Tuscan Cuisine Gone Vegan at Konnubio Florence

I am a travel planner.

Maybe as a travel blogger, this is a given. However, as a vegan, this is purely for practical purposes. It’s always good to find places ahead of time where you can find awesome food, right? Particularly if you’re on any sort of special diet, it’s a good idea to do some research ahead of time to find the best dining spots. In Florence, it was incredibly easy to find vegan restaurants. The city is very accommodating to both vegetarian and vegan diets.

And sometimes, no matter how much planning you do in advance, you can stumble upon the greatest of places without even knowing that they existed.

Konnubio wasn’t on my list of vegan restaurants to check out. We happened to be wandering around the streets of Florence on our second day in the city. My vegan radar is always at work and I spotted the sign posted above. As if in a glimmering halo of light, the word, “Vegana” was shining brightly in florescent green chalk. It’s likely that I excitedly bounced around Justin and raced over to the menu posting. Everything looked delicious. So, this was where we ate dinner one evening in Florence, and you’ll soon see why you might want to race over there yourself.

Authentic Tuscan Cuisine

While Konnubio isn’t a strictly vegan restaurant, there is an emphasis on using organic, fresh, and locally grown ingredients for the meals. There is a fair representation of vegan fare on the menu – I’d say about half of the meals are vegan, and half of the meals have animal products in them. It really isn’t like a typical restaurant where the vegetarian choices involve removing the meat or cheese from a meal. The vegan meals are entirely their own unique creations, using inspiring elements to produce an appealing concoction. You’ll find authentic Tuscan cuisine gone vegan at Konnubio Florence.

The Restaurant

The restaurant itself was very elegant. There were tall skylights allowing generous amounts of light to spill into the room, paired with warm, atmospheric lighting for a dignified touch. Groups of glass-blown lights were suspended from the ceiling, and chic art was displayed on the walls. The restaurant felt very open and the tables were spaced far apart, providing an intimate dining experience.

The Food

The most important part – here’s what we ate! We ordered some red and white wine from the menu. There were many, many choices of wine for every taste. (And we were in Italy. It all tasted great). Justin and I both ordered one of the vegan soups from the menu. Justin got the Minestrone Di Verdure (mix of vegetables with short pasta) and I ordered the Pasta E Fagioli (pasta with beans flavored with spices served with tomato sauce). Naturally, we both sampled each others meals and let me tell you, both soups were divine. They were perfectly seasoned, incredibly flavorful, and I could have gone for second helpings. I was genuinely disappointed when I reached the bottom of my bowl. The soups were so good.

For our entrees, we were able to choose from a variety of vegan options on the menu. I couldn’t resist choosing the Lasagna Vegan (lasagna with seitan and rice milk cream) and Justin ordered the Spezzatino Di Seitan (seitan with vegetables, tomato sauce, and Tuscan spices). For those of you who are wondering what in the world seitan is, it’s a food made from wheat gluten that has a very meaty texture. It can be flavored in a variety of ways and stands out as a main protein in some vegan and vegetarian dishes. I was really happy that I could finally eat a traditional lasagna in Italy for the first time! It was very hearty and comforting with a very cheesy and creamy taste even though it was vegan. Justin also adored his seitan dish with robust helpings of root vegetables and chunks of “wheat meat:”.

 

Though there were a couple of vegan dessert options, we were completely full. I ordered a coffee to help myself wake up from being lulled into a delightful food coma. The coffee came with some yummy little biscuits. We gobbled them up and our server actually brought us a second plate of them as we enjoyed them so much.

Konnubio is one of those dining experiences that we’ll remember for a very long time. The meal was memorably delicious and we were talking about it even days after we visited. Even though it might not be on very many vegan lists, don’t skip over this one. Be sure to stop by and order yourself a bowl of soup and a helping of lasagna!

Here are some photos of the vegan parts of the menu:

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Ristoranne Konnubio Firenze

Via dei Conti 8R, Firenze 50123

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Have you enjoyed a memorable meal in Florence or in Italy before?