Vegetables are one of my greatest passions. Obviously, vegan spots are where this food category is celebrated at its very best. One of my favorite vegan places in Rome is Vegjoy.
A cozy bistro dedicated to plant based food just 700 meters from San Giovanni Basilica, making it a perfect stop during a sightseeing day. It’s run by chef Cristina Crudetti, with the ever-welcoming Giulia Laruffa managing the front of house.
The menu is built around two main concepts:
• Traditional Roman dishes reimagined in a vegan version
• International inspirations such as ramen, lentil dhal, veggie burgers, and their playful seitan “pulled happy pork”
You’ll also find modern Italian vegan classics like risottos and sformati, interpreted with a creative twist while keeping flavors balanced and satisfying.
Vegjoy is not just another vegan spot in Rome. It’s a place where vegetables truly take center stage. The dishes are flavorful, well-structured, and satisfying without being heavy.
I personally stop here for lunch whenever I’m in the area. And every time, I leave feeling full and happy, but never weighed down (which, in Rome, is not something to take for granted).
This was my latest experience there.
Choosing a starter immediately proved to be a difficult task. How was I supposed to choose between a cauliflower flan with cashew cream, multigrain focaccia with aioli and mixed mushrooms, and even a leek vichyssoise with toasted almonds and an herb shortbread?
I hadn’t even properly begun and VegJoy already put me in a crisis.
In the end, I went for the cauliflower flan, because I have a particular soft spot for it. And I have to say, I absolutely didn’t regret it. The flan had a fantastic texture, neither too moist nor too rubbery. When it comes to vegan cooking, finding that balance requires real skill. The cashew cream was rich and indulgent, and the cabbage and cherry tomatoes on the side were just as tasty.
Choosing the main course was no less challenging. It was a midweek lunch with a busy afternoon ahead, so I didn’t feel adventurous enough to order both a first and a second course. I had to crown one winner among miso ramen with seitan or sesame-salted tofu, bombolotti pasta in tomato sauce stuffed with cashew and pepper, creamy risotto with charred leek, toasted almond crumble and lime zest, a skewer of handmade seitan with potatoes and Delica pumpkin in herb butter served with wholegrain polenta, spiced red lentil dhal with vegetables and rice, and finally, “grandma’s meatballs” — tofu and bean meatballs in tomato sauce served with wholegrain bread for the inevitable scarpetta.
You can imagine that my position was anything but easy.
Finally, since anything involving meatballs wins me over, I chose this great classic. The meatballs were soft and savoury, and the tomato sauce was as comforting and indulgent as any sauce inspired by grandma’s cooking should be. Serving everything with warm rustic bread for the obligatory scarpetta was absolutely spot on.
You don’t know what scarpetta is? It’s the very Italian practice (we even have a specific word for it!) of mopping up leftover tomato sauce or other condiments from your plate with bread.
When etiquette was an obsession of the upper-middle classes, doing the scarpetta in a restaurant was considered highly improper, and the clandestine practice was mostly confined to home kitchens and casual trattorias.
Today we are much more relaxed about it, and there are even Michelin-starred chefs like Mauro Uliassi who have dedicated a dish to the scarpetta. So we can safely say the practice has officially been redeemed.
Finally, we closed with dessert. The options were vegamisù (naturally the vegan sibling of tiramisu), a chocolate and orange lingotto, and an elderflower and raspberry tart.
I am a huge fan of tarts when they’re done properly, so the choice was almost inevitable.
The shortcrust base was excellent — pleasant and crumbly. Once again, using only plant-based ingredients, achieving that texture is not easy. Plant-based pastry often risks being a little too hard. So major compliments to the chef. The raspberry jam was delicious as well.
A special mention also goes to the barley coffee. When I order it at a restaurant rather than a café, it often tastes terrible. In this case, it was perfect.
The only small note I would make about the entire meal is that I didn’t particularly taste the elderflower in the tart. Perhaps the raspberry slightly overpowered it?
Vegjoy also offers a beautiful selection of organic vegan wines, as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers. Upon request, they serve cocktails and fresh juices too.
Shortly, I walked out of VegJoy exactly how I like to feel after lunch: satisfied, comforted, inspired, but never weighed down. And that, to me, is the true mark of a great vegan restaurant.
I paid 32 Euro for a starter, a second course and a dessert.
Vegjoy
Via Vasto, 4
00182 Roma
Phone: +39 06 89134914
Website: https://www.facebook.com/vegjoysrls
Email: vegjoysrls@gmail.com
