Bolzano is a very cool, very beautiful place. I found mention of it in a travel guidebook and headed there on a whim - Germanic vibes meets Italian culture in the Alps? Sign me up.
It's a city for outdoorsy people, of which I'm very much not on - but the views, the history, the old town all won my heart. We spent a handful of days there this summer and I'm already wondering how I can make sure it's on my next Italian itinerary.
Is it a vegan paradise? Sadly not. Is it somewhere you can find plant-based food for a few days without issue? Absolutely. Here are a few places we tried, some we'd rush back to and some we... well, read on.
Urban Brunch
Via Argentieri, 18, 39100 Bolzano BZ, Italy
+39 0471 366397
Urban Brunch is not going to rock your world. It's not going to serve you up a dish you haven't had before, or couldn't try elsewhere in any other city that's frequented by a reasonable amount of tourists across the world. There's matcha lattes and avocado on toast, bagels and burgers. What stands out about Urban Brunch though is that, in a town where vegan options aren't plentiful, it has some decent vegan options on its menu, and they're clearly marked to boot.
If you're in the mood for a full brunch, there's an entirely vegan option for €22: apple pie, hummus toast, and an oat matcha latte.
I really enjoyed the apple pie - suitably sweet, suitably deep and suitably cinnamon-ed. If I was feeling pedantic, I'd say it was more a tart than a pie, because there's no pastry on top, but I'm not, so I'll let it go. I'd happily order this again.
Below is what Urban Brunch calls its 'yummus toast' - I guess it's a clunky portmanteau of yummy and hummus? Luckily, the name is the worst thing about that. I was fully prepared to be underwhelmed by this, but it was actually really good - half smashed avocado on toast, half silky hummus, with some surprisingly good tomatoes and poppy seeds for garnish.
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Bonus points to Urban Brunch for having outdoor seating to watch le tout Bolzano pass by while you're sipping on your coffee. So, tl:dr - Urban Brunch isn't going to change your world, but it's a pleasant stop for breakfast.
Nadamas
Piazza delle Erbe, 43/44, 39100 Bolzano BZ, Italy
+39 0471 980684
Prepare yourself for what might become something of a theme over the next few paragraphs. If I were to describe a visit to Nadamas, I'd say it's an appealing space, lovely outdoors, while the food is fine, it's fairly unexciting, but great to have any vegan options at all in a town that's not overflowing with them.
Nadamas is a pub of two halves - outside, there's a buzzy terrace for soaking in the Bolzano sun and watching the world go by, and inside is dark and cosy, perfect for seeing out the Alpine winter in comfort while plotting what you'll do when the good weather returns.
Nadamas' online menu doesn't show what's vegan and what's not, but the paper menus make it clear, and during our visit, there were enough vegan choices to have a starter, main and dessert if you wanted. I wasn't hungry enough for three courses so just helped myself to the tofu thai rice below.
It wasn't the most Thai-flavoured dish I'd ever eaten. It's more the vibe of 'I've decided to make fried rice with whatever veg are at the back of the fridge and need using up'. No shame in that game - it was tasty - but Thai it was not.
So again, nice place, food was fine if not exciting, but I'd still be happy to go back.
Poke Go
Via Leonardo Da Vinci, 6, 39100 Bolzano BZ, Italy
+39 350 860 3437
Poke Go is one of a handful of poke places in Bolzano, and the reason we took ourselves here instead of any of the other places dotted around the city is that Poke Go has a straightforward, vegan-friendly ordering system. You get a piece of paper with pictures of what you want, tick off all your choices - vegetable, protein, base, the usual - and then they make it up to your spec.
This was a large bowl with tofu, chickpeas, edamame and who knows what else, and it was enough to feed two of us, which makes it not only tasty, but cheap too.
Gelaterie Portogallo
Via Museo, 26, 39100 Bolzano BZ, Italy
+39 0471 180 1910
What's the point in going to Italy without checking out all the gelato? Bolzano might not be as blessed as other Italian cities in terms of vegan-friendly ice cream places but that doesn't mean you can't get your plant-based gelato on.
Portogallo Gelateria always had a massive queue in front of it any time we walked past, including at 10pm at night. It also had the most interesting vegan flavours. Are they connected? Who's to say, but it certainly was the reason me and Mr Flicking the Vs joined that queue when we got a chance.
This is pear sorbet with chocolate chips and it was wholly delicious. There's lots of fruit flavours as well as chocolate, all clearly marked vegan. If I'd have had more time in Bolzano working my way through the rest of the menu.
Tandoori Home Food
Via della Roggia, 22, 39100 Bolzano BZ, Italy
Phone: +39 351 292 5400
Tandoori Home Food is tucked away down a side street, and chalks up being another of Bolzano's restaurants blessed with a dainty little outdoor space where you can sit down for a meal with a bit of sun on your face and people watching on your retinas.
The online menu references a few vegan choices and has allergens listed, so you should be able to work out what's good for herbivores without too much effort, right? Umm, unfortunately not. The rickshaw box that me and Mr Flicking the Vs picked to shared between us is described as a "mixed vegan platter". Only when it arrived, it wasn't vegan - there was a dairy yoghurt dip. Much sadness ensued.
The dip was whisked away and we were assured that the rest of the dish was indeed vegan, but my mellow had sadly been harshed. Which was as shame, because the rest of it was lovely - lots of spicy, crunchy delights with some chutneys for extra spice.
Having had a nasty dairy surprise with the starter, I'd pretty much lost my appetite by the time the rest of the food came around. I'd chosen a tofu tikka and it looked like this:
I couldn't really tell where the bowl ended and the sauce began, and I couldn't tell where the sauce ended and the tofu began, because there were only a few cubes of tofu swinning in a few pints of sauce. It tasted fine, but every time I lowered my spoon, I felt like I was about to enter a bottomless vortex of pink that, for all I knew, spiralled on forever. The rice was good.
Other options
Bolzano has a few other veg-friendly options: Un Melograno, Humus and Pacha Mama all have good write-ups online, but we never seemed to time our visits right and kept passing by when they were shut. Vegan hotel La Vimea is also nearby and looks amazing for food.
My visit to Bolzano was sandwiched in between Florence and Verona, where I ate like a happy vegan queen and found some amazing restaurants. I loved Bolzano as a place and am looking forward to a return visit. Sure, it's not a vegan foodie's paradise, but you can get plant-based meals without much trouble, and spend the rest of your time just looking at those views...
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