Our Paros Gluten Free list is short. This is because we ended up eating at the same restaurant almost every night of our 5-night stay (July 2022). Many places had weird opening hours, crazy lineups, or needed reservations (which we didn’t make, as we were doing so much exploring!). One restaurant we really wanted to try was “Bountaraki”, but the lineups were crazy, and the service seemed slow (would have been more than a 2 hr wait, and that was after waiting 1 hr already).
We were staying in Parikia and when researching had a hard time finding safe gluten free places that were Greek food. This means we ended up at a few places I do not want to recommend. So, we kept returning to the same place. Naousa had many more spots with gluten free options.
A Legal Nomads restaurant card may come in handy on Paros (I brought one with me). I’ve also included a map at the end that might come in handy when planning your trip or on the go looking for somewhere to eat.
A note that Greek food in general is fairly safe, with Greek salad, grilled meats, and roasted vegetables being commonplace. Always make sure to do your own research, ask questions ahead of ordering, and reach out to restaurants ahead of time when needed. We found many Greek restaurants outside of Athens did not have posted menus or websites, so you may need to look them up on Instagram or Facebook to find contact information.
Safran (Naousa)
Easily the BEST meal we had during our entire 3 week stay in Greece. This meal was phenomenal, and the service was next to none. Their menu does not indicate gluten free, and the entire menu is not online. However, the servers were so knowledgeable, as each server specializes in a particular course and knows it inside and out. When it was time for dessert, the dessert server wasn’t sure if anything would be safe, so checked with the chef. The chef then came outside and recommended something but went through each ingredient with me do ensure it would be safe. I felt so safe eating here. We had watermelon salad, baked chickpeas, calamari, the special sea bream, and a dessert that comprised of pudding, mascarpone, and liqueur. If you are going to Paros, you’ve GOT to try this place!
Exesion (Parikia)
We ate here almost every night we were on Paros. This isn’t because the food is ground-breaking or the most delicious thing ever, but because we could get a table (they have SO MUCH seating) without a ridiculous wait and eat without getting sick. We had the chicken gyros each night, with a Greek salad, and rotated through some other appies. There were quite a few things that came on or in pita. Many items were grilled on shared grills and therefore couldn’t eat, but I was grateful they warned me about this ahead of time.
Gelato di Nonna (Antiparos)
Delicious gelato on the cute little island of Antiparos. We were only on the island for the day, so we didn’t need any meals. There are so many ice cream and gelato shops to choose from, but this one had gluten free indicators on their flavour signs and a separate scoop for each tub. Worth the stop if you’re on Antiparos!
Blender (Antiparos)
We stopped here for a smoothie. Blender is a vegan cafe along the main touristy road in Antiparos. They have smoothies and coffee, as well as smoothie bowls (make sure you ask if their granola is gluten free). They had savoury bowls and such as well, but I’m not sure what they have for gluten free options for a heartier meal. Expect prices to be a bit higher due to the nature of the cafe.
Sklavenitis
A popular grocery store in Greece. There are several locations throughout Athens. We were able to find gluten free bread, crackers, biscuits, etc. We bought groceries here to make our own breakfasts during our stay.
Map of Gluten Free Options
If you want more options, here is the Wanderlog map I made of everywhere I could find that was still open post-COVID. They also 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 of 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.