Gluten Free Barcelona: Best Restaurants, Bakeries, and Desserts for Celiac Travelers
Barcelona quickly became one of our favorite cities for gluten free dining in Spain.
If you’re traveling to Barcelona with celiac disease, you’ll find an impressive selection of dedicated gluten free restaurants, bakeries, tapas, burgers, desserts, and more. Before our trip, we had heard that Spain was one of the most celiac friendly countries in Europe, but Barcelona exceeded our expectations.
Between dedicated bakeries, fully gluten free restaurants, tapas, burgers, and even tasting menus, we never struggled to find safe and delicious food.
In fact, with one exception we’ll discuss later, every restaurant and bakery featured in this guide was dedicated gluten free.
If you’re planning a trip to Barcelona with celiac disease, here’s where we ate, what we loved, and what we’d recommend.
Is Barcelona Good for Celiac Travelers?
Absolutely.
What stood out most during our time in Barcelona wasn’t just the number of gluten free options. It was the number of dedicated gluten free options.
Rather than searching menus for a single safe choice, Julia could often order anything she wanted without worrying about cross contamination. That level of confidence is something we rarely experience while traveling.
We used the Find Me Gluten Free app extensively while planning our trip, and it helped us discover many of the restaurants and bakeries featured in this guide.
Barcelona offered some of the best gluten free restaurants, bakeries, and dining experiences we found anywhere in Spain.
One thing worth mentioning is that reservations are highly recommended for dinner in Barcelona. Many of the dedicated gluten free restaurants are smaller venues, and several of the places we visited were quite busy. If there’s somewhere specific you want to try, it’s worth reserving a table in advance.
Best Gluten Free Restaurants in Barcelona
My Fucking Restaurant: One of the Best Gluten Free Restaurants in Barcelona
If we could only recommend one gluten free restaurant in Barcelona, this would probably be it.
My Fucking Restaurant is completely dedicated gluten free, which meant Julia could enjoy the entire menu without having to worry about cross contamination.
The restaurant offers an à la carte menu, but most diners appeared to be ordering the tasting menu. We decided to go with the 9 course chef’s menu, which was €53 per person.
The meal lasted about two and a half hours, and we thought it was an excellent value for the amount of food and creativity that went into each course.
It also gave us the chance to try foods we probably wouldn’t have ordered on our own, including steak tartare and bonito tuna.
The meal started with a welcome soup, the restaurant’s take on gazpacho, followed by bread with smoked butter. From there we had seasonal tomatoes with onion, Iberian ham with melon, steak tartare with cheese, creative bravas, bonito tuna, grilled Black Angus onglet steak, and smoked cheesecake.
The tasting menu started especially strong, with several of our favorite dishes appearing during the first half of the meal.
The steak tartare with cheese was probably our favorite. The brioche served with it was unbelievably good. Julia actually joked that she wanted to take an entire loaf home.
The bravas were another surprise. They looked familiar, but the flavors were much more interesting than the typical version we’ve had elsewhere.
Our least favorite course was the grilled Black Angus onglet steak. It was served quite rare and was a little chewier than we preferred. The smoked cheesecake was enjoyable but wasn’t the standout dessert of the trip.
Overall, though, this was an excellent meal. Being able to sit down in a completely gluten free restaurant and simply enjoy the tasting menu without worrying about every ingredient made the experience even better.
Ardemos: Gluten Free Burgers in Barcelona
Ardemos was another standout meal, especially if you’re looking for gluten free burgers in Barcelona.
This restaurant focuses on burgers and comfort food, and the gluten free buns were some of the best we had anywhere in Spain.
One of the first things we noticed was a neon sign that read “F*ck Gluten,” which immediately set the tone for the restaurant and made us laugh.
Julia ordered the Albany Burger with a smash burger, cheese, bacon, and BBQ sauce.
I ordered the Crazy Burger with beef, goat cheese, blue cheese, and onions.
Both burgers came with fries, and everything was excellent.
The bun was so good that you might not even realize it was gluten free. For anyone with celiac disease who misses a really good burger while traveling, Ardemos is an easy recommendation.
Ardemos also has a location in Madrid, which made it an especially useful restaurant to know about during our Spain trip.
Barete BCN: Gluten Free Tapas in Barcelona
Barete BCN was one of our most memorable dinners in Barcelona.
The food was excellent, but the atmosphere was what really stood out. It’s a small and intimate restaurant with classic American songs playing and a small DJ booth featuring vinyl records.
It felt more like a neighborhood spot than a traditional tapas restaurant, which made the experience feel especially personal.
We tried several different tapas, including:
- Smoked Galician cured beef
- Iberian ham croquettes
- Gratinated potatoes with truffle cheese
- Bombo, a crispy duck croquette
- Toasted bread with tomatoes
The smoked Galician cured beef was especially memorable.
If you’re looking for gluten free tapas in Barcelona, Barete BCN is an easy recommendation.
Best Gluten Free Bakeries in Barcelona
Coliakí: Dedicated Gluten Free Bakery in Barcelona
Coliakí was our favorite gluten free bakery in Barcelona.
The entire bakery is dedicated gluten free, and they offer everything from pastries and breads to sandwiches and pizza.
I ordered a ham and cheese sandwich, while Julia chose a cheese and fruit pastry. Both were excellent.
The biggest surprise for us was the bread. The sub roll was one of the best gluten free breads we had during our entire Spain trip. The texture and flavor were much closer to what you’d expect from a traditional bakery than many gluten free breads we’ve tried.
They also offer gluten free pizza, along with plenty of other baked goods.
If we were returning to Barcelona, Coliakí would be one of our first stops.
Celia: Gluten Free Bakery and Pastries in Barcelona
Celia is another dedicated gluten free bakery in Barcelona, and it’s located close to Coliakí.
There were fewer lunch options than at Coliakí, but it was a great place to pick up baked goods, pastries, and snacks.
We also found packaged cookies and mini muffins, which were especially convenient to take with us while sightseeing.
Having a dedicated gluten free bakery nearby gave Julia an easy and reliable option for grabbing food to take with us, especially on mornings when we were heading out early.
Together, Coliakí and Celia made it surprisingly easy to find gluten free baked goods in Barcelona.
The One Barcelona Restaurant We’d Skip
Not every gluten free dining experience in Barcelona went perfectly.
La Pau was the one restaurant in this guide that was not dedicated gluten free.
Despite communicating Julia’s dietary restrictions, the staff attempted to serve her something that contained pasta. Julia later became sick.
One negative experience doesn’t define Barcelona as a destination for celiac travelers. If anything, it reinforced how much easier dining was for us when we chose dedicated gluten free restaurants.
Fortunately, Barcelona has plenty of them.
Tips for Eating Gluten Free in Barcelona
Learn “Sin Gluten”
The Spanish phrase “sin gluten” means “without gluten.”
Even when visiting a dedicated gluten free restaurant, we always confirmed that the food was gluten free before ordering.
One phrase that can be useful is:
“Toda la comida está sin gluten, correcto?”
This roughly means, “All of the food is gluten free, correct?”
Use Find Me Gluten Free
We used the Find Me Gluten Free app extensively during our trip.
It’s a useful resource for finding dedicated gluten free restaurants, bakeries, and other highly rated options while traveling.
We also used it to help plan our meals before arriving in each city.
Make Dinner Reservations
Some of the best gluten free restaurants in Barcelona are smaller restaurants, and they can fill up quickly.
We recommend making reservations ahead of time, especially for dinner.
My Fucking Restaurant and Barete BCN were both places where we’d recommend booking in advance if they’re on your list.
Prioritize Dedicated Gluten Free Restaurants
Barcelona has enough dedicated gluten free options that you don’t necessarily have to settle for a restaurant with only one or two gluten free choices.
For us, choosing dedicated gluten free restaurants was the easier option and gave Julia much greater confidence when dining.
Final Thoughts: Is Barcelona Celiac Friendly?
Without question.
Barcelona had some of the best gluten free restaurants, bakeries, tapas, and dining experiences we found during our trip through Spain.
From completely gluten free restaurants and dedicated bakeries to tapas, burgers, and creative tasting menus, there were plenty of opportunities for Julia to enjoy the food rather than simply look for something she could eat.
Most importantly, we never felt like Julia was missing out because of celiac disease.
The number of dedicated gluten free options gave us a level of confidence that made eating in Barcelona much more enjoyable.
If you’re planning a trip to Spain with celiac disease, Barcelona should be near the top of your list.
And if you’re looking for more gluten free information for your trip, be sure to check out our complete Gluten Free Spain Travel Guide, along with our gluten free guides to Madrid and Seville.
