Rifugio Romano

Let me preface this by saying that I made an account just to review this place. The restaurant is the best of both worlds for vegans and non-vegans who are looking for authentic Italian food. Whole vegan menu that includes vegan cheeses and vegan meats. Simply delicious !!! Highly recommend to anyone visiting Rome. Our waitress was vegan and spoke great English. I splurged and ordered an appetizer, entree, and dessert just because the menu looked so good !!

Updated from previous review on 2016-10-10

Amazing variety, never seen such a huge vegan menu from a restaurant that is not solely vegan. All homemade handcrafted family recipes! And incredible desserts!

Really yum and heaps of vegan options! And vegan tiramisu!!!!

The food here is beautiful and enough options for gluten intolerant vegans. Fantastic to find a good range of traditional dishes. The staff were very friendly.

the vegan menu here is so extensive, all of it amazing, even the desserts were just perfect, pistachio ice cream was just sublime! there was vegan tirimisu and various cakes, we came here every night of our holiday in Rome, the lovely people running the restaurant were the kindest people.

Met the owner who was very friendly. We arrived a little early and they opened up just to make sure we had a seat. I went with my family - I was the only vegan in the group - but everyone agreed the food was superb! I had the gnocchi, and I highly recommend it.

When you travel it's hard to find a veganised version of the country's delicacy.
But alas this restaurant does provide Italian cuisines which was delicious!!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND !! 👌🏽

Although not a vegan restaurant, there are so many vegan options that it felt like one! Great place to go with friends/family that aren't vegan as everyone will be happy. The food was excellent. We went twice - dinner one night, lunch another day, and everything we ordered was delicious.

We finally made our way here on our last day in Rome. So wish we had found it sooner! Separate amazing totally vegan menu created by the beautiful Italian family who owns the restaurant. Half of the family is vegan and they have done a magnificent job at creating authentic Italian vegan dishes. We had luscious creamy risotto, an amazing calzone and a beautiful omelette made from chic pea flour. Omelette was fluffy - melt in your mouth good filled with local greens and veggies. We strongly considered pizza - very creative toppings. It was so hard to decide. If you are vegan, strongly recommend you make time to come at least twice. Good prices, very much worth the cost. Finished the meal with vegan tiaramisu and pannacotta - things we have not been able to eat in a decade! Hope you go and enjoy as much as we did.

We had a wonderful experience at Rifugio Romano today! We ordered the vegan Lasagna with Bolognese and the vegan Pizza with mushrooms, vegan cheese, tomatoes and a vegan meat alternative. Those two were heavenly already! As a desert we had the vegan Tiramisu which was very thick and creamy, just delicious! The waitress was very friendly and helpful and even gave us two Limoncelli (lemon flavored liquor shots) for free! We would go back in a heartbeat and highly recommend this place and the dishes we had.

Ordered a pizza, pasta, grappa, drinks, and dessert (tiramisu) and it came too €56 so not too bad for two people. Food is tasty but not of high quality so go expecting something tasty but not outstanding. LOTS of vegan options.

Food was really nice with a great selection of vegan options. I travel with my boyfriend who isn't a vegetarian and he found his meal amazing also.
Great price for the food we got, the menu had vegan food, vegetarian food and vegan wine, all marked clearly with a v. Would definitely recommend!

My family of five (all vegan, teens to grown-ups) had a fabulous meal this afternoon. Valentina made excellent suggestions, from a fried pizza balls with house made marinara to calzone and seitan steak-- all excellent. The vegan desserts were also great-- tiramisu, orange cream cake and caramel panna cotta! Three full pages of vegan options. We'll definitely go back!

I'm so glad to have found this place, unfortunately it was at the end of our trip. I went with a meat eater friend and it was really nice for us to be able to sit down and eat together. The battered rice balls with tomato sauce have changed my life and the margarita pizza was amazing. I couldn't finish it all and had to bag up 1/3 of the pizza

It's a shame this place also does meat and therefore can't be awarded that 5* status because their vegan pizzas are completely worth it. They have a good number of vegan pastas and pizzas and even starters to choose from. The pizzas have vegan cheese and fake meats too, it feels very authentic! The service was great, and they have a lovely outdoor sitting area. If you're a vegan hoping to try a lovely pizza in Rome, this is your place!

5/5 stars - this is a small, centrally-located restaurant in Rome which is so far our favourite vegan restaurant in the world. Unfortunately not vegetarian or vegan, but the vegan menu is large, clearly-marked, very diverse with lots of different pasta and other Italian dishes, and everything we tried was absolutely delicious.

I had the gnocchi with a creamy walnut sauce, it was superb. My partner had the seitan ravioli which was also incredible. For dessert we had the tiramisu which was so good we couldn't believe it.

Another big plus point, they have marked vegan wine options!

Prices are fair, staff was very friendly, waiting times were good even though the restaurant got busier after we arrived.

All in all we absolutely regret coming to this restaurant on our last day in Rome, because otherwise we would have come back as often as possible to try more of their dishes. Next time we are in Rome this will be our first stop.

We went here four times during our stay in Rome because this restaurant provides very tasty food for a very reasonable price (unlike many other places in Rome)!

On busy times the service was quite slow and unfortunately the quality of the food was poorer those times, but on less busy times the service and the food was perfect. I therefore recommend this restaurant for lunch or early dinner because this place seems to be most popular in the late evenings.

I highly recommend the ravioli, it's the best ravioli I have ever tried and maybe even the best pasta dish I've ever had! The farinata is also out of this world!

We had dinner over here on our first day in Rome. It's a lovely place with a lot of vegan options. I had a vegan carbonara as starter, a vegan omelet for main and of course the vegan tiramisu as dessert!

The food tasted very good, especially the tiramisu. My non-vegan boyfriend admitted that he liked the vegan more then his normal tiramisu :-D

The staff is also very nice. I even made friends with the blonde vegan waitress! Very nice girl!

The price of the food is good for what you get.

Lovely restaurant with loads of vegan options - hard to choose what to eat. My partner and I ordered two of the vegan pizzas (plus fries) and they were delicious. Portions are huge and we were very satisfied with our meal. The waitress serving us was very friendly and made us feel welcome. Definitely recommend going here. It's not exactly central, but is well worth the effort getting there :)

...our second experience wasnt nearly as good as our first one.
First time going there I couldnt decide for ages since the vegan menu is huuuge and sounds too delicious. Ultimately, I decided for the pizza with Mozzarella and salami and DAMN it was the best vegan pizza Ive ever had! I almost cried, haha. My boyfriend chose this rolled up pizza thing with Mayo, onion and potato and it was absolutely amazing aswell. Tasted really German ;D Both was 8 or 9€ which was okay, not more or less expensive than omnivore pizza and the pizza was big, too.

But our second experience was really awful. I ordered the pizza with wurstel and he ordered the vegan burger. It took ages to prepare, we got our orders way after the two people ordering after us got theirs... Bruschetta (4€) was good, nothing special, quite average. My pizza was okay, not nearly as good as the first one, not enough sausage and the cheese tasted too artificial for some reason. The vegan burger was the biggest joke on Earth: buns with a mushy patty and a lettuce leaf and one slice of tomato, thats it. The Patty was so mushy, the burger was barely edible. I think the patty tasted okay but my boyfriend (vegetarian) hated it. According to him, the burger was just dry (no sauce) and had no taste. He was highly disappointed as the burger was 10(!!!!!)€. The fries were horrible aswell, not properly fried. Sorry, but among the most disgusting fries I tried. :(

Place doesn't look nice, but vegan capriciosa that I ate was amazing. Great proporcions of cheese, vegan salami and vegetables. Staff was very vegan friendly, suggested us eating a vegan tiramisu which was also great :)

Amazing vegan food!! And service! Loved it

Italian restaurant with many vegan options. The tastes are quite accurate, for example if you missed bolognese from time when you weren't vegan. Prices are normal for Italy. Waiting time was dramatic but the stuff was nice and tried to handle the situation so I guess it was rather incidential.

Me and my partner (carnivore) have recently visited this restaurant and were very satisfied with a variety of options on the menu. Both of us managed to try delicious food according to our diets. This is a place run by a vegan/vegetarian family, so they will always find a way to accommodate your needs. For starter we ordered a vegan plate with finger food - this way we could try all different flavours and vegan combinations (marinated tofu, mock meat slices, olives, home-made hummus on a bread with tomatoes, sticks with cherry tomatoes and vegan sausages, aubergine puree, vegan cheese with herbs). Our main courses were also satisfying. At the end of the visit we were treated with Limoncello!

In general, it was a good experience. All members of the stuff were very friendly and welcoming.

An excellent family run Roman restaurant which offers non vegans the chance to try traditional Italian dishes but in vegan form. I really enjoyed a creamy,nutty vegan gnocchi, which is rare to find in a restaurant. The vegan menu is extensive and the presentation and portion sizes were good. Our friendly waitress explained all the dishes and knows them well as it's her family's business and she is vegan herself.

I was so impressed by this nice and comfy restaurant. I am not used to know restaurants with a whole different menu with only vegan options, and that they are absolutely delicious.
I only regret visiting this restaurant the day before our departure. We went twice and both of this times the meal was great!
When I tried the Tiramisu I had to ask twice if it was vegan, 'cause the taste was so accurate!!
Also Pizza Dumpling where marvelous

i'm soooo impressed! i ordered lasagna and tiramisu and i had to double check with the waitress to confirm they were Vegan! they tasted amazing!

This was my first meal in Italy and it did not disappoint. In fact I came back the next day. Scrumptious and ornate italian vegan food.

If I had visited this place on my first day in Rome, I would have eaten here EVERY day! Family owned and run traditional Italian restaurant. Two daughters and the mother are vegan, and made sure the menu has a rich choice of vegan options: from starters to deserts, including pizza and pasta. Everything we ordered was delicious and fantastic, and the service was superior, knowledgeable and kind. My first and last Gnocchi in Rome, since it's so hard to find a vegan version. I give them 5 stars, even though Happy Cow allow only four for non-vegan restaurant. Don't miss this gem of a restaurant!

Locale molto bello, mi ha colpito subito l'insegna fuori :D Anche il nome "rifugio" dà l'idea di un posto caldo e accogliente e in effetti è proprio così. Si mangia molto bene. La pizza è proprio quella tipica romana (fina e leggera) come piace a me e ci sono anche molte scelte per chi come noi mangia vegan, sia di pizza che di primi, secondi e dessert (c'è addirittura in vino vegan). Menù molto ricco, ci sono stata diverse volte e ho provato diversi piatti come la carbonara, i ravioli, le scaloppine di seitan, il burger, le polpettine, l'antipasto misto e diversi dolci come il tiramisù, la sacher e la sbriciolata, tutto vegan :D consigliato davvero!

We ate here twice because every single dish was delicious. Extensive vegan menu, excellent staff, well-priced, cute outdoor seating. Wish we had more time in Rome to try more of their food. 10/10

I went twice to this restaurant, during my 1week stay in Rome. First time was to try its vegan pizza (as I read in an article about it being the only place someone could find vegan pizza) and 2nd on my way to the airport, I stopped by for lunch.
Prices reasonable, the waitress has such a nice energy and the vibes in the restaurant are very positive.
Thumbs up for not closing between 3.30-8 as many restaurants do...

This place has really managed to turn the meaty and cheesy Italian cuisine to be suitable for vegans, and done a remarkable job at it too!

I've come here twice, and had the vegan Lasagna Bolognese and vegan creamy ravioli with seitan.
Both were impressively tasty and not at all bearing the bizarre flavours of fake cheeses and meat. (I was actually sure they gave me the non vegan lasagna by mistake).

They also make their own vegan ice cream in three flavours (not from soy). That was also one of the best vegan ice creams I've had.

The service was slow on one occasion but fast on the second. It depends on the day you visit I guess. They are very friendly nonetheless. There is reliable wifi, just ask for the password.

Also it's recommended to check if they are open on Mondays since I've heard they can sometimes be off.

Went here twice during a 3 day stay in Rome. Happened to walk in after arriving at Stazione Termini because we needed WiFi (which they have and it's good). My travel buddy isn't vegan and we started flipping through the menu and I was delighted to find two pages of vegan options! They're cheese is made from rice and it's some of the best vegan cheese I've ever had. Had the best vegan pizza I've ever had. It had tofu, cardamom, vegan cheese... And other things I can't remember. It was heavenly. Had they're amazing vegan calzone, the seitan escalope with mushroom sauce, and the gnocchi with nutritional yeast. All so amazing. Our two servers spoke great English and helped with wine selection and even brought the vegan cheese packaging from the kitchen to show me. One of the servers was vegan and she said she had to fight for the vegan menu. So go support and eat there! It's amazing.

Great and tasty vegan food and vegan desserts. Cozy atmosphere

Vegan pizza had a terrible taste to it and I got sick the next morning.. :( the starter was delicious - Rosemary focaccia, but very disappointed with the pizza.

Not a veggie venue but has a two page vegan menu and the waitress serving us was vegan (and very helpful). Vegan starters (I had the mixed starter which was hummus, smoked tofu, salad, rice ball, dough balls and mayo), mains (seitan in mushroom sauce with a portion of chips) and a choice of desserts. They also had pasta courses and pizzas (with cheese or without) as well as some other main course options.
Despite it not being a 'vegan' restaurant it was one of the best meals we had while we were in Rome and wasn't particularly expensive. Recommended for those bored of organic raw bio restaurants with no fries!

So excited to see tofu and tempeh on the menu as meat replacements "typical" Roman dishes. Was good. I had a pasta and friend had pizza with vegan cheese. Both good. Vegan wine too