Tips for eating vegan in Montenegro

This isn't my usual round up of places I've enjoyed eating when I'm on holiday - I have to tell you that Montenegro is not the most vegan-friendly place I've visited. That said, it's an absolutely beautiful place and you'll not regret going, but you just might not remember your trip for the food!

Here are my tips for getting good meals in Montenegro.

1. Track down the 'healthy' and 'junk' sections in supermarkets
All of the supermarkets I visited, whether big or small, had a healthy food section.

Supermarket shelves in Montenegro

Along with diet jams and fitness porridge, you'll be able to find plant-based milks, vegan spreads, and other useful vegan items. If you're lucky, they'll have the 'vegan OK' logo on the front, if not, get yourself the Google Translate app and scan the ingredients list to double check.

Interestingly, there are a quite a few chocolate brands on sale in Montenegrin supermarkets that are accidentally vegan. I have a bit of thing for Bajadera...

2. Get yourself an apartman (nope, that's not a typo)
In Montenegro, most holiday accommodation is either sobe (rooms) or apartmani (apartments). Apparently, there didn't used to be a lot of hotel accommodation in Montenegro as there wasn't much of a tourist industry demanding it, and instead it was more common to rent an apartment when you visited the country. Luckily, that means it's really easy to self cater in Montenegro. There's not a huge amount of restaurants serving vegan meals, but you can still cook yourself a good feed at home.

3. Stock up in Croatia
Montenegro shares a border with Croatia, and a lot of travellers make their way into the country via towns like Dubrovnik or Split. If you're doing the same, stop off at a branch of chemist chain DM. DM is a German brand, and a long with typical pharmacy goods like shower gel and plasters, it also sells a lot of ready made vegan food that doesn't need refrigerating. Along with tins of soup and chilli and packets of curry, you can also pick up packets of tortellini, blocks of tofu and jars of hummus and chuck them into your backpack to enjoy once you cross the border. We used a lot of DM products to keep meals interesting on our travels.

4. Go to Podgorica
Even in Montenegro's tourist hotspots, restaurants selling vegan meals are few and far between. The exception is Podgorica, the nation's capital. While the city itself isn't particularly exciting, it's a great base for jumping off to several of Montenegro's attractions, including Lake Skadar, Ostrog monastery, or Durmitor or Biogradska national parks. It's also got the country's only all-vegan eatery, as well as a raw cake supplier!

5. Look for vegan sorbets
Ice cream stands are everywhere around Montenegro's streets, either dishing out things on sticks from chest freezers or offering all manner of flavours by the scoop. Il Gelato di Salvatore, which has branches in the cities of Kotor and Budva, carries the 'vegan ok' label, saying that all its fruit flavours are suitable for vegans. I've tried most of them, and can confirm they're all delicious! Moritz Eis, which has one branch in Tivat and a second one on the way in Budva, says all its sorbets are vegan. I can confirm they're absolutely delicious too!

Sorbet from Moritz Eis

6. Think international
A lot of restaurants in Montenegro focus on traditional meat and fish dishes, or otherwise offer Italian-influenced menus of pizza and pasta. Eateries offering dishes from outide Montenegro's (or Italy's) borders aren't common, but can be rich hunting grounds for hungry vegans. We enjoyed good takeaway noodles in Tivat's Ukemochi, while Budva's Taste of Asia also gets good write ups for offering vegan dishes.

Noodle boxes and summer rolls from Ukemochi

Any more top tips for eating well in Montenegro? Let me know in the comments below.