Restaurant, Contemporary, Vegan, Vegetarian, Italian, European, Healthy. Joia was the first vegetarian restaurant in Europe to be awarded a Michelin star (1996) and it remains a gastronomic delight. It serves vegetarian and vegan haute cuisine utilising seasonal, responsibly sourced produce; the recipes are sophisticated and complex and the space is suitably elegant.

Over thirty years of history have allowed it to become the first vegetarian restaurant in Europe, as well as having obtained a Michelin Star that can boast of being the only starred vegetarian restaurant in Italy. In command of the fleet, we find the Milanese Pietro Leemann, a creative chef who has been able to combine tradition with experimentation. Among the proposals on the menu, it is impossible not to taste the cauliflower and pumpkin pâté on a cascade of very fresh sprouts; the Panzanella is represented by crunchy vegetables with the center of wasabi scented cannellini beans, in the particular contrast of a bright raspberry together with the freshness of basil.

Joia is the very first exclusively vegetarian and vegan restaurant in Italy to receive the award of a Michelin Star thanks to the creativity of its Chef Pietro Leeman. Each creation is light and savoury, as seasonal ingredients are the protagonists of the sampler menus available. Delight your palate with a tasty vegetarian version of foie gras, with a risotto made of oriental-style black rice with delicate touch of ginger and daikon and end with an eclectic ‘Gong’, a melt-in-your-mouth meld of milk foam, chestnuts noodles, corn crumble, tilia flavoured English cream, raspberry sauce and quince jelly nestled in a discreet glass small jar.

When you talk about high vegetarian cuisine, a serious reference to Joia must be done: we’re talking about Pietro Leemann’s restaurant, the first and unique vegetarian chef to gain a Michelin star. Even if you’re vegetarian, vegan or omnivorous, certainly a meal at Joia is an experience to be done at least once in your life: vegetarian gourmet courses with curious names and prices, certainly not convenient, but absolutely undeniable. At the Joia Kitchen is possible to taste degustation of the renowned dishes that made famous the restaurant, with prices decisively more contained.

Joia was the first European vegetarian restaurant to be honoured with the prestigious Michelin award. Vibrant dishes and a cooking concept based on respect for nature and on the idea of food as a fundamental prerogative of the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of each individual. Healthy and natural ingredients form the basis of the vegetarian dishes that encapsulate Pietro Leemann’s all-green philosophy, as demonstrated by one of the highlights of the menu entitled ‘Il volto della natura’ (The Face of Nature).

Joia is truly an institution in the city, and it’s easy to see why!. This restaurant is the first vegetarian restaurant in Europe to have earned a Michelin star. The head chef is Pietro Leeman, who offers proposes dishes such as: cauliflower and pumpkin paté with sprout salad, buckwheat and chestnut chapati or a corn and fontina based sphere that’s crispy on the outside and melted on the inside, sweet carrot and saffron sauce, green and red cabbage pesto, and mountain turnip greens gratin.

Since opening Joia with a group of friends, in 1989, Chef Pietro Leemann has pioneered the concept of vegetarian gourmet cuisine. The restaurant gained recognition quickly, receiving a Michelin star in 1996 and a green star in 2020 for sustainable cooking. Joia, located in Milan’s Porta Venezia area, emphasises artistic, seasonal dishes influenced by Mediterranean flavours and Zen philosophy, using only organic and biodynamic ingredients which do not harm living creatures.

At Michelin-starred Joia (Via Panfilo Castaldi 18; tel.: 02 29522124; joia.it), which describes its cooking as “alta cucina vegetariana,” or haute vegetarian, you’ll find distinctly new takes on the zuppe di verdure. There’s one with mushroom, black chickpeas, vegetables and coconut served with a lime and rosemary garnish; another with a potato cream, Romanesco cabbage, Norcia truffle and violet potato chips that’s a luxurious homage to iconic chef Gualtiero Marchesi.

Joia is one of the few Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurants in the world. Chef Pietro Leemann’s inventive plant-based menu at Joia challenges preconceived notions about vegetarian cuisine, offering dishes that are imaginative and beautifully plated. The restaurant’s minimalist, zen-inspired interior complements the purity of the ingredients, making it a perfect spot for those looking to explore a sophisticated take on vegetarian dining.

Joia in Porta Nuova is an exceptional eatery for plant-based food, and it stands as the first vegetarian restaurant in Europe to earn a Michelin star!. The chic, understated interiors have some bold pops of color from the artwork and decorative plants, which reflects Joia’s menu: refined, clean tastes mixed with intense bursts of flavor. From the tasting menu, the highlight for me was the Japanese-inspired asparagus.

Today the Joia remains there, solid, a beacon of veg nutrition for all those who want to make it a restaurant model, especially if it is of a high level. But next to Joia there are many restaurants that have opened: raw food, vegetarians, vegans, trendy, animal rights, spiritualists. Because in the end the reasons for embracing a vegetarian diet are different, and Milan obviously knows how to grasp them all.

While the restaurant is entirely vegetarian, you’ll also find that chef Pietro Leemann’s menu is 80% gluten-free and vegan. The restaurant's concept is to bring natural and vegetarian cuisine to the Italian fine dining scene, and the menu has changed over the years to keep up with current expectations. The menu relies on seasonal fruits and vegetables, but expect bold dishes packed with texture and colour.

Even the natural cuisine chef chooses Pavè, together with Chinese restaurant Lon Fon and the Japanese restaurant Osaka. “I love these places because they manage to make me feel at home with their cuisine. It’s not easy to please a cook but here I feel totally comfortable despite my various eating restrictions: I have in fact chosen to follow a vegetarian diet without eggs, dairy and animal rennet”.

Handy if you’re carbon-offsetting your way around Europe, but the restaurant’s Green Michelin star shouldn’t be what gets you through the door. No, you’re booking a table here to feast on courses with a flair for flavour. Vegetables are the king of every dish – add in a little innovation and some Heston Blumenthal style innovation and the menu shapes up to become an evening of gastro discovery.

Location:Via Panfilo Castaldi, 18, 20124 Milano MI, ItalyPhone: +39 02 204 9244. In a laid-back setting in Milan, you’ll find a vegetarian restaurant with a Michelin star, celebrated as one of Europe’s finest – Joia. Indulge in meticulously sourced, biodynamic vegetarian, vegan, and raw food dishes, each resembling edible art and bursting with incredible flavors.

The list of Michelin restaurants in Milan includes one that has been awarded 1 Michelin star. Joia is located in Via Panfilo Castaldi. It is a refined vegetarian restaurant with a stylish oriental design, where you can enjoy typical Mediterranean dishes reinterpreted in an eclectic way, paying attention to the gastronomic traditions of international cuisine.

This Michelin 2-star restaurant has one conventional star and a “green star”, given to restaurants committed to sustainability. After choosing a healthier and more natural lifestyle, the founder of the restaurant and chef Pietro Leeman developed a new philosophy. The restaurant is focused on high vegetarian cuisine.

Established in 1989, Joia was the first fully vegetarian restaurant in Europe to earn a Michelin Star. Now boasting an 80% vegan and gluten-free menu, this is one of the few upscale vegetarian restaurants in Milan that offers indulgent, plant-based dishes that showcase an innovative approach to vegetarian cuisine.

Joia, the fabulous culinary hotspot on Via Panfilo Castaldi, has the honor of being the first vegetarian restaurant in Europe to earn a Michelin star. That in and of itself was already quite the achievement. What more when one of its signature dishes, the ' Uovo apparent' (apparent egg) takes the world by storm?

A temple of vegan cuisine, this is restaurant offers haute cuisine in elegant surroundings, with the calm tranquillity of a yoga studio. Inspired by Italian vegetarian traditions, using organic ingredients to create simple but delicious dishes. There is the option of a tasting menu or a four-course menu.

The beautiful Michelin Star vegetarian restaurant in Milan is a labour of love from Italian Swiss chef Pietro Leemann, who is heavily influenced by the time he spent working in Asia. The cuisine is a stroll through an imaginary landscape, completely inspired by nature. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

Pietro Leemann – the owner and chef of Joia – is considered the guru of vegetarian food or, according to his own definition, of “natural haute cuisine”. Several of his finest creations include his “uovo apparente” and his “elogio della Sicilia”. The wine list is just as classy as the restaurant.

Joia is a minimalistic place for the avant-garde fine dining experience in Milan. The menu is 80% vegan and gluten-free. Try vegetarian “foie gras”, roasted watermelon carpaccio, “Piatto Quadro”, panzanella with crunchy vegetables, and buckwheat crumble with cherries, peach, and elderberry.

Joia stands as a pioneer in vegetarian haute cuisine, offering gourmet plant-based dishes in a refined setting. Chef Pietro Leemann’s philosophy emphasizes health, sustainability, and flavor, creating a dining experience that delights the senses while honoring ethical culinary practices...

This place is heaven: beautiful warm lights, a relaxing environment where you can sit, relax, and enjoy vegetarian fine dining. Located close to Brera – the artists’ quarter – Joia reveals the passion and commitment of chef Pietro Leemann. Vegetarian food has never been so refined.

Founded in 1989, Joia is arguably the best vegetarian restaurant in Milan and is certainly the only one with Michelin stars, run according to the biodynamic Hindu doctrines of chef Pietro Leeman in a surprisingly unostentatious dining room. The set menus change according to what's…

Opened in 1989 by Chef Pietro Leemann, Joia became the first vegetarian restaurant in Italy to be recognized with a MICHELIN star in 1996. The restaurant focuses on conventionally meat-based dishes made meatless. They also have several vegan options clearly marked on the menu.

If you know the Crowded Planet, you’ll know we’re budget lovers – so why on earth are we recommending a vegetarian Michelin starred restaurant in Milan?. Because at lunchtime it’s affordable, with a €35 tasting menu and a €20 tasting platter. And it’s beyond delicious.

A vegetarian restaurant, but they combine vegetarian food and culinary art perfectly, the taste is not as worrying as we think, but very rich, there is a sense of hierarchy and our domestic vegetarian restaurant is still a little different

The restaurants with one star are Aalto, Berton, Contraste, Cracco in Galleria, Felix lo Basso Home and Restaurant, Horto, IYO Taste Experience, Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia, Joia, Alchimia, Sadler and lastly VIVA Viviana Varese.

A visit to establishments like Joia confirms the region’s commitment to diversity and quality, with Milan being home to not only traditional Italian cuisine but also avant-garde interpretations that honor Lombardy’s legacy.

Basil Leaves and Avocado on Sliced Bread on White Ceramic Plate. Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels. This is a very high-end mostly vegan restaurant in Milan which serves special Lacto-vegetarian plates that contain dairy.

Joia & Il Bistrot del Joia | Via Panfilo Castaldi 18: Renowned Chef Pietro Leemann creates gourmet gluten-free dishes and bread in-house. His establishment has also become a haven for vegetarians and vegans too.

Another restaurant with one MICHELIN Star, the chef Pietro Leemann here became a vegetarian after a gradual philosophical and spiritual transformation in Asia (the menu here is 80% vegan and gluten free).

A vegetarian feast in gourmet style – from delicate ravioli to colorful salads, all gluten-free and AIC-certified. The elegant decor makes it a great pick for a special dinner in Milan.

Joia $$$$ Excellent vegetarian and vegan specialties, with - according to Michelin - "a hint of Eastern flavour". Absolutely, one of the best restaurants in town.

Milan is home to the first vegetarian restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star back in 1996: Chef Pietro Leemans’ Joia.