Going on holiday to the Costa Del Sol and looking for places to eat
Growing up I spent many a summer in Torremolinos, a popular tourist destination on the Costa Del Sol. My mum and her dad bought a little holiday apartment between them, so when I was in school we used to go out there for the 6 week summer holidays.
Since going gluten free the choice of restaurants has been reduced somewhat, but there are still a few places to go that are safe and options to ask for when eating
As it’s an apartment with
Restaurante Lanjaron
This is the favourite for my family – it’s not too far from our apartment (staggering distance if we’ve had a few too many Tinto De Verano!) – and it’s cheap and cheerful for really good food. It’s family run and the staff have all been there for years.
They’ve changed the menu in recent years so it’s marked up with the main allergens – if you take a Spanish allergy card they’re happy to check anything you’re not sure about.
Obviously, it’s a mixed kitchen but I’ve never been ill from eating there. Definitely worth a visit!
Hopefully the menu will give you an idea of what you can get – and how cheap it is! Hopefully the menu will give you an idea of what you can get – and how cheap it is!
McDonalds & Burger King
WOOP WOOP COPOUT ALERT! I am aware this is a gigantic cheat and it’s not ‘real food’ but when you have the opportunity to get a Big Mac, you take it!
At McDonalds you can order burgers with gluten free buns, as well as fries and some fit potato wedges. Also, they serve gluten free beer – what’s not to like?
Burger King also does gluten free options – if you’re worried about things getting lost in translation just order on the interactive screens.
Finding Gluten Free Options in Torremolinos
We are admittedly creatures of habit, and what with having dinner in our apartment, we don’t go out an awful lot – I’ve written a blog post about shopping for
A lot of the places we go to tend to have the same variety of food – it’s easy to start spotting what you can safely eat – it’s just a case of asking whether it’s safe.
If you can identify the below options on the menu – ask the waiter “Soy alérgico al gluten – es seguro para mí comer?”. Being so close to Malaga, which does a lot of campaigning for gluten free, most places will be able to give you a yes or no answer.
AVOID anything described as “frito” (fried) and instead opt for thing described as “a la plancha” (grilled).
Some of my favourites are:
- Boquerones en Vinagre (anchovies in spirit vinegar)
- Pulpo a la gallega
- Calamara Plancha
- Lenguado Meunier = Sole
- Paella – not safe everywhere due to stock cubes
- Jamon Serrano or Iberica
- Tortilla Espanola
- Gambas a la plancha
Have you visited Torremolinos and found some places you’ve found great? Let me know in the comments!
Los Bandeleros on Playa Mar is completely gluten free! It’s wonderful to have a choice of everything that’s on the menu!
Ooh really! I’ll have to check that out next time I’m there – we tend to go to the beaches further up towards La Carihuela so we never go past that place.
Gluten free and a beer wow at Mcdonalds. I wonder if in Madrid will be the same. We are going to Spain and Portugal next year.
Pretty sure it’s standard across Spain 🙂
This is amazing! I was worried about my trip to Spain but after this blog post, not anymore!