Gluten-free eating out in Madrid

People often ask me about eating out gluten-free in Madrid, and when I was recently interviewed for the “Eat out Madrid” podcast about living in Madrid as a celiac/coeliac I took the chance to talk about some of the places I like to go eating out and where I can feel comfortable. Some people listening to the podcast may have struggled with my accent and weren’t able to hear clearly so I’m quickly adding the places I mention to this post. I’m also updating this post with some newer places as they open and I get to try them and removing places that are not dedicated gluten-free.

You can listen to the podcast episode here 🎧
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Gluten-free bakeries and cafes

Sana Locura Gluten Free Bakery

Calle del Gral Oraá, 49, 28006 Madrid. Near metro Avenida America.

• Bakery with savoury and sweet items (including pizza slices and empanadas)

• Coffee, smoothies and gluten-free beer to drink

• Has menu del Dia for around 11€ (drink not included)

• Often has paella and chicken

• Has some gluten-free granola and flours for you to buy and take home

[0% Gluten] Madrid

Calle de Vallehermoso, 33, 28015 Madrid. In between metros Quevedo, San Bernado and Arguelles.

• Bakery with savoury and sweet items

• Coffee, juice to drink

• Brunch items (toast with toppings etc)

• Has multiple locations all over spain

LEON THE BAKER

Various locations and within El Corte Ingles supermarkets

• Probably the best gluten-free bread in Madrid

• Has sweet pastries

• Many items also lactose-free, including the bread

• No seating

MARQUÉS Free From (Antes Confitería Marqués)

C. de Fernando el Católico, 76, 28015 Madrid. Metro Moncloa, Arguelles.

• Not mentioned in the podcast because I only found it once before but didn’t know what it was called. Recommended

• Items are free from allergens, not only gluten.

Pastelería La Oriental y Cafetería

Calle de Ferraz, 49, 28008 Madrid. Metro Arguelles.

• One section is gluten-free, the other not, so a one-stop shop

• Has a small cafe section with some savoury items

• Close to Templo de Debod

CELICIOSO Gluten Free Bakery

Calle de Hortaleza, 3, 28004 Madrid. Metro Gran via, Chueca, Tribunal, Callao

• Bakery with sweet and savoury items, including sandwiches for take-away

• Has a cafe/restaurant area at the back for hot food and eggs

• Has gluten-free beer and juices

• Plenty of choices and good quality, several other locations throughout the city which are bigger

Amé Gluten free

C. de Andrés Mellado, 18, Chamberí, 28015 Madrid

• 100% Gluten-free bakery cafe

• Has indoor dining

• Sweet and savoury pastries an cakes and pizza slices

chök Gluten free

Locations at Queveo and Goya

• 100% Gluten-free bakery cafe

• Has indoor dining

• Sweet and savoury pastries an cakes and pizza slices

Bars and restaurants

Pink’s!! 100% Gluten fre

Calle de Viriato, 68, Chamberí, 28010 Madrid. Metro Iglesia, Alonso Cano, Gregorio Marańon

• Gluten free smash burgers

• Casual indoor dining

• Meal deals

Yan Ken Pon - Sushi Ramen y Librería

Plaza de Cascorro, 3, 28012 Madrid. Metro La Latina, Tirso de Molina

• Gluten-free sushi, all their sushi is gluten-free, and they have tamari as well as soy sauce

• Big portions of quality fresh fish and good value for money

• Not all of their dishes are gluten-free ( See below for 100% gluten-free Japanese and sushi)

Ardemos. Hamburguesas sin gluten Madrid

C. de Carranza, 4, Chamberí, 28004 Madrid. Metro Bilbao, San Bernado

• 100% gluten free smash and regular burgers

• Craft beers

• Brunch on weekend mornings

• Burger of the month and some deals

La Minoterie

Calle de la Encomienda, 23, 28012 Madrid

• Gluten-free crepes (authentic Breton-style ones!)

• Did I mention gluten-free sweet crepes?

• Natural wines by the bottle, french cider too

• Economical on Encomienda

Bastardi

C. de Manuela Malasaña, 7, Centro, 28004 Madrid. Metro Bilbao, San Bernado.

• 100% gluten free Italian with freshly made Pizza and pasta

• Good customer service, knowledgeable staff

• Nice ambience, dining room in the back

Arrocería Casa de Valencia

Paseo del Pintor Rosales, 58, 28008 Madrid. Metro Arguelles, Moncloa

• Gluten-free paella and meloso

• Top quality paella with fresh ingredients

• There’s even an oxtail rice stew on the menu which is very nice

• Reasonably priced wine

• It’s a bit pricey, but it is across the road from the Parque Oeste too and was opened by the former King back in the 1970s

• Also, around the corner from Pasteleria Oriental mentioned above, which is handy because there are hardly any gluten-free desserts here unless you like fruit.

Grosso Napoletano Gluten Free (senza glutine)

Calle de Fernando VI, 23, Local Izquierdo, 28004 Madrid as well as Sol, Chamberi & Caleido

• The gluten-free pizza restaurant in Chueca hinted at in the podcast finally opened in October 2020

• Located in Chueca/Las Saleas

• Amazing gluten-free pizza from one of the best pizza restaurants in Europe

• 100% gluten-free restaurant (other than some beers)

• Vegan options too and pizzas without tomato

• Take-away available

• For the in-depth review click here

Okashi Sanda

C. de San Vicente Ferrer, 22, 28004 Madrid

• 100% Gluten-free and lactose-free Japanese dishes (excluding sushi)

• Located in Malasaña

• Vegan options

• Ramen and gyozas, amongst other dishes

• Has another location near Plaza Santa Domingo which does Sushi

• Very popular, advance booking recommended

Waraku

C. de Benito Gutiérrez, 4, 28008 Madrid

• 100% Gluten-free and lactose-free higher end Japanese dishes, including sushi

• Located near Moncloa

• Vegan options

• High-quality sushi

• Has broth dishes which you cook and add meat to at your table

• Japanese chef and owner

Llagar El Quesu Madrid

C. de Alburquerque, 31, 28010 Madrid

• 100% (apart from bread and beer) gluten-free Asturian dishes

• Located near Plaza Olavide in Chamberi

• Great quality meat dishes in a surprisingly large restaurant with a small terrace

• Excellent quality meat and sausages, ribs and Chuleton especially good.

• Has cider and comes with a dispenser to add gas

• Reservtions highly advisable

Mentrida

Plaza de Olavide, 3, 28010 Madrid

• 90% gluten-free tapas

• Has items like croquetas, meatballs and fried fish that are usually not available gluten-free

• Has outdoor seating in the atmospheric Plaza Olavide and a waiting list

LaLina Bravas, Tapas y Copas

Pl. de la Cebada, 2, La latina & C. de Gravina, 18, Chueca

• 100% gluten-free tapas

• Outdoor seating and interior seating

• Adjacent to the theatre close to La Latina metro

• Chueca location close to Chueca metro

Churrería Chocolateria 1902

C. de San Martín, 2, Sol/Opera/Callao

• Has a gluten-free separate kitchen for making churros and other food

• Gluten free Calamari sandwiches are available here!

• Lactose free hot chocolate available

• All of their chocolate is Gluten-free

Naked & Sated (various locations)

C. del Maestro Victoria, 5, 28013 Madrid (near Cortylandia), also one on Calle Serrano

• Gluten free, with no added sugar

• Various options, such as salads, pizzas and burgers for main courses and desserts.

• Vegetarian options

• Savoury crepes

La Jauria

C. de Colon, 10, 28004 Madrid

• Celiac friendly food menu

• Cocktail bar in the evening

• Has a great value for money menu del dia

Tabanco Amores

C. de Sta. Isabel, 38, Centro, 28012 Madrid

• 100% gluten-free Spanish Andalusian style

• Busy bar area

• Great quality ingredients and knowledgeable staff

Ty Breton - Creperia rapida

C. de Maudes, 52, Chamberí, 28003 Madrid

• 100% Gluten-free crepes/galetes (authentic Breton-style ones!)

• Also gluten-free sweet crepes.

• Cider and refrescos

• Menu del dia

• Take-away only

As De Bastos Madrid

Calle de Castilla, 62, Tetuán, 28039 Madrid

• 100% Gluten-free Spanish restaurant

• Has outdoor dining

• Gluten-free croquttes

Honest Greens

Several Locations

• Focus on fresh healthy ingredients

• Mostly gluten free other than their sourdough bread which you can ask them not to provide

• Gluten-free falafels are a highlight

• Has an app to help you order the food and every 10th meal is free

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Gluten free pizza restaurant Madrid - Grosso Napoletano Senza Glutine

Gluten-free pizza restaurant in Madrid

Any kind of 100% gluten-free restaurant in Madrid is welcome, for celiac disease sufferers such as myself in particular, due to the risk of contamination at a regular restaurant, and now we have a pizzeria. we can safely enjoy.

Grosso Napoletano Senza Glutine is the new Gluten-free concept from Grosso Napoletano, Senza Glutine meaning gluten-free/sin gluten in Italian.

This new location, located at Calle de Fernando VI, 23, 28004 Madrid, close to metro stations Chueca and Alonso Martinez looks upscale and attracted a lot of admirers who stopped to look.

Already established in Madrid since 2017, Grosso Napoletano has a solid reputation for great stone-baked pizzas, often coming top of polls for the best pizza in Madrid and also the top 50 pizzerias in Europe. Congratulations to founders Jorge de Blas, who manages the business side, and Hugo Rodriguez de Prada, the gastronomical side!

Sandwichboard outside the restaurant mentioning ordering online for collection

Let’s party,because there’s No Gluten!

In some ways the success is down to authenticity, 80% of the ingredients come from Italy, and the custom wood-burning oven is made by artisan makers “Forni Grimaldi” based in Naples. The dough is double fermented over 48 hours to give that perfect elasticity.

At the time of writing, there are six starters on offer. Burrata, Mozarrela with pumpkin, Veal with tuna and anchovies, Caprese with avocado, beef carpaccio, and Smoked Provola melted in the oven with tomato sauce and herbs. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it!

There at twelve pizzas to choose from, the usual classics such as Margherita, Diavola, four seasons, calzone etc they also offer vegan and white sauce bases for those who aren’t keen on tomato. The pizza dough is made from a blend of buckwheat and rice flour, both naturally gluten-free.

Prices start at 10,90€ for Margherita and vegan prices and then jump to 13,90€ and then 14,90€ for the most expensive. I opted for the mid-priced Diavola pizza whilst my wife opted for the ham and mushroom “Prosciutto E Funghi”. Both pizzas were delicious and you almost couldn’t tell them from a non-gluten-free pizza. As for the prices, it’s worth noting that 1€ goes to the NGO Flores de Kiskeya in Haiti.

“Prosciutto E Funghi” or “Farmhouse” ham and mushroom pizza along with a bottle of extra spicy extra olive oil in the background.

Diavola

I would have preferred a bit more topping, meat and spice on my pizza, thankfully there was spicy oil that WAS genuinely spicy available on the table. Actually, we weren’t sitting at a table, we were at a window bar. As we were only two people and most tables were reserved for 4 or more people, including some smart-looking rounded booths.

Incidentally, the extra spicy extra virgin olive oil is available to take home for 7,90€ a bottle. Something I’ll consider next time I visit.

A sneaky view of the interior and mix of clientele through a mirror.

When we arrived at 19:45 for our reservation, easily made online through their website, on a Friday night (later times were already taken) it was fairly quiet but there were some diners already there (the kitchen doesn’t close in the afternoon I think. It quickly became busy and potential diners without reservations were turned away. There was a nice vibe, music playing loud enough to add atmosphere but not too loud that you needed to raise your voice to talk to someone.

Pizzaiolos prepare pizzas in the open kitchen, in the foreground one of the booths and then bars around the food preparation area. Note the huge amount of boxes for takeaway on the left.

As is common in times of COVID, restaurants require you to scan a QR code to access the menu. The waiter turned up to take our drinks order and of course, we hadn’t gotten around to checking out the drinks part of the menu yet, our eyes drinking in the delicious-sounding items on the menu, trying to whittle down the choices to one or two to choose from.

Daura Märzen from the Estrella Damm company. Gluten-free and double malted. 7.2% alcohol.

On the subject of drinks, the waiter was able to tell me that EVERYTHING on the menu was gluten-free and suitable for celiacs, apart from a handful of regular beers, he quickly listed the gluten-free beers and I chose a Marzen beer from Daura Damm, a double fermented beer with around 7.2% alcohol and less than 3 parts per million of gluten. This makes it perfectly fine for Celiacs. It was nice to have a double malted beer for a change and this one was again tasty and I didn’t notice it being much different to their Voll Damm product which I used to drink in pre-celiac days.

White Tiramisu. Mascarpone cream and white chocolate with an Italian sponge base, amaretto and cafe

Having decided to skip the starters, and after having wolfed down the pizza, it was time to consider desserts. Being celiac, the dessert course is usually the one I can’t partake in unless I want a piece of fruit, something I definitely wasn’t going to opt for with all gluten-free options for dessert. Usually, I’m not allowed to eat Tiramisu for dessert because my wife makes the best one, but today she said it was ok and because she’s struggled to find gluten-free ladyfingers to make one suitable for me at home.

The white tiramisu (Tiramisu Bianco) on the menu here for 6,50€ is described as being Mascarpone cream and white chocolate with an Italian sponge base, amaretto and cafe. Delicious, heavier than a regular Tiramisu, probably due to the thicker cream containing white chocolate. Served, hipster-style, in a jar and with two teaspoons it was a nice amount to share.

The restaurant is based on one floor, there seems to be step-free entry and large unisex disabled person bathroom. Always good to see here. Hand gel on entry and sufficient spacing.

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All in all what are my thoughts? I definitely enjoyed my first gluten-free pizza in Madrid. It was better than my pizza experience in Paris, though the restaurant there had a more extensive range of dishes. Perhaps next time I’ll see if I can grab a later reservation and try three courses with a bigger appetite, that or I’ll opt for take-away. Not forgetting to also pick up a bottle of their extra spicy oil.

I've been back twice since writing this post. I went once for lunch and ordered one of their white pizzas and a starter with mozzarella balls. Very nice.
They have now launched a home delivery service. You order through the website and our order of four pizzas arrived about 40 minutes later.
I still haven't bought the spicy oil and I'm regretting it.

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Here are some links to the menus! (links open in new windows)

Restaurant menu in Spanish.

Restaurant menu in English PDF.

Go on, pin it, you know you want to!

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l'Artisan Furansu Sushi Bar Chef experience - UPDATED (restaurant closed)

l'Artisan Furansu Sushi Bar Chef experience

ALAS THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED FOR GOOD

Last Tuesday I heard on the grapevine that famous Japanese sushi chef Gohei Kishi would be making an appearance at l'Artisan Furansu in the centre of Madrid, near tourist favourite Plaza Santa Ana. He’s worked all over the world in Michelin Star restaurants and worked with Gordon Ramsay. Sushi is one of my favourite things to eat and L'artisan Furansu specialises on Sushi one night a week (Though it's always available on the menu).

Myself and Gohei Kishi, our chef and entertainer for the evening

He would be hand preparing sushi in front of us whilst we sat at the bar and conversed with him and each other. There were some dishes he prepared with flame too, flame sushi. There were Japanese movies playing on the TV screen above the bar and the lights were low. We were four friends and at about 21:00 two more people with reservations arrived, the chef quickly brought them up to speed so that we were all being served the same dishes at the same time.

Gohei Kishi hand preparing one of the 10 plates we enjoyed. Note the tense atmosphere in the movie playing above his head.

The experience is only available for 6 people each time as that’s how much space they have to sit at the bar comfortably. It was quite last minute but we were 6 people and the experience lasted around 2 hours. On Monday nights they have Ramen and on Thursday nights they have an "afterwork" for drinks and tapas which begins at 19:00, Gohei Kishi joked that at 18:00 the expats start forming a line outside trying to get inside, not used to the typical opening times of 20:00 in Spain.

The food was exquisite, easily one of the best sushi menus I’ve had in Europe and as good as anything I had in Japan. The quality of the ingredients was evident especially when washed down with Japanese beer and sake, perfect food pairings. The skill of the chef to combine the ingredients to make something that was better than the sum of it's parts also had it's part to play. Presentation was top notch as you can see, my skills as a photographer have quite a way to go though!

There were 10 “plates” in all, sashimi, apetiser, sushi , miso soup with shrimp heads and a matcha green tea ice cream served with strawberries! It cost about 45€ for the tasting menu and drinks were separate, for 2 of us the total was 110€. Well worth it for a very nice experience, suitable for special occasion or if you’ve got no plans for a Tuesday hahaha. He’ll be back every Tuesday and trying to make the experience more interactive.

Follow them on facebook and instragram to find out more, website details are below. Enjoy the photos, any questions please ask or comment!

This is a sashimi dish, some ceviche influences there too I think!

There's three different types of fish stuffed into this roll.

Sweet shrimp appetiser.

All of the fish simply melted in the mouth, it was incredible

Contact Details

Calle Ventura de la Vega, 15, 28014 Madrid - Metro stops Sevilla, Sol, Anton Martin

Phone: 914 20 31 72

L'Artisan Furansu Website

NAP - Authentic Pizza in Lavapies

NAP - Authentic Pizza in Lavapies

Everyone loves a pizza right? Where can one find one of Italy's most famous exports in Madrid? Everyone has their opinion, but many agree that NAP Lavapies serves authentic Pizza and they have been open for just over a year now if memory serves me. Last Saturday my wife and I finally managed to get in to NAP Lavapies on a Saturday night for Pizza.

We just had to make the effort to get there by about 9 pm!

NAP often gets mentioned on here as the best pizza in Madrid, their branch in Barcelona was definitely the best Pizza in Barcelona at the time and they would use sourdough so it was a bit different and distinctive.

We’ve tried several times to get in as we’re in Lavapies at least once a month on Saturday with Madrid wine club and by the time I’ve finished sorting that out we usually get to NAP by 930pm and there’s a 20 to 30 minute wait for a table.

Anyway to cut to the chase. We ordered:-

• Melanzane Parmigiana - 4,90€ (aubergines with cheese and tomato sauce)
• Pizza Quattro Stagioni - 8,80€
• Pizza Diavola - 9,20€
• Triamisu to share for dessert - 3,90€
• A few bottles of water - 2,00€ each, coca cola was the same price.

PROS

• All the food was very nice and made with quality ingredients.
• The prices are great.
• Service was not bad and fairly quick, we ordered a starter and they had to ask us if we were ready for the pizza.  It seems that the pizzas only take 50 seconds to cook in their wood burning oven.
• Pizzas are stone baked.
• The kinda place you go with your young friends for cheap food and alcohol, very casual.

CONS

• No bottles of Italian wine, only house wine by the glass (they don’t want you spending ages here)
• Diavola pizza was a bit lacking in meat and spiciness, definitely have had better Diavola pizzas in Spain.
• Would have preferred the bread with the starter to have been toasted so I could dip it into the melted cheese and tomato.
• Pizzas from NAP especially when I lived in Barcelona and would go used to be sour dough, now that seems to have changed, so the base isn’t as unique as it used to be and as such there are other places in Madrid that also do stone baked pizza so it’s probably not worth the trip unless you’re near one. We thought the pizzas were good but not necessarily the best in Madrid.
• Tiramisu was mostly cream, it bares little resemblance to an authentic traditional tiramisu.

CONCLUSION

Great cheap place to go and eat well for the money, not as unique as it used to be, hope it doesn’t go downhill. I’d go back again and still recommend it, I’d definitely have a different pizza next time, perhaps one of their slightly more expensive looking offerings with truffle oil. Stonebaked pizzas made in wood burning ovens are not for everyone, it's normal that there will be some ash at the bottom of the pizza and some bits can get slightly burnt. There are many styles of pizza, ones that are more crispy, others that are thicker New York Style so it's good to try a few different places with a few different styles to see what you like. Go somewhere else for dessert.

Contact Details

Calle del Ave María, 19, 28012 Madrid - It's on the border of Anton Martin and Lavapies which are the 2 nearest metro stops.

Pretty sure they don't take reservations but they supply a phone number!

Phone: 911 25 07 42

You can follow them on Facebook and with Instagram Tag #pizzerieNAP

Basque restaurant in Madrid - El pimiento Verde

Shamelessly using their logo here, looks good right?

A few months ago I went exploring with my friend Stefy who was new to Madrid and hungry. 

We wanted to investigate a Korean Japanese restaurant in Argulles, unfortunately it was booked until later that evening, so instead, her having asked me my favourite type of food to eat in Madrid, to which I had answered Spanish food, we went to a place nearby that my wife had mentioned. 

She’d been to one in Barrio salamanca 5 years ago but had never managed to get back. The place is called El pimiento Verde, they now have at least 4 restaurants in Madrid and are basque. I can see why they’ve expanded, the food is really good. You sit on wooden benches around a table, we were the only non spanish in there I would say, nice atmosphere.

You get an idea of the casual nature of the place with this shot

I’m not a big fan of artichoke, quite often in Spain they barbecue them and serve them and i find them a bit chewy.

As they are the speciality of this place I thought we would give them a go, they must be good right? Right I was, the artichokes had a fair bit of flavour and practically melted in the mouth, crazy for something I thought previously was dull and hard. I don’t know how they managed to do it, looks like they had been at least grilled ad some of the edges were burnt and then maybe boiled but I can’t be sure, they had then had oil and salt drizzled and sprinkled on. Would definitely came back , for this plate alone!

Tasty artichokes, basque style

Second dish to arrive was the fried squid, battered as you can see in the photo. Again, a quality bit of squid, meaty and al dente, lime mayo was nice to have on the side to dip the pieces into. It was a half portion.

Melt in the mouth squid

Third dish to arrive was the cod fish tortilla. I wasn’t quite sure what we were going to get with this one, especially as it said in the menu “como en las sidrerias vascas” (just like in a basque cider house). 

Looking more like a large french omelette than the traditional tortilla de patatas, we were surprised at how juicy and flavoursome it was, the quality of the ingredients was obvious, the egg yolks were very yellow the cod was well balanced and didn’t overpower the dish and they’d used sweet onions that were really juicy sweet and flavoursome. 

Would definitely recommend this tortilla even though it’s more french than spanish (I guess that’s what happens in the basque country as it’s in France and Spain!). again this was a half portion so we could try more dishes. It’s what the waitress suggested.

cod fish omlette

The final dish we had ordered was the Rabo de toro (oxtail stew with red wine sauce) and it was the one I was most looking forward to initially. Well the portion was huge, would be a complete meal for one person on it’s own for sure!

Oxtail in a red wine sauce, rabo de toro in spanish

It was good, is it the best rabo de toro I’ve had? I’m not sure but it was really good, meat came off the bone easily and you got that gelatin stickiness in your mouth when you were eating. The sauce was really flavoursome and rich.

mmm tasty

We were quite full after all that, Stefy now knows why I like Spanish food too! We had a look at the dessert menu but, as is often the case with Spanish restaurants, the desserts are a bit uninspiring and besides, we were in Arguelles and there was a new Italian Gelato place to try out (Biolee)!

This place has ground floor and an upstairs, bar, toilets and kitchen are downstairs. Toilets were fine.

On the service front they might have had one young temp working with them and she was a bit abrupt and pulled a face when one of our group ordered a jarra de aqua, luckily when the rest of us ordered beer she livened up a bit. She was also asking us at the end why we didn’t order dessert as if her bonus was dependent on it or something, anyway it turned out ok and the rest of the staff were great and helpful. I’ll definitely be going back, especially as I’ve noticed they have a restaurant near my work too (I wondered if  if they did menu del dia but when I checked they didn’t ). A friend of mine went here a few days after me and complained the actual bacalao dish they have is too salty. Maybe something to bare in mind if you're thinking of going.

El pimiento Verde

Calle Quintana, 1, 28008 Madrid

Just off Calle Princesa, metro Arguelles.

Dishes ordered and eaten

Artichoke flowers / Flores de Alcachofa

Fried squid with mayo / Rabas de calamar

Tortilla de bacalao / cod fish omelette

Oxtail stew with red wine and potatoes / rabo de toro estofado al vino tinto

No dessert, free liqueur to finish off. Service charge included nice bread and some tasty cheese in oil with balsamic vinegar. Bill came to 66€ for 3 people so 22€ each.

Link here to the menu for the prices

http://elpimientoverde.com/pdf/menus/CARTA_MESA_2017_WEB_Propia.pdf