How To Eat Gluten-Free in Porto, Portugal: Porto Gluten Free Restaurant Guide

Porto, Portugal, is a city we’ve gone back to again and again. But our most recent visit, in February 2026, was the first one since my celiac disease diagnosis. Both the city of Porto, and the country of Portugal, were new gluten-free territory for me. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was hoping it would be somewhat similar to Spain, where I live.

A really bad bout of food poisoning from the Mercado do Bolhão meant that we didn’t get to try nearly as many restaurants in Porto as I was hoping, because we were all too sick for a few days and then didn’t have much of an appetite for the next few days. But we still had the opportunity to try a few restaurants, both dedicated gluten-free and not, that had good gluten-free options.

So, here’s what you need to know about being gluten-free in Porto, Portugal.

Gluten-Free Map of Porto

Map Key (Colors)

• Green: Dedicated gluten-free establishment
• Dark pink: Not dedicated gluten-free, but has a 5-heart safety rating on the FindMeGF app
• Light pink: Not dedicated gluten-free, but has a 4 or 4.5-heart safety rating on the FindMeGF app
• Blue: Shops only
• Black: Avoid!!

Map Key (Symbols)

• Fish: Portuguese food 😉
• Spoon & knife: Other type of food
• Birthday cake: Bakery
• Pizza: Pizza place
• Pasta bowl: Italian restaurant
• Sushi: Sushi restaurant
• Burger: American food
• Shopping cart: Grocery store with decent selection of gluten-free items, including snacks
• Skull & crossbones: Avoid!!

Notes About the Gluten-Free Map of Porto

• Anywhere that I personally ate will have my review in the “description” section when you click on it.

• It seems like a lot of the restaurants in Porto, at least those with GF options, are like Portuguese/modern/fusion restaurants so a lot of the “spoon & knife” places also offer Portuguese fare and I had a hard time categorizing it.

• There may be other restaurants in Porto offering gluten-free options that didn’t meet my “personal” requirements for the above map, such as not having enough reviews. But this should be a good starting point.

The Best Gluten-Free Restaurants in Porto

Tapabento S. Bento: This is a beautiful restaurant inside the beautiful Porto train station! Not the *most* GF options but our server, Alberto, was so amazing and knowledgeable. The menu lists allergens so you can see what does/doesn’t have gluten. Gluten-free bread is on the menu, and when I asked for it, he said “allergy or celiac?” Then, he walked me through every single menu item and highlighted which ones didn’t have gluten.

When I ordered, I double checked they were gluten-free and asked if they could be careful about cross-contact. Alberto said, “I’ll go tell the kitchen right now.” Shortly later, he came back and said one of the items I’d tried to order, stuffed eggplant, wasn’t safe from cross-contact today, so I ordered something else, and once again he went to the kitchen to talk with them before moving forward with placing my order.

On top of feeling super taken care of, the food was delicious! I highly recommend the Spanish tortilla — I live in Spain and it was so much more than typical tortilla. It was almost gourmet. Also, my family was obsessed with their (non GF) food. My mom kept saying it was the best thing she’d eaten in a long time.

We were lucky to walk in and get a table for four at 1pm on a Saturday in February, but a lot of tables were already reserved, so plan ahead!

Rua Tapas Restaurant & Live Music Bar: A fun bar/restaurant with live music and great vibes! Gluten-free options clearly marked on the menu! Not the most options, but enough.

Reading other reviews, I expected that the fries/chips would not be GF due to the fryer, but the server went out of the way to tell me they WERE fried separately before I even had a chance to ask.

When they came with aioli/sauce on the side and I asked if they were GF, he went back to the kitchen to double check. They took good care of me. And the cod risotto was also delicious!

Honest Greens: We ate here a few times on our last trip to Porto because it was right next to our hotel, and I didn’t even know I was celiac then. 😜 On this visit, it was a great GF option with lots of variety but also good and healthy for us as we recovered from food poisoning. (Be careful with the oysters at Mercado Bolhão.) Everything at Honest Greens except for the bread is GF. Keep in mind this is a “healthy” GF place, not necessarily a “medical” GF if that makes sense.

I ordered one of the salads and it’s good because it does not automatically come with bread, so you don’t have to worry about asking them to take it off — and there’s no chance of them accidentally adding it. You can also watch them preparing all the food. Pretty much everything here is really tasty and there’s a big menu, plus we found the prices very affordable. I’m super excited an Honest Greens is coming to Alicante, where we live!

Com Cuore: This wasn’t my favorite restaurant we ate at — the vibes/ambiance was a bit lacking — but it is 100% dedicated gluten free, so that’s a plus! It’s probably the only place in town you can get a gluten-free pastel de nata/pastel de Belém (Portuguese egg custard tart) and a gluten-free Francescinha (a hearty, layered meat & cheese sandwich smothered in sauce, originally from Porto). Keep in mind, Com Cuore is cash-only.

What To Do at Restaurants If You’re Celiac or Gluten-Free in Porto

You’ll notice that there aren’t too many dedicated gluten-free restaurants in Porto, so you’ll have to take it upon yourself to talk to the staff before you order.

Here are the steps I took when eating gluten-free in Porto:

1. Sit down at the table. I usually try to sit where I think I’ll have easiest access to the waiter, because we’re probably going to be talking to each other a lot and it’s easier if I don’t have to do it over everyone else.
2. The waiter would bring the menus. Most of the places we went did have gluten labeled on the menu, but that’s because we went to places with good ratings on FindMeGF, so this probably isn’t the case everywhere.
3. At that point, I would usually tell the waiter that I was celiac. I would try to do this in Portuguese so I could ensure I was being understood, though I’m sure my pronunciation left something to be desired, lol. Here’s what you say: “Eu sou celíaca,” which obviously means “I’m celiac.” So far, pretty much everyone I’ve encountered has known what that means. (Change it to celíaco if you identify as male.)
4. If they weren’t marked on the menu, the waiter would usually begin pointing out which options were gluten free.

Remember: Just because something is gluten-free, it doesn’t mean it’s free of cross-contact. So you’ll have to start asking questions.

Common Questions To Ask: Gluten Free in Porto/Gluten Free in Portugal

If the dish has gluten-free bread: Is the bread toasted separately? 

If there are potatoes or fries/chips: Are the potatoes fried separately?

If the dish has grilled items such as ham, vegetables, cheese, etc: Is this prepared on a clean grill? 

If there’s anything that I’m not sure about, before or after my food comes out: Does this ____ have gluten?

If you’re not comfortable in Portuguese — or don’t have a Portuguese-speaking buddy with you on your trip — I recommend downloading this free Portuguese gluten-free translation card and saving it to your phone! It helps explain the most important basics to ensure that you’re communicating with your waiter as clearly as possible.

Another thing to note is that many Portuguese speakers can understand Spanish fairly well, so if their English isn’t strong and you’re decent at Spanish, this is another option for communicating.

Other Things to Know: Gluten Free in Porto

Just a few more random thoughts on things you might want to know before you visit Porto/Portugal as a gluten-free traveler.

• Celiac disease didn’t seem as well-known in Porto compared to Italy or Spain, but since we only went to places that already had good reviews on FindMeGF, most of the food services workers did understand what “Eu sou celíaco(a)” meant. (Even if I said it in English.)

• “Sem Glúten” or “Isento de Glúten” means gluten-free. However, I didn’t find this on packaging as much as I do in Spain.

• Even if something doesn’t say it’s gluten free, you can look for the allergy statement on the back of the label. Any potential allergens will be labeled in bold on the list, including gluten. You should also be looking for farinha, trigo, centeio, cevada, or aveia. Some things also say “May contain traces of ____.” Pode conter vestígios de…

• Grocery stores like Continente, Pingo Doce, and Auchan will generally have snacks that are not labeled gluten-free, but they don’t contain gluten. These should be safe. These will be things like chips, nuts, yogurt, hummus, etc.

• Seafood is a major part of Portuguese cuisine, so as long as it doesn’t have any unknown seasonings on it, it could be a good, safe meal idea. We went to the Afurada fishing village and had fresh grilled fish — only seasoned with salt — and it was delicious!

• Portugal has an “Associação Portuguesa de Celíacos,” national celiac association, that provides guidelines for celiac residents and tips for travelers. Get their tourism recommendations here.

• Porto is home to one of the most beautiful McDonald’s locations in the world. While the McDonald’s in Spain are certified by the Spanish celiac association — complete with a sticker on the door — I wasn’t sure about the one in Porto. The APC lists McDonald’s as a partner, but there was no indications of the APC symbol in the restaurant and there were a few negative reviews on FindMeGF.

 

Let me know what other questions you have about being gluten free in Porto or Portugal! I’d be more than happy to do my best to answer — and feel free to follow me on the FindMeGF app as well. 🙂

-Cathy

This site contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.