The weather was pretty grim on our trip to the Cinque Terre – we went in October, which is always a bit of a gamble. There were two perfect days, one total washout, and one that was a bit grim but basically the damage was already done to the trails from the previous day’s downpour. So, we decided to take a day trip on that day instead, in the hopes that we could find some sun in a different place – and some better vegan options. Generally, it was a success.

The vegan options we found weren’t spectacular, unfortunately, but they did fill us up. We had our lunch at Jaa Nu’ Rosticceria Vegana, which is a pay-by-weight vegan deli that was doing a roaring takeaway trade. There were just a few seats at a bar, but it was primarily intended that you would piece together a box of food from the options on display (a few mains, lots of vegetabley sides) to takeaway.

This was the broccoli lasagna with a couple of sides, as ordered by Dr HH. Your immediate thought is probably that it does not look like the most appetising lasagna. Unfortunately, that was the case. It was quite dry and stodgy, with a very monotonous texture. We did enjoy the sides though – we both got fennel, cauliflower, and tempeh with vegetables. It seemed like a big oversight that there were no potato-based sides, but maybe this is what happens when you’re in southern Europe!

I got the same sides, but chose the soy ragu lasagna, which was more appetising and less dry, thankfully. It wasn’t the best lasagna I’ve ever had, but it was perfectly fine and filled me up.

Dr HH couldn’t resist getting a mini calzone as well, which turned out to be the highlight of the meal. The sun dried tomatoes gave it a lot of flavour, and we both enjoyed it.

As we were staying in to eat, the server warmed up our meals for us. She was also really helpful in explaining the dishes in English. Full marks for service, but the food was not mindblowing.

There were a few dessert options in the counter, but we decided to skip them in favour of some ice cream. We had our hearts set on Box Cream, a gelateria which had clearly labelled vegan options. They were mostly the standard options you find in Italy – dark chocolate and various fruits. But they also had almond, which is a novelty for me, so I had a scoop of that with the chocolate. It was a fun combination, the flavours were generally good and strong, and the texture was perfect, really creamy. There were a few indoors tables, which we used because we were keen for a rest, but it’s a good location for taking away and eating while meandering through the streets or towards the sea.

Ultimately, we weren’t dazzled by either the sights or the vegan options in Genoa (there were more vegan eateries that only opened for dinner, but we were just visiting during the day), but we had limited planning time. We were happy to have successfully chased some blue sky and found some vegan food that was not just a plain pizza and that we didn’t have to cook ourselves. Victory!