When we think of gluten free food, we think of San Francisco, Los Angeles, or New York – with crusty $30 dollar plates of Paleo meats and veggies covered in avocado, barely enough to fill your stomach although tantalizing to the taste buds. What we don’t think of is Madrid. To our surprise Madrid not only delivered on it’s usual goodies (wine, culture, art, and beautiful tall and dark men) but also on it’s food.

While I have always loved a good Paella and Jamón coupled with a glass of Rioja I was very weary when introducing my husband to one of my favorite places in Spain: Madrid. For starters, he’s not a fan of shellfish or squid (cross off Paella) and he’s gluten free (cross off everything else delicious besides jamón and wine). He’s even more of a sweet white wine person instead of a red wine person.  He refuses any meal that doesn’t involve meat or fish unless it’s pasta. Come to think of it, writing out this list helps me realize I must really love him…but anyway, i’m the opposite and a foodie. I eat everything (except liver).  So you can imagine my fear and that fear sprung me into action.

I love nothing more than food tours where I stuff myself to the max and have to be rolled away after deliriously eating all the gluttonous food I could find. So we (mostly I) searched desperately for some hardened food experts who could help me introduce my husband to Madrid through food and culture (without too much gluten or shellfish).

We were lucky.

For starters, for breakfast and lunch we used TripAdvisor to find recommendations for gluten free restaurants in Madrid. One of the top suggestions was Taberna La Concha located on Cava Baja Street. It opens at 13:00 for lunch or for us (breakfast) and it’s a small little joint. You walk in and you are immediately greeted by it’s rustic and airy bar, in front are backless blue wooden stools awaiting patrons. A simple fixture that reminds you of something you can find on Etsy displays the various Spanish vermouths (or vermut in Spanish), wines, and local draft beers available for consumption. There’s a downstairs but when we arrived it was not open.

The kitchen is open and you can hear the sizzle of food and chop of the chef’s knife. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and she was working certain magic. We were given a  single slip of papers for the menu of gluten free tapas and we settled into our cozy spot and ordered. First, we ordered a Spanish vermouth, then the Pisto con huevo de codorniz (Pisto with quail egg), the Carrilleras de cerdo estofadas (Braised pork cheeks), the Tosta de cecina con queso Parmesano (jamon on toast and parmesan), and finally the Tosta de gambas (shrimp toast).  All gluten free dishes.

15 minutes after ordering our food the bar became full with hungry and loud Spaniards enjoying a long lunch. Our food arrived in sections and it was clear that the chefs hands had been masterfully crafted by the god of food to deliver unto this world a taste of heaven. We ate in absolute silence with the exception of brief sighs of delight .

During our time in Madrid we frequented La Celiacoteca, which is an all gluten free bakery with options for all food lifestyles including vegan. The beauty of the bakery is that it caters specifically to celiacs. They offer cakes, pastries, smoothies, and some savory items. All deliciously gluten free.

We also took advantage of two food tours in Madrid. Each one was able to accommodate Christian’s gluten free diet with a couple days advance warning. On tour Christian was not able to enjoy every item on tour but he did enjoy most of them. For us, the tours were a huge improvement over some of the other tours we had taken and some the other tours we had looked into. Many could not or would not guarantee gluten free items on their tours.

Our first tour was with Urban Adventures named Madrid Tapas Adventures.  Our guide was a native of Spain who is a major foodie.

Our tour started at Mercado de San Miguel. Located next to the famous Plaza Mayor of Madrid this old warehouse converted into a glass oasis was the perfect first stop to get our taste buds tingling. It has a wide selection of tapas, wine, vermouth, and beer that rival the diverse selection of food that can be found at New York’s Chelsea Market. We started off with a selection of various olive dishes and moved on to wine tasting. When it was over we went to visit the following places:

1. Casa Lucas. We enjoyed a number of gluten free options. We loved it so much that we went back on our own — twice.
2. Cerveceria at Plaza Mayor where they only serve the famous Cadillos de Calamares, a calamari sandwich, which is basically fried calamari in a bun. This location did not offer gluten free options.
3. Casa Labra, located near Puerta Del Sol which specialized in tapas, meat and cod fish. We enjoyed their cod croquettes, which is a must have in Spain. They unfortunately do not come gluten free but Christian received another dish of jamón.

We asked about additional gluten free dessert options and our guide suggested we visite Maestro Churrero. The location specializes in churros and offered the classic Madrid dessert of churros and rich hot chocolate. We went to the bakery and for me it was ok, but Christian loved it.

We booked our second tour through Airbnb.com Experiences. The tours name was Classic and modern tastes of Malasaña. The tour is run by Melinda who is a Texas native but has lived in the Malasaña community and in Spain for the last six, almost seven years.  Our tour with Melinda was intimate and we truly felt like we got to know her neighborhood. More importantly, she also introduced us to Spanish vermouth. We drank it at one of the oldest vermouth bars in the neighborhood of Malasaña,  Bodega de la Ardosa. It was founded in 1892 and has specialized in vermouth ever since. Some of it’s tapas were gluten free. We ate their fired eggplant tapas which was not.  Our trip to the Bodega de la Ardosa opened my eyes to the world of vermouth and began what I would call, an anticipated lifelong appreciation and love for the often overlooked aperitif. We continued our tour to the following places:

1. Pez Tortilla. A Spanish tortilla joint with lots of gluten free options for the beloved potato based delicacy. The vibe is hipster meets gourmet with a sprinkle of ironic humor.
2. Fábrica Maravillas. A microbrewery serving only locally brewed beer along with some gluten free friendly tapas. I throughly enjoyed the microbrewery. There’s even an option for a tour of the facilities if time allows.
3. El Paracaidista. A hip and cool building with over 3,000 meters of space to feature emerging stars in Spanish and international fashion. In addition to it’s boutiques there’s also a rooftop lounge.  The rooftop provides 360 views of Malasaña and it’s where we finished our tour, surrounded by colorful steps, plants, and music. We were all a bit buzzed after stopping for tons of vermouth, beer, and wine and casually sat together chatting about life and enjoying Melinda’s company and the company of the other guests.

Overall, Madrid has plenty to offer in food and drink. It’s diversity comes from it’s status as the capital city. In it, people from all over Spain join together to bring their tastes from home for all to enjoy. This means a full range of flavors just waiting to be discovered.