Gluten-free Athens, Greece
Gluten-free travel requires research. I’ve spent a week in Athens, and it’s a shame this information will go to waste
** If you didn’t read the welcome page yet, please start there **
In General
What do you wanna hear first? The good or the bad?
The bad — overall, restaurants didn’t give me the impression they have much knowledge about gluten.
The good — you can still eat because the greek cuisine isn’t based around gluten anyway. Just ask for the bread to be out.
The Restaurants
Here you’ll find recommendations and dis-recommendations about restaurants I’ve been to.
nice n easy — I love it when restaurants have allergens on their menu! It was the first restaurant I went to, so this was a very good start!
Awareness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Variety: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My experience: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I quickly learned that If I want to find gluten-free options in Greece — I should look for vegetarian restaurants. It’s a bit annoying because it limits the food selection even more, but at least you get awareness and easy-to-maneuver menus. Now, let’s talk about Avocado:
Avocado — I went there twice, that must mean something good. Well, to be honest, it also means I got a bit frustrated with finding places to eat. Nothing much to say, they had a variety of options.
Awareness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Variety: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My experience: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Athena‘s Cook — Well, that’s the place that asked me: “Gluten-free… you mean without potatoes, right?”, which immediately made me lose trust in them and fear my meal. I’ve decided to have faith in the Greek kitchen and its lack of flour, and went for a chicken with potatoes, knowing I’m taking a risk. It turned out ok, but I would not recommend them. They also took a very long time to serve us.
Awareness: ⭐
Variety: ⭐⭐⭐
My experience: ⭐
Ella Greek Cooking — I found them on google maps, saw they have allergens on the menu, and decided to give them a try. When I got there I saw that the menu didn’t have allergens, so I had to go to the picture of the menu from google maps and hope it didn’t change.
Awareness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Variety: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My experience: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Let’s talk about delivery apps. Ordering on Wolt can be a bit challenging because not all menus are in English. With a bit of help from google translate, I was able to order from Hard Rock Cafe, and it was great :)
Hard Rock Cafe — Not much to say here. I’m always pleased to know there is a well-known food franchise for when I’m tired of looking for adequate food.
Awareness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Variety: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
My experience: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Winners Vegan — While searching for restaurants on google maps, I found this one. Something about that dish with the cashews caught my eye and I couldn’t let it go! So we went there. This one is more on the pricy side, and unfortunately, the cashew dish looks better than it tastes :(
Awareness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Variety: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My experience: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Amazon Hotel — They were great! They had gluten-free bread in hand, and even made me sandwiches for the flight! If you know how frustrating it is when the airport has nothing for you to eat — then you know this is priceless! Also, the hotel is in a wonderful location. I highly recommend it!
Awareness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!
Variety: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!
My experience: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!
Worth Mentioning
- Coffee is expensive — It’s funny how my friend and I were annoyed about our 12oz oat latte pricing up again, reaching an enormous price of 4 euros, and now I go to a coffee shop in Athens, paying 4.5 euros for the tiniest latte. So prepare yourself for that.
- I highly recommend going to see the guards in the front of the Hellenic Parliament change shifts! It’s fascinating!
That’s it!
I really hope you found this blog post useful.
Have any recommendations to add? Found a mistake? Please send an email to glutenfreetravel1@gmail.com. This will be helpful for all of us!
Enjoy your vacation in Athens! :D
