Our trip to the Algarve region in Portugal was wonderful! We travelled there for almost a week in March 2024 (check out our itinerary and Algarve guide). We visited Lagos, Sagres, Luz, Portimao, Albufeira, Carvoeiro, Faro, and Tavira. We didn’t eat in each town we visited, but we have included reviews of everywhere we ate gluten free while in the Algarve.
We stayed at an AirBNB for 4 of our 6 nights, which means we made most of our own meals and didn’t eat out much. As such, this will be a bit of a limited list of gluten free places we ate at ourselves, but hopefully our map at the end with all my pre-trip gluten free research will be useful.
I’m also going to include a section on grocery stores with gluten free options, as that might be useful if you are also staying at an AirBNB and cooking your own food.
Gluten Free in the Algarve
Pausa (Tavira)
After trying four restaurants on a Saturday night with no reservations, Pausa made space for us to eat (it was March, we didn’t think we needed reservations!). They had a fully marked up menu of what was gluten free, and the waiter was able to answer any questions we had. All we could say as we were eating was “wow”. This was easily the best meal we had in all of Portugal. We ordered Padron peppers, seared tuna steak, and a lamb and chickpea stew that came with rice. Everything was absolutely delicious, but I thought the stew was next level. Ahmed was enamoured with the tuna steak. Dinner was so good, and neither of us had room left, but we had to order dessert. The only GF option was crème brulee, which normally I’m underwhelmed by. This was by far the best crème brulee I’ve ever tasted. I don’t know what spice they added to it, but it was to die for. Hands down, you must eat at Pausa if you’re in Tavira (gluten free or not).
Come na Gaveta (Tavira)
This is a hip tapas restaurant with buzzing energy. You need a reservation here! The food was delicious, though the cocktails seem to be their specialty. We ordered mocktails that were delicious, but a little heavy on the ice. For food, we ordered sweet potato fries, their duck dish, and a beef dish with mushrooms. Ahmed’s duck and mashed potatoes were fantastic! My beef dish was super watery and didn’t come with a starch to sop it up. It wasn’t a gravy, but almost an au jus maybe? Whatever it was, the beef dish was missing something, but I’m not sure what. Overall, we would recommend Come na Gaveta, but maybe try ordering something other than the beef dish (the seafood dishes being delivered to other tables looked amazing).
Café Fino (Carvoeiro)
So many gluten free options here, and the staff was very knowledgeable! We ordered a toast and a sandwich to share. One of them came with fries, and the waitress came to check with me as she said asked to double check if they were gluten free, but they weren’t. They offered to replace the fries with a salad instead! So many other options here, including porridge and pancakes.
Sugar Rabbit Kaffe (Albufeira)
This is a health food spot that is also mostly vegan. I had a dragon fruit smoothie bowl with granola and fruit, and Ahmed had a yogurt bowl with the same. We enjoyed our food, though it was a bit overpriced. They had lots of GF options here, including ready-made baked goods and cakes in a case at the till that were clearly labelled. The guy who took our order was very knowledgeable when I had questions about the granola and its gluten free status.
Chelsea Coffee & Brunch (Faro)
We stumbled upon this place just looking for coffee and were pleasantly surprised when they had gluten free options on their brunch menu. We asked about a few of the items on the menu and them being gluten free. We decided to order a tapioca crepe to share, with Nutella and strawberries inside. There was so much Nutella it was almost overwhelming! Neither of us had tried a tapioca crepe before, so we didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t love the texture, as it was quite chewy but also starchy. Anyways, we’d probably return but try ordering something different.
Delizia da Ponte (Tavira)
This is a gelato spot with two locations in Tavira. Each flavour is marked up with allergens. We tried chocolate and peanut. The gelato was fine, but nothing we’d rush back for. You’re definitely going here for the safety of labelled gelato and knowledgeable staff.
Grocery Stores with Gluten Free
Lidl
We hadn’t always had much luck with finding gluten free stuff in Lidl in other countries, so didn’t go in too optimistic here. However, we were able to find gluten free pasta, a couple types of cereal, and some prepared goods that had gluten free designations. For example, we got a potato and onion dish that could be heated in the microwave or in a pan that had gluten free on it. They of course also had typical grocery store stuff such as dairy, meats, and produce. This is where we found groceries to be the most reasonably priced among the three places on this list. They also have locations everywhere, and if you’re driving, you’ll see signs all along the highway of where the next Lidl is located.
Continente
There are many locations, but we went to the location in Portimao which was huge. It was almost like going to a Superstore back in Canada – there was a garden section, and books and such. They had tons of gluten free options, including croissants, muffins, and a variety of breads. This is where we bought our breadstuffs, as Lidl didn’t have anything in the way of baked goods when we went. We bought some other things here as well but did find them to be more expensive for the basics than Lidl. One thing to note is they had a great selection of yogurt and of high protein items!
Pingo Dolce
I would liken Pingo Dolce almost to like an IGA or a Thrifty’s if you’re from Canada. They have everything that a typical grocery store has, just more expensive (but not quite as expensive as say, Whole Foods). They did have quite a large selection of gluten free products, including lots of Schar stuff, but it was very pricey! They have many locations through the Algarve, but not as many locations as Lidl or Continente.
Map of Algarve Gluten Free
If you want more options, here is the Wanderlog map I made of everywhere I could find that had good gluten free reviews, labelled menus, and/or indications that gluten free was safe at their restaurants. Please note that I did not personally eat at all these restaurants, so do your own due diligence and reach out or check their websites/menus ahead of your visit.
HOW TO USE THE MAP: Click on the Wanderlog logo in the bottom right corner to open the full-size map up in a new tab. There, you can choose to just look at one category at a time or see all the categories on the map at once (click the 3 squares in the top right to choose). You can also export the map to Google Maps, share the map with others, or save the map.
Helpful Algarve Planning Tips
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For our Portugal trip, we used on the following to help with planning:
- Accommodation: we stayed at an AirBNB in Portimao, and at Ozadi Tavira Hotel in Tavira – book Tavira here
- Tours: we used Get Your Guide to book our Benagil Caves tour – explore options here
- Stay Connected: data is important for us to find restaurants on the go or connect to our map, we use Airalo eSims – book here
- Planning: we use Wanderlog to organize our food maps and itineraries – check them out here
- Trip Insurance: we’ve used World Nomads, though never needed to claim – explore plans here
