Barcelona and the surrounding areas were amazing to visit. My photo journal was my attempt at documenting all the beauty, but they were also a gluten-free gold mine! There were so many great stops, so I will just highlight my favorites.
BARCELONA
Yum! A cute place right near the Gothic Quarter. Dark and cozy with limited outdoor seating, this place is great for an evening dinner. Just like Budapest, we learned to make reservations. Almost any place can be booked online!
When we arrived, our name was on the table. We immediately settled into ordering tapa after tapa. I made it my job to compare patatas bravas on this trip. And theirs ranked high, but the steak tartar taco and grilled octopus were the winners.
I do not believe their menu was marked, but I had many options that the well informed and helpful staff explained to me.
Also in or near the Gothic Quarter, this place is where we landed when another place was full for the night. They did not mark on their menu, but our waitress disappeared to the kitchen and returned with a menu marked up by chef! I’d call that EXCELLENT service. They even had gluten-free bread!
Overall in Barcelona, staff were in the know and communication was not challenging. Ask! Talk! I’ve learned the more I do this, the better my dining experience is!
This gluten-free cafe and bakery is close to La Sagrada Familia. Since we weren’t staying in this area, I made sure we made this stop when we visited.
EVERYTHING is gluten-free. They have pretty large case of baked goods as well as sandwiches. We really enjoyed everything. Though, the donuts were definitely the highlight for me. When is the last time I had a donut?!
There are many more gluten-free bakeries that I heard about after we returned. Do your research on these and you’ll find a few more!
I look for tacos. And this place did them just right. It was great! We stopped for quick bite one day and had the best tacos. They are super gluten aware, and they have a Spanish gluten-free beer. They did bring out one of my tacos in a flour shell, but they quickly fixed it and they were very apologetic. I think our favorite was the el pastor. Typical.
When I was researching, I kept seeing crepes places that were gluten-free, and I just did not get it. Then I noticed that this place was literally underneath our apartment (we HAD the best location. ALWAYS stay in El Born). Their cocktails were unique. Our waiter was fun and friendly. The bartenders tossed bottles and made drinks that were on fire, literally. And the savory crepes are ALWAYS gluten-free. Then when I ordered a dessert crepe, they just used the savory shell — still delicious. Gluten-free or not, pick this crepe shop!
This is part a small group of restaurants in town, but we loved this one best. It doesn’t matter where I am, I search out tacos. Not only are they almost always something that easily be made gluten-free but I love how completely different and unique tacos can be. This place was worth the stop. The ceviche was amazing and pictured below.
GIRONA
Girona is such a magical town. I felt like I had been transported to the Middle Ages. We took a high speed train here from the main train station in Barcelona – Barcelona Sants.
If Burrata is on a menu, you should order it. But particularly here. Even though I couldn’t cover bread in this creamy cheese, I loved every bite. This place is right in the center of Girona and has many gluten-free options, all marked on the menu!
SITGES
We went to Sitges on a whim. And you should too! We stayed in El Born and we could take a direct train from our local station –Estació de França. This town was so picturesque. Not busy. And so welcoming.
Since we went on a whim, I didn’t research. But as we strolled the beach, I saw a cute little restaurant right on the water with a great big gluten-free sign. We had a great meal here. As you can see below, they had many gluten-options including bread and desserts. Those spring rolls were amazing! After that, we strolled to the water and drank sangrias. It was a perfect last day in Spain.
Overall tips:
Find Padron Peppers and Spanish Tortillas — They are my favorite gluten-free tapas and they’re served everywhere!
Wandering Celiac 