San Sebastián was my first stop on a road trip around the north of Spain. This was my first time visiting Spain since my coeliac diagnosis so I wasn’t sure how coeliac-friendly Spain would be. Thankfully, Spain was an absolute delight to visit as a coeliac, with most restaurants and cafes having a good understanding of the disease.

Here’s what I found…

Gluten-free Pintxos

Pintxos are a traditional Basque bar snack, a bit like tapas.

Before visiting San Sebastián I was keen to get involved in the local pintxos scene, but figured that with many pintxos being largely bread-based, I may have to give it a miss. How wrong I was! Pintxos bar and restaurant Gandarias offers tonnes of gluten-free pintxos options, including gluten-free croquettes. The staff are very knowledgeable about coeliac disease and assured me that the gluten-free pintxos are prepared separately and in separate fryers etc. The food was so good here (the gluten options too, my husband assured me), that we visited a few times during our time in San Sebastián.

Gluten-free ice cream

Who doesn’t love an ice cream in the sunshine!? Since being diagnosed as coeliac I’ve grown wary of eating ice cream due to cross-contamination, but I had a fantastic experience at Carlos Arribas. Not only can you get gluten-free ice cream here, but you can also get a gluten-free cone – and most importantly, both taste incredible! As soon as I mentioned I was coeliac when making my order the staff member serving me washed his hands, and served my ice cream with a clean ice cream scoop.

Gluten-free restaurants

During our stay we ate at Bodegón Alejandro which offers gorgeous local cuisine. The food was beautiful and staff were very helpful. Due to multiple staff serving our table I did have to keep reminding them that I was coeliac, but the food was delicious and I ate there without any problems. We ordered the twice acorn fed Iberian pork loin with mashed potatoes and the cod fillet confited with pil pil sauce and spider crab in Donostia style – both gluten-free.

Gluten-free supermarket

During our stay we visited the supermarket Supercor which offered plenty of Schar gluten-free products in a dedicated gluten-free section of the store, including cornflakes, bread, biscuits and chocolate. They also sold gluten-free Mahou beer.

Gluten-free Spanish vocabulary

Speaking Spanish was definitely useful on this trip as not everyone spoke English. Below are a few key phrases which you may find helpful:

Overall verdict

Overall rating

I felt really safe and at ease when dining out in San Sebastián. Staff at all the restaurants I visited were really knowledgeable and demonstrated that they took coeliac disease seriously in the lengths they went to to avoid cross contamination – even at the ice cream shop. There were also plenty of delicious gluten-free options available at every turn, so I never felt like I was missing out.

Coeliac friendly

It was clear that coeliac disease was well-known and understood in San Sebastián – it certainly wasn’t their first rodeo!

Safety

I wasn’t unwell from any of the food I ate during my time here and staff were really good at avoiding cross-contaminations, using separate gloves, fryers, and utensils as needed.