One of the most frequent questions I get – on my apps Eat Italy and Eat Italy, on this blog and over at Chowhound where I give free advice – is where can a vegetarian get a good meal? While many ask expecting an answer that’s a short list of my favorite ‘vegetarian’ restaurants, I give a different kind of answer: Almost anywhere.
Italy is a pretty vegetarian-friendly kind of place. Remember, this is home to the Mediterranean diet, where veggies – and other non meat things like cheese and legumes – make up the bottom part of the pyramid. So go into almost any tratttoria or ristorante and you will find tons of vegetarian-friendly first and second course options.
The Italian vegetarian smorgasbord used to be even easier. Until recently most simple Italian restaurants in Rome used to have quite a broad selection of antipasti displayed on a long table as you entered. Marinated peppers, sauteed zucchini, stewed artichokes as well as seafood salads and small white orbs of mozzarella were displayed in platters as a multicolored mosaic that offered any vegetarian (or not) a meal in itself.
Sadly, and for reasons I assume are part economic and part health-inspector-rules-induced, these deliciously meatless buffets have been fading out. That said, there are still a few hold outs that continue to shine.
Nerone, an old fashioned nothing-special-kind-of-place, is one of my favorites. Yes, the pastas and second courses are great. And yes, the location – with outside tables looking right at the Colosseum – is beyond breathtaking. But what do I really go for? The antipasti.
My friend Monica was in town last week, and even though she is definitely not a vegetarian, like a lot of Americans when it came time for lunch she expressed a craving for “just a salad, or maybe a plate of vegetables.” We headed straight for Nerone.
I’ll say right up front, there isn’t any grand innovation or creativity here. What there is are seasonal vegetables, cooked in a few different ways, served without fanfare. Grilled peppers simply dressed with oil and a bit of garlic; fried eggplant, breaded and drizzled with a light tomato sauce; pan fried zucchini rounds dressed with vinegar and mint; artichokes, stewed till they became like silk.
Nerone’s buffet is not ‘help yourself.’ Waiters will either prepare a plate of ‘misti’ for you, or else make your way in the back room and point to what looks good. If you are feeling like a bit of protein mozzarella, tiny anchovies, seafood salad and frittata are there too.
A plate of veggies, a basket of crusty bread and a half liter of the house Frascati and you won’t be asking me where to find the nearest ‘vegetarian’ restaurant any more, will you?
Hosteria Nerone
Via Terme di Tito 96
+39.06.481.7952
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Everything looks great! Vegetarians shouldn’t have any trouble finding non-meat alternatives.
I have great memories of eating like this on outr trips to Italy.
Would Vegans whoe avoid all oils and dairy be fine in Rome?
Vegans definitely have a harder time in Rome. Especially if you avoid all oils. That basically means nothing cooked, since most Italian restaurants use oil to cook almost everything.
Il Margutta near the Spanish Steps & Piazza del Popolo is great for vegetarians & non vegetarians as well.
Nerone was the 1st restaurant I took my family to when I 1st went to Rome in 1997. I had started doing all my own research for our Italy trips and it was scarey in those days without Internet and EAT Rome! It was fun seeing this article and the street scene of the Coleseum caught my eye . I had scrolled right by the Nerone plate of carciofi, but when I saw the sign, it was like yesterday!!! Thanks for the smile this brought to my face!!!
I ate here in 2008 and had the vegetable misti to start, but I believe that I was able to plate it myself. It truly was delicious beginning.
I may have been the latest to bug you about vegetarian dining in Rome. Thanks for writing about Nerone – I will eat there if I can score a table.
We ate at Nerone recently, on this recommendation on your app. Totally agree on the food, especially the veggie antipasto. But I’m wondering what might have changed in the past 3 years that have you describing views of the Colosseum. We ate outside (in September) and even imaging winter foliage couldn’t see how the Colosseum could ever be visible from any seat.
The restaurant is located on a corner, and the Colosseum is visible from the side street which leads to the Colosseum, not on the other side of course. And only if you are facing that way.