We have had the amazing experience of sailing with Virgin Voyages four times since they launched, three times on Scarlet Lady and once on Valiant Lady.  If you aren't familiar with Virgin Voyages yet, here is how they describes their cruise line: 

Virgin Voyages is a new lifestyle travel brand focused on delivering irresistible cruise vacations. Virgin Voyages’ first ship, Scarlet Lady, was designed to reflect a yacht’s sleek luxury, offering the intimate, elevated experience of a boutique hotel at sea. Featuring spaces designed by some of the top names in contemporary interiors, Scarlet Lady is Adult-by-Design and a sanctuary at sea for the 18+ traveler. A dose of Vitamin Sea will be naturally intertwined across the entire ship, with well-being, relaxation and rejuvenation at the forefront. Scarlet Lady will also feature alluring entertainment and 20+ world-class intimate eateries on board. With a modern twist on luxury, coupled with discerning design, Virgin Voyages offers incredible value for its sailors, including unlimited access to all restaurants and eateries, group fitness classes, free WiFi and tips covered in the voyage fare.  Source: Virgin Voyages Press Release

This cruise line is pretty accommodating of vegans - in fact, they have menu options labeled vegan/vegetarian at nearly every restaurant. The purpose of this post is to provide all the information about vegan food options on board that we were able to gather on two cruises on Scarlet Lady and one on Valiant Lady (there were some small differences between the two ships).  Some options have changed over time, so the post has been updated.  We have also noted below where things were different on Valiant Lady compared to Scarlet.

We had an incredible time on this cruise and the food was outstanding - you will not go hungry on this cruise!  We will definitely be going back. If you like this guide and decide to book Virgin Voyages, please consider booking with our agency using the link below.

Book Virgin Voyages Here

A few things to note before we get started:

• Menu items and ingredients are subject to change at any time.  The information here was current as of the September 29, 2023 Voyage on Scarlet Lady and the October 16, 2022 sailing of Valiant Lady.  If you take a cruise on Virgin Voyages and get different information or find something that we didn't, please contact us using the form on the left side of the page to tell us what you found out and we will update this page!  Please also note that if ordering something that isn't specifically marked vegan that we discuss on this page, please confirm with your server if the ingredients are still vegan.
• We noticed several discrepancies between the restaurant menus that were available in the Virgin Voyages smart phone app vs. the menus available in the restaurant.  Please double check that all items are in fact vegan before ordering!
• We found that some crew members were not very familiar with what vegan meant or were not familiar with ingredients.  If you are ever in doubt, please ask to speak with a manager or have someone ask the chef about ingredients (essentially anything that is not on a menu explicitly labeled as vegan, be sure to confirm with a chef/manager).
• There are a few off-menu vegan items, which I will note below.  It seems that their ability to modify or create dishes "on the fly" is minimal, but they will definitely do their best for you.  In general you should expect that you won't be able to get anything that isn't on the menu unless it is a basic modification to an existing menu item. The one exception might be at The Wake on Valiant Lady where the manager told us that if given advanced notice, the chef could make us a special meal.

The Galley

The Daily Mix

We ordered the Spinach & Quinoa Salad on the first cruise and it was tasty but there was no sesame tofu on it.  We got it again during the 2022 cruise, and it included the tofu - it was very good.  Note that you can also do a "build your own" salad with numerous topping choices - you can request the tofu from this salad and the spicy peanut dressing.

With the tofu and TONS of dressing.  Also got pickled beets added upon request.

Build your own salad with tofu.

On another day, we stopped here for breakfast and got a bagel with vegan (non-dairy) spread (cream cheese).  Note that this was only available on our 2021 cruise - since that time, they have not had vegan cream cheese.

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Diner & Dash

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Bento Baby

At Bento Baby you can get a cucumber avocado roll with seaweed salad (I think sometimes this is just avocado roll).  Nothing too special, but a decent option if you love sushi.

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Burger Bar

The Burger Bar offers an Impossible Burger that is marked vegan on the menu.  You can also get a side of fries here, which are vegan, and quite tasty!  The Impossible Burger is served with a an unmelted slice of vegan cheese and the burger was pretty well done, but it's a decent option.

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Let's Taco Bout It

At this spot, you can get fried avocado tacos that are sometimes marked vegan on the menu (NOTE that as of October 2023 on Scarlet, these are no longer labeled vegan - you will need to ask a chef if they are or can be made vegan).  They were delicious!  This location has different options for breakfast, which usually include breakfast burritos and eggs benedict.  We did not ask if any burritos can be prepared vegan, but it may be possible as they seem to have rice, beans, and avocado available.  However, one morning on Valiant Lady we say that they had an option called "The Vegan" for breakfast, which seemed to be their take on a tofu benedict.  It had a slice of tofu on top of some kind of relish of tomatoes and peppers on top of a slice of toast, which appeared to be gluten free potentially.  It had a vegan hollandaise on top.  Overall it did not have a huge amount of flavor, but it was a nice option to have something different for breakfast.

Fried Avocado Tacos

"The Vegan" - a tofu benedict

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Noodle Around

At Noodle Around you can get a wonderful miso udon dish.  It comes with mushrooms and edamame.

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Hot Off The Press

At Hot off the Press there are actually three options you can get.  One is a grilled vegetable sandwich (NOTE that as of October 2023 on Scarlet, this sandwich is no longer labeled vegan - be sure to double check with a chef before ordering), that includes various grilled veggies.  This is a really delicious option when it is grilled well and it has vegan cheese and hummus along with various grilled vegetables.

You can also get a Crunchy PB&J Brioche sandwich.  It's a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which is lovely.  Note that that this option is not marked vegan anymore if you go to the counter, but we spoke to our server and they confirmed it was made vegan.  Just be sure to ask for confirmation before ordering.

Finally, you can get Avocado Toast.  The toast is pre-made and served cold, so not the best option (the avocado toast at Razzle Dazzle is far superior) but it still tastes pretty good.  Note that on Valiant Lady it seemed to be prepared fresh and was much better.

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The Sweet Side

The Sweet Side is a dessert location, but they also have some breakfast items.  We actually found several vegan options here (other than fresh fruit, which they offer).  The Chocolate Ginger Cake is quite good, although it is not a cake nor does it taste like ginger.

Chocolate Ginger Cake

Vegan Palmiers - simple, but tasty

Three other items were similar and not that great or were inconsistent.  None of them were marked as vegan, but after speaking to a chef, they confirmed that they did not contain any animal products, including dairy and gelatin, which I might have expected in non-vegan versions.  They all featured pretty bland bases with some fruit on top.  

This first one was acai panna cotta (now clearly labeled as vegan as of October 2023 on Scarlet). This item is hit or miss - sometimes it has almost no flavor and the texture of the panna cotta can be very rubbery and pretty gross.  However, sometimes it is silky smooth with a nice acai flavor.  This item is inconsistent even within one cruise, so if you try it once and it is gross, just try it again another day.  

Acai Panna Cotta on Scarlet Lady

Acai Panna Cotta on Valiant Lady

Chia pudding made with coconut milk.  Not much flavor.  This was only available on Scarlet Lady.

Overnight oats made with almond milk (Scarlet Lady) or cashew milk (Valiant Lady).  It was pretty flavorless other than a mild cinnamon flavor.  Adding some jam from the Daily Mix or some sliced bananas helps this be more flavorful.

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Pop Star

Pop Star is a popsicle cart located inside the Galley.  They cycle the popsicle flavors daily and many of them are vegan.  The label signs are not accurate regarding which are vegan, so ask to see the ingredients.  We've tried the Peach, the Berry Rose, and the Pineapple Thyme.

Berry Rose popsicles - delicious and refreshing!

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Sun Club Cafe

Sun Club Cafe is located outside on Deck 16 - it's near the pool, which is one deck below.  Sun Club Cafe offers Poke bowls.  There are no vegan poke bowls on the menu, but they can make a custom bowl for you with various ingredients that are vegan-friendly.  This spot also has a vegan bao bun and a vegan dip (basically guacamole). If you are very clear on what you want, you can get a really delicious vegan poke bowl here.  Look at the menu and pick out the different components of the non-vegan bowls that seem vegan and ask if they can put those items together into a vegan bowl for you.  They should be able to do rice base, then the mixed veggies, plus the lotus root, mushrooms, and avocado.  The black garlic gochujang sauce was also vegan when we asked.

In October 2023 we tried the vegan mushroom bao bun.  We must say that this dish was quite disappointing.  The filling had a nice flavor, but the bao bun itself was basically like bread rather than a traditional steamed bun.  It wasn't bad, but was not the expected texture so was a bit of a disappointment.

As of October 2023, this location also has a dip called "Guaka" Mousse.  It is basically creamy guacamole with salsa.  They don't give you enough bread, so ask for more if needed!

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The Dock House/The Dock

The Dock House / The Dock are two connected eateries - one inside and one outside.  Here they have a number of "mezze" dishes that are vegan.  We tried almost all of them (they apparently also have a chocolate hummus, but we didn't try that).  IMPORTANT NOTE: The Lavash crackers here are NOT vegan, at least not on Valiant Lady.  We were served them several times even when we said we were vegan before one server who was vegetarian and understood our restrictions better spoke to a chef and found out the crackers contain dairy.

Babba Ghanouj with fresh vegetables.

Falafel

Walnut and pomegranate dip (note the lavash crackers are usually NOT vegan, so be sure to ask for confirmation from a chef)

Cauliflower Couscous

Watermelon with tajin and pepitas

Beet Hummus

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The Pizza Place

The Pizza Place was a welcome surprise.  Their menu has a vegan pizza option, which is made with Violife mozzarella.  You can modify the toppings on the pizza to get whatever topping options they have.  On Valiant Lady we found that they had the following vegan toppings: tomato sauce, vegan cheese, arugula, basil, tomatoes, mushrooms, grilled onions, roasted garlic, and olives.

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The Social Club

The Social Club has a Vegan Hotdog, which is a Beyond Brat with pickled jalapenos, tomato slices, and spicy mayo.  It's a basic but decent option for a quick snack.  They serve popcorn here too, which is also vegan, but unfortunately the soft pretzels are not (they contain egg).  I did not ask about the drinks.

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Lick Me Til Ice Cream

This is the ice cream shop on board.  They have a number of flavors, but only one that is vegan each day.  We have seen the following flavors: raspberry beet, passionfruit, blackberry, black cherry, mango orange, peach, coconut, apricot, orange, peach orange, and green machine (kiwi, apple, avocado and lime).  The Blackberry was by far the best!  These are all sorbets and not ice cream.

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Grounds Club

Grounds Club is the gourmet coffee shop on board.  There is one location on Deck 7 and a second in the Galley on Deck 15.  This location is not included in your fare, so it is an extra charge (except for the pastries, which ARE included).  They have various plant milks, including oat, soy and almond.  As of October 2023 on Scarlet lady, they now have vegan muffins available.  If they aren't shown in the case, they might be behind the counter - just ask the barista if they have any.

Vegan Muffins at the Grounds Club

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The Beach Club at Bimini

The Beach Club at Bimini is Virgin's style of private Bahamas island experience.  They don't own a whole island some other cruise lines, but they have built a private club on the beach.  It is a beautiful venue, but be warned that there isn't much shade.  If you don't get a seat under one of the few beach umbrellas, you won't have many options to lounge in the shade (which is my preferred way to experience the outdoors).

At the beach club they have two locations that serve food (although on our second cruise only one was open, I think because the cruise was not very full).  I spoke to a chef and was very impressed that he was able to make many of the items vegan.

As you can see, there were several vegan options.  The pumpkin curry, the rice and beans, the grilled corn, and the fruit salad were all vegan (or could be prepared vegan) on our first cruise.  On the second there was a salad with crispy tofu and on our third time at Bimini they had crispy cassava fries in addition to the other options.  Just ask to speak to a chef before ordering to be sure.  The pumpkin curry is outstanding!

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Restaurants (reservations available)

The Wake

We were excited to try The Wake for brunch on our second cruise.  They were able to prepare three dishes for us here.  The first was a citrus salad that they modified to be vegan (removed cheese).  The other two - "Egg" in a Hole and Coconut Panna Cotta are both marked vegan on the menu and both were absolutely outstanding (note, however, that the Panna Cotta is a bit hit or miss and sometimes comes out too solid and lacking flavor).  These were two of our favorite dishes on the cruise.  The Egg in a Hole is some kind of white sauce with sautéed spinach and yellow bell pepper surrounded by crispy polenta.  Note that if your polenta does not come out with a nice light brown crispy crust, then it hasn't been cooked properly and you may want to ask for another because this dish really sings when you get the properly crispy polenta.

We ate at The Wake once for dinner on Valiant Lady and we had the Egg in the Hole again, which was great.  We also were able to have all of the vegetable side dishes (mushrooms, asparagus, spinach, potatoes, and french fries) made vegan (we forgot to take a photo).  The vegetables were basically plain and not very seasoned since the typical flavors added are not vegan.  But they were cooked well and tasted pretty good with some salt and pepper.  The manager here also said that if given advanced notice the chef could prepare us a special vegan entree.

Fennel & Citrus salad modified to be vegan

'Egg' in a Hole crispy polenta dish

Coconut Panna Cotta

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Gunbae

Gunbae is the Korean BBQ restaurant on board.  This spot is a ton of fun, especially if you go with a group.  They have rowdy drinking games that people seemed to enjoy.  We don't drink alcohol, so we did not partake.  Also, at this restaurant they seat multiple parties together at a large table around a communal cooking grill.  When we checked in for our reservation, I advised the host that we are vegan and would rather not be cooking with other people who would be cooking meat.  They sat us at a small table for 4 (just the two of us) and did not put anyone else with us.  I don't know if this will always be possible, but I was very thankful.

We were happy to find out that they were able to serve us several vegan "banchan", 4 different vegan side dishes, and then they gave us a plate full of vegetables to cook.  Everything was really delicious - I didn't find most of it to be very spicy.  Not all of the items we received were marked vegan, so just let your server know of your needs and they will check with the kitchen to figure out what you can have.  Some of our items were modified to be vegan.

Banchan on Valiant Lady

Miscellaneous vegetable banchan on Scarlet Lady

Vegetable japchae

Mung bean pancakes

Vegan bibimbap Lots of veggies to grill

Grilled Veggies

Miso Soup on Valiant Lady

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Pink Agave

Pink Agave is a Mexican restaurant and they have several vegan options on the menu.  We tried them all and loved everything, except the dessert was just OK (it was better on Valiant Lady). It was definitely nice to have a dessert option, so I'm not going to complain.  We found the flavors to be very focused on tasting the ingredients as opposed to having lots of salt or oil or other seasonings.  The vegetable flavors came through really strongly.

They started us with a spicy nuts and pumpkin seeds.  It was salty and delicious! I believe this is on the late-night menu.

Esquites - grilled corn without spicy aioli.

Next we had the Chayote Yucateco, which included mexican squash and baby carrots.  I expected more spice because of the habaneros, but it was very subtle.  The mexican squash was outstanding.

We also had guacamole, which was nice.  It had pomegranate seeds and freshly fried tortillas.  It was the third time we had avocado that day.  LOL.

Roasted potatoes made without the chorizo - very tasty!

Our main course was the Relleno Vegano.  It was a roasted poblano pepper stuffed with mashed russet potato and corn.  The flavor of the vegetables was outstanding.  Not overly spiced - you could really taste the veggies.  This was one of our favorite dishes on the cruise!

Our dessert was the tamal de chocolate.  I've never been a huge fan of tamales, so I wasn't that excited about this.  Chocolate with corn meal is a little odd.  The desert was good, but not great, and I didn't feel the need to finish it.  It would have been helped by a little more sugar I think.  We tried this again on Valiant Lady and it was better - more moist and a little sweeter.  It was like a brownie made with corn meal.

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Razzle Dazzle

Razzle Dazzle was the restaurant I was most excited about before the cruise.  As you'll see from the photos below, it definitely had the most options for vegans, including breakfast and dinner.  On our first cruise we were a bit disappointed by this option, but they improved a lot on the second cruise (although there were still some disappointments). As of October 2023 on scarlet Lady they have completely changed the dinner menu and none of the original dinner offerings are still available.  We have left these items below but have noted the changes, just in case they haven't removed these items on other ships yet.  Sadly, they have removed ALL vegan desserts from the dinner menu, which is very disappointing.  They have increased the amount of animal meat options at this restaurant, which is frustrating.

Our recommendation for the new dinner menu is to skip the appetizers and get one of the entrees as your app and the other entree as your main.  Both the cauliflower and the beet pierogis are excellent.

Dinner

Dinner menu appetizer - Fried Green Tomatoes and Okra.  This was pretty bland, nothing special but at least it's an option.

Dinner menu appetizer - oyster mushroom carpaccio.  This dish lacked flavor, didn't seem much of a point to it.

This is the NEW Nashville Hot Cauliflower dish on the dinner menu as an entree.  This was an outstanding option, but it packs a lot of heat.  It is sweet and spicy as well as being nice and crispy.  Defintely dip it in the vegan ranch dressing.  We recommend getting this as your appetizer and the other  entree as your main.

This is a NEW Beet Pierogis entree on the dinner menu.  This was the star of the new dinner menu.  They are served in a vegan yogurt sauce, which was a little odd but actually complemented the flavor of the dish well.

Nutty Gazpacho - this was one of my favorite items.  Super creamy and delicious.  This is NO LONGER AVAILABLE - it is still on the brunch menu.

Mushroom Tartare - this starter was also fantastic.  This is NO LONGER AVAILABLE for dinner - it is still on the brunch menu.

Whole Roasted Cauliflower - it's beautiful. Make sure to ask for it well-done so the cauliflower is tender.  Request extra curry sauce.  This is NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

Blistered shishito peppers - always love them.  This is NO LONGER AVAILABLE on Scarlet Lady.

Blueberry green tea cheesecake.  This was a fantastic dessert!  The berry flavor was strong and the cheesecake was so creamy.  We loved it!  Unfortunately they seemed to have changed the recipe for the second cruise and the texture and flavor were not as great.  This is NO LONGER AVAILABLE for dinner - it is still on the brunch menu.  If you ask nicely, they may bring it to you at dinner.

Vegan milk and cookies!  Who thought we would be able to get vegan milk and cookies?  This is NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

Brunch

The restaurant offers an array of pastry options, but only one is vegan, unfortunately.  The good news, is that it is a super moist banana muffin with chocolate chips and almonds on top (note that on Valiant Lady, the banana muffin does not contain chocolate chips).  It was delicious!

This was one of the best avocado toasts I've ever had.  The grilled lime squeezed on top was so good.  We got this almost every day on the cruise.

One of the side items you can get is a "sage Impossible patty."  It doesn't look like much but it tasted very good.  As a pro-tip, get 2 orders of avocado toast and one or two of these patties and make yourself a sandwich!

This is the Impossible Burger option that is available on the brunch menu and the dinner menu.  It was good, but it was kind of just a basic burger.  NOTE that on Valiant Lady they do not have any vegan salad dressing for the salad.  It is served dry.

Acai bowl made with coconut milk and acai on Valiant Lady (you must specify that you want this prepared vegan).  Note that on Scarlet Lady you cannot get the acai mix made vegan - they use dairy yogurt only.  You can, however, ask for it to be prepared with Ube ice cream (see next photo), but please double check that it is vegan before ordering.

'Acai' Bowl but made with Ube Ice Cream to be vegan (on Scarlet Lady - on Valiant Lady the ube ice cream contains dairy) - please confirm that this is in fact vegan as it is not a standard item and recipe can change at any time.

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Test Kitchen

The Test Kitchen is kind of an experimental/experiential restaurant.  It's a really lovely, modern space.  They don't provide a menu to choose from - they just a full 6 course meal already planned out (on our second cruise this was reduced to 5 courses - apparently not a lot of vegans/vegetarians dine here, so they've cut out some options). On our Valiant Lady cruise they had added a second menu at this location, so if you're on a longer cruise, go to the front of the restaurant and ask when they are switching menus so you can possibly try both menus.  On Valiant, both menus had 6 items for us, but only 4 changed between the two menus.

Trust me, you will not feel you are missing out as a vegan at this one!  On our first cruise, we were quite full when we left here, but on the second after the removed one of the more hearty dishes, we left feeling satisfied but not as full.

Menu 1 is below - this includes gazpacho, peas, asparagus panna cotta, vegetable tart, mandarin sorbet, and coconut cake with chocolate ganache.

The Frozen Gazpacho.  It starts with a scoop of what looks like gazpacho ice cream and then pour additional liquid gazpacho around it.  This was super flavorful.  Actually looks and tastes kind of like the one from Razzle Dazzle, but I didn't mind.

This was a pea dish that is usually served with an egg yolk, but that is obviously left off for the vegan option.  It is served under a glass dome filled with smoke.  There are little balls of almond oil.  The dish tasted nice, but I'm not a huge fan of peas.

Asparagus Panna Cotta - this has a nice creamy texture and a nutty flavor.  It's quite delicious.

The Vegetable Tart was the star of the savory courses!  Most the vegetables were pickled and the whole thing was really delicious, although on our second cruise we felt that it was not as well filled and not as good as on the first.

This was the first dessert - or perhaps a palate cleanser.  It was mandarin sorbet and it was exquisite.  The mandarin flavor was so intense.  Usually I get annoyed when served sorbet as a vegan because it's sort of the easy default dessert option, but I would eat this sorbet every day if I could!

The final dish of the night was this decadent chocolate and coconut bar.  It was kind of like cheese cake I guess?  It was absolutely delicious.

The second menu is below.  This menu includes a tomato dish, a smoked tofu dish, a beet ravioli, pumpkin barley risotto, and the same mandarin and coconut desserts as on Menu 1.

 

Tomatoes with an interesting tomato cake and some foam

Marinated and smoked tofu with cucumbers "three ways"

Beet "Ravioli" with foam - the foam was very sweet, which I didn't like paired with the more savory "ravioli."  The ravioli part was tasty.

Pumpkin barley risotto.  This was a very hearty dish with a strong pumpkin flavor.  For me it could have used a little more salt, but it was very good.  It was the best dish of Menu 2.

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Extra Virgin

On our first cruise, the host at Extra Virgin told us nothing could be made vegan.  We decided to try and ask them again on the second cruise because this just didn't seem right.  We were delighted to hear that they could in fact accommodate us as vegans.  There were about 4 or 5 options we could have plus dessert.  We chose 3 of the savory items and two dessert options.  Make sure to tell your server you are vegan and they will speak with the chef to confirm what you can have.  On our Valiant Lady cruise, they were able to add one more option, which was a vegan pasta made with either a tomato sauce, a pesto sauce, or olive oil.  As of October 2023 on Scarlet Lady there is still NO vegan pasta option.  All pasta contains egg.  During our October 2023 Scarlet Lady sailing, two of the items we ordered came out with cheese on them even though we had specified vegan and the server had apparently made notes on our order.  Please check before eating that you don't have shredded cheese on your dish!

They started us with focaccia style bread, which was vegan as-is.

Crispy artichoke dish.  It was flavorful but not crispy.  The second time we got this, it had a crispy coating.

Ribollita - A cannellini bean and vegetable stew.  It had tons of flavor.

Brussel Sprouts Arrabbiata (veganized) - another very delicious option.  I love polenta.

Vegan Pasta with pesto (Valiant Lady only, may not be available)

Raspberry Rose Sorbet.  It was creamy and delicious.  Note that not all the sorbets are vegan so be sure to ask.

Chocolate Olive Oil cake with almond sorbet.  It was delicious, but the flavor and texture of the chocolate cake is a little unusual, so not everyone will enjoy.

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