good.

Updated from previous review on 2017-10-27

Pros: it is at least one vegetarian option in colonia, price is not too high, free wi fi

Cons: plain food, plain service, slow

XimenaCibeleRoldán

Points +20

Vegan
14 Oct 2017

único lugar vegano en colonia

Es un lugar muy agradable con buena atención, recomiendo el chivito vegano. Pidan la carta vegana que la tienen a parte.

Pros: Precio accesible, Tienen tambien postre vegano

VegRaluca

Points +1464

Vegan
01 Oct 2017

Awesome

The restaurant has a vegan menu. I really enjoyed the food (I took the soja bolognaise), and the strudel dessert.
Reasonable prices, and a discount if you pay by card.

Pros: Vegan menu

itsmichaeldiego

Points +1823

Vegan
28 Feb 2017

Previous reviews are too picky

I was hesitating if I should visit the place because the previous reviews, but there was nothing in town besides salads or veggie sandwiches, so I decided to go anyways. The authors of previous comments were probably too used to vegan-friendly cities... For Colonia, the prices in Irene's are normal, it is not a Michelin restaurant but the food is just fine. They offer seitan beefs, soy and lentil burgers, paella (ask for some lemon when you order it), soups, cazuelas (stews), vegan woks and spagetti with veggies or soy bolognese. They also have a separate menu for vegans, tell them you want one when you arrive. If it is important for you that your bottles get recicled (not all of them are in Uruguay) order a 1 liter Coca Cola - normal or light, or 1/2 liter water.

monizebn

Points +255

Vegan
02 Nov 2016

Nothing special

Irene's is a okay place. Their waitress wasn't the happiest on earth, but she was always kind and polite when we needed her. I ordered spaghetti with vegan bolognese sauce (with soy meat) and my mom ordered spaghetti with wok vegetables. They were good, but nothing special. I believe 220 pesos for a plate of regular spaghetti with soy meat, in a simple place with regular service is just overpriced. There's better places in Colonia with vegan options with better food for similar prices. Irene's had more options, which I didn't get to try, but seemed nice. They have a spare menu with all the vegan options, which I thought was cool.

Pros: Vegan menu, Wifi , Accepts credit card

Cons: Overpriced for what's offered

Bosonwit

Points +62

Vegan
23 Feb 2016

just meh

saw it by chance and it's actually only one of two "veg friendly" restaurants in this even more mediocre town.at first I was happy about the options but it turned out to be just really bad tasting food. Better than nothing for sure but still...if you can cook yourselv do it. the service was just plain, neither frindly nor unfriendly. I would call it kinda expensive but I don't know what to compare with in Uruguay. never again. ;)

AshleyLorden

Points +1238

Vegan
11 Apr 2015

Passable.

Colonia is a tourist town, with limited options and high prices. Although you could probably come up with a vegan dish or two at most of the restaurants, Irene's is the only place that advertises vegan/vegetarian/GF (celiac) options and offers a separate menu listing them. They will serve you this food, and turned the wifi on when I asked about it, and have a working bathroom. And, it's on the main street in the modern part of downtown, walking distance from the historic downtown area if you've taken the ferry to explore on foot like us. So, it will meet all the basic needs, but unfortunately that's where the good parts end.

Service met the basic needs -- answering questions, bringing food. But I think the staff are introverts, or just not cheery people, as there was no extra positivity at all. When bringing the "check" (just an order sheet where she'd written what we got, no actual printed receipt), there was an awkward exchange where she asked us to give her the amount, in person, and asked if we wanted to leave a tip, to tell her verbally, while she was standing there (no place to write anything in).

Food was disappointing. The menu includes an item called "Smiles" for 100 pesos ($4 US). While people probably would be willing to pay this amount to get some smiles from the staff here, it's actually a frozen potato product (a french fry in the shape of a smile), marketed to moms to feed their kids with no effort. It's pretty ridiculous to put this on a restaurant menu, and the other food was similarly uninspired. We wanted to try chivitas, which is just a sandwich really but the only famous uruguayan dish I know, which advertised "wheat meat" as the context. It was unlike any seitan I've had before, soggy, spongy and not good at all.

Many have mentioned that it's expensive. Although it is expensive in the context of South America, at around $10 US per plate, looking at other restaurants in downtown Colonia they were all at this price point so I don't think Irene's was priced unfairly. But, I can sympathize that it feels terrible to pay a good amount and get dishes that come with no sides and look slopped together.

Even though I'd like to support veg food in places like Colonia, I don't think I'd come back to Irene's.

Pros: Vegan menu; menu in English and Spanish, Downtown location, Wifi

Cons: Bland, uninspired food, Service was awkward

anhaiying

Points +51

Vegetarian
08 Feb 2015

Bad food, unfriendly staff

When they took away our sandwiches at the border of Uruguay, we had no other choice than to go to Irene's since I'm vegetarian and my friend is vegan. I ordered a burger with mashed pumpkin and my friend got noodles with vegetables. The lady of the house was not friendly at all and just seemed in a very bad mood. The food tasted bland (I would even say it tasted bad) and was over priced. I guess she doesn't have any competition in Colonia.

citizenInsane

Points +1403

Vegan
06 Feb 2015

Expensive and not worth it

I had a cabbage-apple-pineapple salad that was expensive (200 pesos, about 8.5 dollars) and came with canned pineapple. The service was really not very friendly. But as has been said before, it's one of the rare spots where you can find vegan meals in Colonia.

raelmiranda

Points +44

Vegan
10 Jun 2014

More Expensive Than You'd Like

Food is fine, but costed to me and my wife like 47 dollars to have lunch. I'm a place that looks like a fast food. We had a bad surprise when the check came.

Pros: Easy To Find , Good Food At All

Cons: Prices Outta Reality




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