Vegan
Italian
Fast food
Beer/Wine
Take-out

Previously known as Alchemilla Bio. The shop is now owned by creators of La Zappa e il Mestolo. Specializes in street foods, piadines, burgers, chips and more. Open Mon-Sat 11:30-15:00, 18:00-22:00.


Venue map for ZEM Bistro
© OpenStreetMap contributors

55 Reviews

First Review by ConcettaDAddabbo

DeboraCasalini

Points +134

Vegan
10 Dec 2024

Cucina vegana

Locale piccolo, ma accogliente. Menù interamente vegano. Birre artigianali.

Pros: Ambiente, Possibilità di scelta, Birre artigianali

Cons: Accostamento dei sapori

GiorgiaRizzato

Points +130

Vegan
05 Dec 2024

Always a pleasure

The food is delicious and this is my go to place for when I want to celebrate or treat myself, either alone or with a friend. It is a cozy spot and I love it

Pros: Food, Cozy atmosphere

VivianaK

Points +64

Vegan
18 Nov 2024

A good vegan with a lot of options

The location is cozy and the staff really nice and friendly.
The menu is rich and with a lot of alternatives (traditional recipes made vegan).
I got a burger, that was quite OK.
It is lovely that they sell only local products.
If you plan to go at lunch time, consider booking a table.

Pros: Staff, Location , Local products

Cons: The smell of fried food in the room

Margheritap

Points +24

Vegan
07 Nov 2024

Vegan in Bologna

Definitely one of my favourite places in Bologna. They serve both "traditional" food as well as other options. I come here as often as I can and have tried many dishes already. Staff is always very friendly
The place is small, so make sure to book a table if you wanna try it out!

LorenzoC

Points +233

Vegan
03 Nov 2024

Non solo buonissimo...

Non sono di quelli che deve mangiare sostituti della carne, ma ho davvero apprezzato la grigliata mista. E non è secondario il fatto che fossero di loro produzione e da ingredienti km 0. E la tigella era pazzesca. Ma soprattutto ZEM va supportato perché non è un ristorante soltanto.

cinemastranger

Points +245

Vegan
14 Oct 2024

A bit disappointing

Given the good reviews, I expected more from this place, but it just wasn’t for me. I tried the tagliatelle with vegan cream and sausages. It was tasty but a bit too heavy for my liking. The staff is friendly and welcoming, but the place is always crowded, and service can be slow. Portions could also be a bit larger.

Pros: %100 vegan

Cons: Crowded, Slow service, Small portions

maithie99

Points +106

Vegan
30 Sep 2024

Not quite what I expected

I was really looking foreward to trying this, since it had really good reviews, but I ended up kinda disappointed about the food. The meat substitutes resembled what people ate 15 years ago and it should have evolved by now. The pasta was unevenly cooked and it was in general not creative at all, which to be fair it doesn’t have to be.

Pros: Serving size was big enough, We got the food really fast

Cons: Taste, Creativity (missing)

MicciM

Points +1882

Vegan
27 Sep 2024

Good and fairly priced

The food is good and the prices are fair.

Updated from previous review on 2024-09-27

GiadaPercu

Points +76

Vegan
23 Sep 2024

Gorgeous vegan food

I loved my experience at ZEM. We were lucky to find easily a table even without booking, but I would advise to reserve a spot. The food we ordered was really good. Erbazzone was my favourite thing. Also tortelloni were good and tortellini were fair. The staff was so kind and friendly, I loved it.

Pros: Great traditional food veganized , Friendly staff

Roby_Gi

Points +62

Vegan
23 Sep 2024

Buonissima Alternativa Vegan

Location raccolta e carina, tortellini della tradizione ma VEGAN buonissimi!!! Vi consiglio di prenotare è sempre molto pieno.

Pros: Cibo, Vibe, Condivisione

MCNS

Points +25

Vegetarian
18 Sep 2024

Ok as a port in a storm

Had tigalle and tortellini. Bit bland. Staff ok. Not cheap

toroBonobo

Points +420

Vegan
13 Sep 2024

Not just burger

We stopped in Bologna on our way back just to try their tortelloni and it was not disappointing. We also tried the grigliata, it was a bit too oily for us but tasted good. The staff was friendly and the beer was good.

Pros: not just burgers, friendly staff that speak English too, 15 min on foot from the central station

Cons: small, toilet on other premises, in front

margypargy

Points +108

Vegan
09 Sep 2024

Very weird experience (not good)

Everything was wrong about this place. The overflow restaurant space is treated as a takeaway, so I had to go backwards and forwards to order and to collect the food (twice). We got takeaway cartons, plastic cutlery and plastic glasses. The portion size was TINY. Not a main meal. The tortellini was ok, but there was no sauce and hardly any tortellini. The wine was undrinkable, absolutely vile. The salad, clearly from a bag, was brown and wilting. There was zero love or care in the food, which for a vegan restaurant was perhaps the biggest, saddest surprise. We have never had such a poor vegan restaurant experience in nearly 30 years as vegans. I would give this zero stars if Happy Cow would allow me to. Sorry Zem, but I would.

Pros: Fully vegan.

Cons: Very poor food, awful wine., Tiny portion in a very small takeaway container., No love or care was involved in any aspect.

K24A

Points +113

Vegan
09 Sep 2024

Worst vegan food I have ever eaten. Salty and a very very small portion. Ordered across the road then collected in a bag later.

By cooking nice tasty vegan food.

Pros: The area.

Cons: The food was poor. , The salad was brown.

LaLaila

Points +92

Vegan
09 Sep 2024

Just amazing

Very cute and small bistro but amazing!!!
Loved it.

twisterforever

Points +92

Vegan
03 Sep 2024

Meraviglia 😍

Posticino meraviglioso, piccolo, coccolo e con dei tortellini meravigliosi alla bolognese!
Personale gentilissimo ed ottime birre, prezzi onesti, cosa volere di più?!? 😍

Pros: Tutto

Cons: Niente

PeanutButterEle

Points +473

Vegan
27 Aug 2024

Fantastico

Carinissimo mini locale completamente vegano con opzioni uniche e buonissime. Tutti gli ingredienti sono prodotti dalla locale azienda agricola o comunque locali/di ottima qualità. Il menù cambia stagionalmente anche se i tortellini ripieni di arrosto di ceci in brodo o con la panna ( loro cavallo di battaglia) e altri classici rimangono sempre. I tortellini sono speciali, parola di onnivori che li hanno preferiti a quelli classici mangiati il giorno prima. Dagli antipasti, ai burger, primi, grigliata vegana, torta salate fino si dolci tutto eccellente. I biscotti poi sono un mondo a parte 😘
unica pecca locale molto piccolo, hanno da poco aggiunto una stanza dall’altra parte della strada e il bagno è esterno.
Consiglio di prenotare!

Pros: Eccellenti materie prime, menu ampio e vario, cambia stagionalmente , Tortelli ripieni di arrosto di ceci in brodo

Cons: locale molto piccolo

MartiDori

Points +47

Vegan
25 Aug 2024

Very tasty italian food

Tortellini with creamy sauce are amazing, same as their tigella with mayo, lentils and chickpea. It is something you have to try.

davidus

Points +126

Vegan
22 Aug 2024

Probably the Best traditional emilian food in the world!

As a Bologna-born vegan, this place is the only one in Bologna and probably the only one in the world providing typical food of the bolognese tradition in the vegan version. Tortellini (both woth broth and with cream) tortelloni, lasagne, tagliatelle and tigelle.
I tried tortellini and tigelle several times and they were mezmerizing. Tigelle great as starters (chickpea and capers' mayo my favourite bybgreat surprise, even better than the traditional tigella with "ham", which is great as well. Tortelloni amazing tool. Ask for nutritional yeast (lievito alimentare) in case you want to add the parmesan taste to your dish (to your tortellini especially).
You can find many attempt to replicate these dishes around, but this is THE place so far😄

Pros: Traditional food and local production, Kind staff, Athmosphere

FlorianG

Points +343

Vegan
30 Jul 2024

Delicious food, many options, local beers

We had a great dinner at ZEM Bistro, sharing three mains and a side: the tortelloni alla Vecchia Modena (surprising flavors of balsamic vinegar and seitan ‘bacon bits’), tortellini al brodo (stuffed pastas in broth), and the seasonal lasagna (with lentils). It’s always amazing to find a casual place with a full menu of vegan options. Perhaps we would’ve preferred to have lunch here since it is rather casual, as the name bistro suggests. 5 stars for amazing food, friendly staff, and a very good number of choices on the menu!

habitat20

Points +30

Vegan
25 Jul 2024

Average plus

The place has good vibes and crowd. Staff super nice but menu slightly confusing and taste was somehow not as great as expected. Still a good place for vegan fast food. My expectation was maybe too high in the first place.

Pros: Staff, Atmosphere

Cons: The menu, The smoochy patty in the burger

FrancescoApruzzese

Points +72

Vegan
21 Jul 2024

Tortellini vegani. Vegan tortellini.

IT: Siamo molto soddisfatti di aver potuto mangiare i tortellini in stile vegano. Piatti veramente ottimi e una scelta che può soddisfare diversi tipi di gusti. Ci sono piaciute anche tantissimo le tigelle.

EN: We are very pleased to have been able to eat the tortellini in vegan style. Really great dishes and a choice that can satisfy different kinds of tastes. We also really enjoyed the tigelle.

Updated from previous review on 2024-07-21

Pros: La scelta , Personale disponibile, Prezzi onesti

Cons: Non sarebbe male qualche tortellino in più :)

Olzoone

Points +499

Vegan
05 Jul 2024

Not what we've expected

Of course, were glad that there is plenty of vegan options in Bologna, but this one was actually disappointing. The staff was very friendly and nice and we got our meals quick but they were pretty small and also tasteless. Would sadly not recommend it!

marcozanga

Points +537

Vegan
02 Jul 2024

Buona cucina, adatto a chi apprezza i panini homemade

Davvero una bella realtà, buona cucina, soprattutto se piacciono i panini homemade. A fine pasto abbiamo preso due dolci, uno era molto buono, l'altro non lo riprenderei sinceramente. Unica pecca è il bagno che non è presente all'interno del locale ma ci si accede uscendo ed andando dall'altra parte della strada nel locale che viene utilizzato per le riunioni dell'associazione.

Cons: Bagno dall'altra parte della strada

usbeizbsianwhss

Points +28

Vegan
01 Jul 2024

Good vegan fast food

It's fast food so it won't blow your mind but it's tasty and the portions are big!

hanhanveg

Points +65

Vegan
20 Jun 2024

Really disappointing :(

We must’ve ordered the wrong things because our food was awfully bland and stodgy. Genuinely disappointed because it was busy so seemed like a great spot. It’s a tiny space and the food took a long time to come out - we asked for a side of veg which didn’t arrive until after we had paid the bill and stood up to leave, and it was only carrots and greens.

Asked for tap water and was given a key and a cup to go to the Zem Garden opposite and let myself in to fill up from the tap in the bathroom, a bit strange really.

Pros: Absolutely lovely staff, Cute artsy vibe, Cool art on the wall outside

Cons: Bland / stodgy food, Took ages for tiny portions to come out, No toilet

Frederik96

Points +80

Vegan
10 Jun 2024

Good but small dishes

Very delicious food with plenty of options. However sizes of dishes are a bit small




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