Milan seems to be the black sheep of Italy. Yeah, no one seems to have anything positive to say about it. Nothing negative either, simply that it’s nowhere near as exciting as Rome and Florence (which totally blew us away back in 2014!), for instance.
It is however a great starting point to explore northern Italy. Martin’s brother was visiting from Québec and we were looking for some exciting place to take him. Ryan Air’s summer sale and Milan’s proximity to the Cinque Terre, a long-time dream of mine, sealed the deal.
Due to a delayed flight (and some poor planning on our side, I won’t lie), we didn’t get too much time to explore. We headed straight to the Duomo, the famous cathedral, walked around a bit and then went directly to Flower Burger to calm our growling stomachs. *This is technically an ad even though I paid for my food*
The menu is 100% vegan and, if I’m not mistaken, every single item is homemade: patty, bun, sauces, cheeses… That’s always a big plus in my book! They also have several locations across Italy, so don’t despair if you’re only in Milan for a short time.
Happy Cow’s map of the city will show you an impressive number of vegan restaurants, but had we had the chance, we would have come back to Flower Burger a second time. The place is tiny but warm and friendly. Jess, who took our orders, was so sweet and tried to talk to us in French a bit while I broke out my rusty Italian.
After what seemed like an eternity trying to figure out which burger to choose (they ALL looked super yummy), we all ordered different ones. In the end, we were all highly pleased with our meals. I don’t think you can go wrong here. Those buns were so soft, yet so firm (ok, that made me giggle a bit). And can we take a second to address how gorgeous they look?
Just to be clear, they don’t use any nasty food coloring to achieve these beautiful results. Can you guess what they used? :)
Practical info
Languages spoken: Italian, and not everyone speaks English!
Currency: euros
To find vegan & veg-friendly restaurants in the area: How to find vegetarian restaurants abroad with Happy Cow
**I’m very excited to announce that I recently became a contributor at Vegan Travel. This means you can also read this article (and future ones) at www.vegantravel.com! There you’ll also find more travels tips and videos to help you plan your trip :)
*Disclaimer: I paid for my meal. This is 100% my honest opinion. However, Flower Burger, if you’re reading this, feel free to give me all the vegan burgers!! :)
You can visit the restaurant’s page here: http://www.flowerburger.it/
You can find out more about their location in Rome on my friend Amanda’s blog: https://www.burgerabroad.com/2017/07/31/taste-the-rainbow-at-flower-burger-in-rome/
Vegan burgers sound interesting! It’s good to know that they don’t use artificial flavours for the burger bread. I would have guessed they use squid ink for the black burger but then it wouldn’t really qualify as a vegan burger so it has to be something else. What is it?
It’s activated charcoal! :D
It has an interesting effect the next day though… haha
These vegan burgers look incredible! I love the colourfulness of each bun, it’s great that you can find a place like this! I really is a hippy burger haha Thanks for sharing!
I’ve recently been bemoaning how hard it can be to find vegetarian and vegan options abroad. It can be done, but obviously, you often miss out on the yummy burgers. But not anymore, it seems! Flower Burger looks incredible. The fact that they make their own ingredients (and have vegan CHEESE) is awesome. I’m ready to hop a flight to Milan right now! <3 Thanks for sharing, definitely putting this on my list of places to eat when we visit!
Such a good post, because travelers who want to stay healthy while traveling is so hard!! Most travelers indulge and eat the traditional and typical food that is specific to that particular area, yet, it is so hard to find a healthy place that sells meals to a person who tries to stay on track. I love this post also because while many travelers blog about How good the traditional meals are, this is a very different view point on food!
OMG I’m so jealous!! I would give anything to try that burger and love how you posted about a vegan place while traveling because most travelers indulge in the go to meals that is particular that specific place, and its difficult for someone who tries to stay on a healthy track, stay healthy while traveling.
I am not vegan but OH MY DAYS do I want a burger like that now! I’ve seen photos of these “dark” burgers before and I always wondered what’s up with that color? That alone makes me want to take a bite! No, I have no idea what they used for the coloring, please tell! NEvertheless you seemed to have an amazing time in MIlan (I was there briefly in May) even if you didn’t get much time to explore, I enjoyed your encounter.
Flower Burger looks wonderful and colourful too! I know what you mean about Milan; I never hear anything good about it, but I know the north of Italy has more vegetarian/vegan places. Will check this out the next time I’m back in the north!
These burgers look so good! Dying to know what is used to color the buns! I love exploring vegan restaurants when I travel. I literally just spend most of my daytrip to Estonia wandering from one vegan restaurant to another and have no regrets :D Have to check this place out when I go to Italy!
I am no vegan but these burgers look delicious! I will definitely take note of Flower Burger if I visit Milan someday. Those burgers are calling my name, LOL!
I’m definitely not vegan, but those burgers look so tasty! I’ve never had a burger with a black bun before. We’ve explored a bit of Italy, but never Milan because of lukewarm reviews from friends and families. I might make it a stop on our next trip.
Great recommendation for a vegan burger in Milan. I like the fact that they don’t use artificial coloring. I am guessing they used turmeric to get that bright yellow bun? I had one of the best vegan burgers in my life in Jodhpur, India. It was a mushroom-paneer burger. Scrumptious!
We went to a place in Ljubljana that served vegan burgers that looked exactly like those. Just looking at your photos is making my mouth water. Not many places do great vegan burgers, IMHO, so it is especially awesome to find one that does. Nice to hear some nice words about Milan, too.