Traveling to Lisbon soon and looking for the best gluten-free restaurants? Look no further, our comprehensive gluten-free Lisbon guide has the best restaurants to eat in safely, as well as helpful tools and tips, such as a free gluten-free Portuguese restaurant card to help you safely navigate Lisbon on a strict gluten-free diet.
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100% Gluten-Free Restaurants in Lisbon
The Paleo Kitchen (CLOSED)
Accredited by the Portugal Celiac Association (APC), The Paleo Kitchen is one of the few naturally gluten-free restaurants in Lisbon. With a philosophy to serve nothing that our ancestors didn’t eat, you can expect that nothing on the menu contains dyes, preservatives, refined sugars, or is made with processed ingredients. Wild caught salmon salad, burgers, squash noodles bolognese, and roast beef toasts are just a few of the delicious naturally gluten-free and organic meals you can devour at Paleo Kitchen.
R. Latino Coelho 31, 1050-010 Lisboa, Portugal | Visit Website
The Food for Real
Update: The Food For Real is now certified 100% gluten-free restaurant with two locations in Lisbon.
Located a bit outside of town, The Food for Real is a small cozy restaurant near the LX factory, offering fresh and healthy food. Certified by the Portuguese celiac association, The Food for Real knows how to properly cater to celiacs while offering predominantly gluten-free meals with vegan and vegetarian options. You can enjoy their delicious brazilian pāo de queijo (cheese bread balls), brazilian crepes, and tapioca. Food for Real is a fantastic gluten-free brunch spot in Lisbon.
R. dos Lusíadas 51 A, 1300-366 Lisboa, Portugal | Visit Website
100 gluten (CLOSED)
Contrary to the restaurant’s name, 100 gluten is actually an entirely gluten-free restaurant that recently opened in Lisbon with the catch phrase “eat as if you are at home.” The restaurant offers a good variety of delicious sweet and savoury options including crepes, bread, sandwiches, dumplings, and more. The menu offers plenty of lactose-free options as well. The friendly and passionate owner and the delicious food makes this gem a must visit while in Lisbon.
Rua Marcelino Mesquita 7 B, Linda-a-Velha Lisboa, Portugal | Visit Website
A Li
Deliciously healthy food, friendly staff, and good vibes are all things you can expect at A Li cantina. This hidden gem offers simple dishes that are 100% gluten, dairy, and refined sugar free. They make their own plant-based milk as well as gluten-free bread. From breakfast bowls to avocado toast, A Li is a fantastic place to enjoy breakfast while traveling gluten-free in Lisbon.
R. Damasceno Monteiro 12, 1170-112 Lisboa, Portugal | Visit Website
Despensa N6
This beautifully decorated cafe in north Lisbon is the perfect spot to enjoy a worry-free, gluten-free brunch. Despensa N6 sets itself apart as not only a 100% gluten-free cafe, but also as a dispensary. They make most of their own products such as nut butters, nut milks, and nut flours, which you can purchase by weight. As for the food, it’s delicious and they don’t use wheat, corn, refined sugar, refined oil, or any artificial ingredients. We personally did not like the wraps, however, we highly recommend the huge crepes, desserts, and shakes which are phenomenal.
Av. Sacadura Cabral 6A, 1000-274 Lisboa, Portugal | Visit Website
Grom
Our favorite 100% gluten-free Italian gelato chain has a location in Lisbon, which means you can devour everything without worries of cross-contamination. This includes all the flavors, biscuits, sorbets, chocolates, and of course the cones. A visit to Grom is never a bad decision.
R. Garrett 42, 1200-204 Lisboa, Portugal | Visit Website
Accredited Gluten-Free Restaurants in Lisbon
La Trattoria
In the popular Marquis square in north Lisbon is the gluten-free accredited upscale Italian restaurant. The menu is properly labeled with what’s gluten-free and what can be made gluten-free. This includes pastas and risottos but not gluten-free pizza, unfortunately. We love that we were able to take part in the table service and got delicious gluten free bread, olives, oil, and truffle sauce before the meal.
R. Artilharia 1 79, 1250-038 Lisboa, Portugal | Visit Website
Open Brasserie Mediterrânica
Attached to the four-star hotel Inspira Santa Marta, Open Brasserie Mediterrânica is a certified gluten-free restaurant in Lisbon. With an open kitchen and knowledgeable and trained staff you’ll get a sense of transparency and belonging while dining at Open. From the special complimentary dish from the chef, to the suckling pork belly and duck margot everything was mouth-wateringly good. Though we thoroughly enjoyed our delicious gluten-free meals this was our most expensive meal in Portugal. Nonetheless, Open is one of the best gluten-free restaurants in Lisbon and is a must visit.
Vegetarian, vegan, and lactose-free options are available, and dishes can be adapted for those suffering from diabetes.
R. de Santa Marta 48, 1150-297 Lisboa, Portugal | Visit Website
Zarzuela
Zarzuela is one of the most popular certified gluten-free establishments among celiacs traveling to Lisbon as it’s one of the only places in the city where you can find a gluten-free pastel de nata. Beside pastel de nata, they offer a full menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner including gluten free pizza and burgers. Though not a 100% gluten-free bakery, the owner’s wife is said to be a celiac and they are careful to avoid cross contamination. However, after a visit and observation we felt disappointed, as it didn’t seem like they were as careful as they claimed to be. Nonetheless, we’ll let you be the judge of that.
R. Bernardino Costa 21-23, 1200-052 Lisboa, Portugal | Visit Website
Rice Me
At Rice Me, they love rice and make almost all their dishes with it. Because of this, 98% of their menu is gluten-free with just two items not safe to eat. The accredited gluten-free restaurant offers curries, wraps, risottos, spring rolls, and more. A visit to Rice Me is a discovery of how many delicious ways you can devour the holy grain; rice.
R. Carlos Testa 18, 1050-124 Lisboa, Portugal | Visit Website
Gino’s
Gino’s is an accredited Italian restaurant chain with a small dedicated gluten-free menu. The menu offers one or two pasta dishes, gluten-free pizza, and dessert. To ensure safety, all gluten-free dishes are served by the managers and on blue plates.
Various locations | Visit Website
McDonalds
Though we personally don’t eat fast food, we know some of our readers do, so we’ve included McDonalds as an option for an inexpensive gluten-free meal in Lisbon. All the McDonalds in Portugal are certified gluten-free and their staff are properly trained to offer safe gluten-free food to customers. They offer certified safe gluten-free buns for all their burgers as well as a celiac menu.
Various locations | Visit Website
Newly Discovered 100% Gluten-Free Restaurants in Lisbon
It is always a sad moment when I am updating articles to find that gluten-free restaurants have closed permanently so to balance this sadness, I have added this section to add new 100% gluten-free restaurants that I discovered while updating this article.
Rice Me Deli | Cafeteria & bakery | Av. António Augusto de Aguiar 124 A, 1050-124 Lisboa, Portugal | Website
Saludê Pastelaria | Coffee Shop | Av. Santa Joana Princesa 23C, 1700-330 Lisboa, Portugal | Website
Other Gluten-Free Restaurants in Lisbon
Bomjardim
Locally known as the “King of Chickens” (Rei dos Frangos), this simply decorated roadside restaurant is the place to go to devour the traditional Portuguese dish of spit roasted chicken with piri piri sauce. Think perfectly crisp chicken skin with meat that falls right off the bone served on a bed of fries. Their chicken and fries are naturally gluten-free and only fries are fried in the fryer. Since cross contamination is a possibility, I highly recommend using our free detailed gluten-free Portuguese restaurant card to make sure your needs are understood and properly taken care of. The food at Bonjardim is simple, traditional, delicious, cheap, and we highly recommend it.
Casa Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhau
Casa Portuguesa do Pastel de Bacalhau sells only one thing; pastel de bacalhau. Naturally gluten-free, the traditional Portuguese snack is made of salted cod, eggs, potato with spices, and herbs. The shop makes the fritters according to the traditional recipe with three changes: they make them bigger, stuff them with cheese, and charge more, €4 a piece! Celiacs should order their pastel de baccalau without the wafer, as there may be a possibility of cross contamination from the manufacturer.
R. Augusta 106, 1100-053 Lisboa, Portugal | Visit Website
Notes on Other Gluten-Free Restaurants
Time Out Market – People have mentioned they found safe gluten-free options at Time Out Market, however, we are not sure how, every place we went to looked like the kitchen was too small and too chaotic to offer safe gluten-free options. Yes, you can find gluten-free options but not celiac safe ones.
Beiju – Beiju is not 100% gluten-free as some of the fillings in the tapioca crepes contain gluten, such as the oreo flavor. Some locations sell burgers and pasta, and the granola is not gluten-free. I would not recommend Beiju for celiacs as cross contamination procedures do not look like they are in place.
Weeel – Weeel is a frozen yoghurt truck you can find all over Portugal. Though all their froyo is gluten-free and comes in cups, you do need to worry about cross contamination from the toppings as they have oreos, and nuts (may contain traces). I won’t say it’s suitable for celiacs.
Gluten-Free Friendly Accommodations
Hotel Inspira Santa Maria
With Open Brasserie Mediterrânica – a restaurant accredited by the APC, this four star hotel knows how to cater to celiacs. Staff are knowledgeable and aware of the issues of cross contamination. For breakfast, instead of buffet offerings they offer fresh food made by a chef, as well as bread. A stay at Hotel Inspira Santa Maria is definitely a treat. Check prices and availability here.
Airbnb
Airbnb rentals with proper kitchens always offer a great accommodation option for celiacs as you can cook your own meals and make sure your food is truly 100% gluten-free.
Supermarkets with Gluten-Free Products
Most of the supermarkets in Lisbon have gluten-free products and you’ll find items suitable for celiacs marked with an APC logo or the EU gluten-free logo. Products that are gluten-free are often labelled “isento de glúten” and sometimes “sem glúten”. As per Portuguese law, companies are required to disclose any allergens including wheat, rye, barley, or oats on their ingredients list, which is done by writing the ingredients in bold.
Celiac Notes: Always double check the ingredients even on non-seasoned meat, we found regular ground beef had wheat as an ingredient. Also, if you’re allergic to wheat, again check ingredients even if it says it’s gluten-free as there may be wheat fibers or wheat starch with the gluten removed as an ingredient.
El Corte Ingles – A department store with an extensive amount of gluten-free items, however they tend to be more expensive.
Celeiro – A health food chain with a huge selection of gluten-free products also on the expensive side.
Continente – A big supermarket chain with a dedicated gluten-free aisle with plenty of products.
Pingo Doce – A budget supermarket that is often smaller than other supermarkets that has their own brand of gluten-free products.
Portuguese Gluten-Free Restaurant Card
We believe that there is no such thing as “one translation card for all”, every country is different, with different food challenges to face. That is why this detailed restaurant card is specifically tailored to travel in Portugal.
Our Portuguese Translation Card:
- Written by celiacs for celiacs
- Speaks about cross contamination and the importance of cleaning hands and utensils
- Mentions examples of local dishes you cannot eat
- Translated by a native speaker (not Google!)
- Is FREE!
To download your free Gluten-Free Portuguese Translation Card, click here. Though are cards are free, we do ask for a donation to help us continue providing detailed destination specific translation cards for you and other celiac travelers. Thank you for supporting us!
Useful Gluten-Free Phrases in Portuguese
- Sem glúten / Isento glúten – Gluten-free
- Farinha de Trigo – Wheat Flour
- Amido de Trigo – Wheat Starch
- Grãos de trigo – Wheat Grains
- Pão ralado / farinha de rosca – Bread crumbs
- Molhos de soja – Soya sauce
- Sêmola – Semolina
- Aveia – Oats
- Centeio – Rye
- Cevada – Barley
- Pão – Bread
- Não contêm glúten. – Does not contain gluten.
- Pode conter vestigios de … – May contain traces of …
- Pode ser consumido por celíacos. – It may be consumed by celiacs.
