I did a lot of research into where I could safely eat gluten free while traveling to Spain. I had been told by family and friends that they saw “sin gluten” everywhere, so I was optimistic I would easily find places to eat – and I did! Overall, we were quite pleased with our culinary experience in Madrid.
If you want to check out what we did during our time in Madrid, take a look at our city guide or our itinerary!
There are MANY more options (including entirely gluten free options), but as always: do your research, ask questions ahead of ordering, and reach out to restaurants ahead of time when needed. I have included a map at the end of all the gluten free places I had researched as being safe to eat at, even if we didn’t end up eating there.
Gluten Free Madrid
La Oriental Sin Gluten
A 100% gluten free bakery, with a glutenous sister bakery right next door. If you make one stop in Madrid, make it be La Oriental Sin Gluten! This was the most variety of gluten free baked goods I have ever seen in a single location! I was overwhelmed. I wanted all of it. We ended up choosing two flavours of individual sized empanadas, a chocolate Neapolitan, a croissant, a few kinds of small cookies, an éclair thing, and French toast. We stopped at the glutenous bakery next door to get Ahmed a croissant and chocolate Neapolitan full of gluten so we could compare. He said the gluten free croissant was actually flakier. Since when do we get the better pastry of any kind, never mind a croissant. The empanadas, croissant, and Neapolitan were the flakiest pastry ever. This is easily the best gluten free croissant I have ever eaten. The cookies melted in your mouth. Ahmed’s mom is a pastry chef, and he said these were just like the cookies she makes (only these were gluten free). I still dream about my pastries from here and may return to Madrid just so I can go back to this bakery.
LaLina Bravas y Tapas La Latina
A 100% gluten free patatas bravas and tapas place, they have a wide variety on their menu but their specialty is bravas. We ordered 2 types of patatas bravas: salmon and chicken curry. We both liked the salmon one better, which was surprising as we both love chicken, and I am not a huge fish person. The curry aioli in the chicken one we found to be quite overwhelming. The bravas dishes were HUGE – way too big to order one each. We should have ordered one bravas to share plus an appetizer or something. We thoroughly enjoyed the food, though, and would definitely return.
Churreria Chocolateria 1902
They have gluten free churros con chocolate! There is one other place that makes a gluten free churros con chocolate, but we had read it was underwhelming with long lines, so we thought we’d try this place. We found the menu a bit confusing, but they are super clear that the gluten free churros come on a black plate. If you don’t get a black plate, send it back! They also warned us that it would take a bit longer. It was a bit expensive, but I thought it was worth it getting to try this dish. We ordered the set of 4 gluten free churros and the milk chocolate to dip them in (you order them separately! If you just order churros, you just get churros! The chocolate doesn’t automatically come with it).
Naked&Sated
A Spanish chain that’s 100% gluten free, as well as refined sugar free and has accommodations for many dietary restrictions. We had eggs Benedict and coffees. We really enjoyed it, and even went back a second day and ordered the same thing. It was a good-sized dish, and good price for what we got. We would go back, and if there weren’t so many good places to eat in Madrid, we’d probably try it for lunch or dinner!
Bico de Xeado
There are 2 locations, and they have gluten free options including waffles and gelato. We got smoothies though, so I can’t comment on if the gluten free food is any good or not. We enjoyed our smoothies well enough, but they were pricey for their size.
Celicioso
A 100% gluten free eatery with many locations throughout the city! We ate at the Gran Via location. It is advertised as part bakery, part restaurant, but we felt this was an overstatement – maybe more like café than restaurant. While there is seating, and technically table service, you mostly can order sandwiches and salads and such (unless you’re there for breakfast). Baked goods are clearly their specialty. We tried two different sandwiches, and both were dry and extremely overpriced for what we got. We also didn’t get the right drink order but went with it anyways. The dessert we tried was very good, which was a toffee cheesecake that wasn’t too sweet. The presentation was a bit odd, as it was in almost a parfait cup and it was almost impossible to get a bite with the crust, filling, and topping all together. Would I go back? Meh. Did I get sick? No.
Laib
Another 100% gluten free bakery, this time near the El Retiro Park. We went when they were open in the evening and there was minimal selection. There were 2 or 3 cookie choices, a brownie, and a loaf of bread. We chose a cookie, and it was okay. I feel like my cookies I make at home are better. Given their signage we think maybe bread is their specialty and we didn’t choose right, and it might be better to go when they’re open earlier in the day.
Café Anayad (formerly Cafe Armonia)
Not far from El Retiro Park, their signage said they had gluten free options. It looks like they have gluten free bread for toast. We just got coffee, so I can’t speak to how they deal with cross-contamination or anything like that. I will note that this was the most expensive coffee we had in all of Spain.
Map of Madrid Gluten Free Options
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.
