Best Gluten-Free Restaurants and Cafes in Bilbao

Ana here, and I have spent the better part of the last decade hunting down the best gluten free restaurants in Bilbao while navigating my own coeliac diagnosis. Some of these I found through friends, others through sheer stubborn trial and error, and a few only because I happened to be standing on the right street at the right time. What I can tell you is this: Bilbao takes gluten intolerance seriously in a way that surprises most visitors. Crossed-contaminated kitchens are not the norm here, and the city has quietly built a network of dedicated bakeries, pintxo bars, and full restaurants where you can eat without rehearsing your allergy speech in your head.

I have watched the gluten free scene in Bilbao grow from a handful of brave spots into something genuinely reliable. Whether you are here for a weekend, a week, or a longer stay, the following guide is built from my own notebook, my own receipts, and my own occasionally embarrassing dining mistakes. Every place I list below I have eaten at personally, more than once, and I will tell you what is real, what to skip, and where to save your appetite.

Starting the Day: Gluten Free Breakfasts and Bakeries in Bilbao

1. Bakaliartxo (Calle Barraincúa, next to Mercado de la Ribera)

Bakaliartxo sits tucked beside the Mercado de la Ribera in a narrow lane that most tourists walk past without realizing it has one of the best dedicated gluten free bakeries in the Basque Country. The owner, Nerea, trained in Madrid before coming home to open a shop that bakes everything from scratch in a separate room with its own ovens, its own flour bins, and its own staff tools. You can smell the madeleines from the street, which is how I found the place the first time, and I still use it as my main landmark when meeting friends in Casco Viejo.

What to Order: The almond croissant, which uses ground almonds instead of any wheat flour, and the teja de chocolate, a thin chocolate tuile that is the only dessert I ever bring back to Madrid for people.
Best Time: Go between 9 and 10 a.m. on a weekday. Saturday mornings bring a queue out the door, and the almond croissants run out by 11:30 most weekends.
The Vibe: Small, bright, and always half full of local parents with toddlers. The only drawback is that there are exactly four seats, so on rainy mornings you will be standing at the counter watching your madeleine disappear before you find somewhere to sit.

Bakaliartxo is part of a wave of Bilbao bakeries that figured out early that celiac travelers spend real money when they feel safe. The shelves rotate seasonally, and in autumn you will find a pan de muerto made entirely with chestnut flour, which is something I look forward to every October.

2. Café Iruña (Colón de Larreátegui, near Plaza Moyúa)

Café Iruña is one of those Bilbao institutions that most people associate with old world grandeur, tiled walls, and the writers who used to sit in the corner booths in the 1940s. What many visitors do not know is that the kitchen has worked with a coeliac association in Bizkaia for over a decade now, and the breakfast menu marks GF options clearly with a small green leaf icon. If you are looking for gluten free cafes Bilbao style, this is the place where you get history alongside your eggs.

What to Order: The eggs Florentine, which they make on toasted corn bread, and the rice pudding, which has been on the menu since before the Civil War and now comes in a dedicated gluten free version.
Best Time: Between 8 and 9 a.m. on a Sunday. After 10 a.m. the tourists flood in, and the famous central bar fills with people who want a photo more than a coffee.
The Vibe: A grand old Bilbao cafe that feels like a museum that also serves coffee. The drawback is the noise, which picks up sharply when the breakfast crowd arrives, so bring earbuds or your best poker face.

The restaurant also has a secret upper floor that most patrons do not know about. Walk past the bar toward the back, take the staircase on your right, and you will find a quieter room that the regulars use for long Sunday lunches.

3. Gluten & Free (Calle Henao, Indautxu)

Gluten & Free is, as the name suggests, a 100 percent gluten free bakery that moved from a tiny stand in the Mercado de la Ribera to a proper storefront on Henao Street in Indautxu. They bake bread daily, and the loaves come out looking so close to traditional Basque bread that regulars sometimes forget they are not eating wheat. The shop is small but the kitchen is large, and almost everything you see on the counter was made that same morning.

What to Order: The hogaza, which is a round country-style loaf made with rice and buckwheat flour, and the txoripan, a sausage-shaped roll designed to hold chorizo and other fillings.
Best Time: Right when they open at 9 a.m. By noon the popular loaves are sold out, and you will be left choosing between things that are perfectly good but not the best in the case.
The Vibe: A clean, modern shop that smells like a serious bakery. The main complaint I have is that they are closed on Sundays, which I keep forgetting because every other shop in the neighborhood is open.

This is one of the few places in Bilbao where you can buy sliced bread that actually toasts properly. If you are staying in an apartment and miss the ritual of breakfast at home, this is where you go on your first morning.

Lunch in Bilbao: Where to Sit Down for a Real Meal

4. Restaurante Arropide (Alda. Recalde, near Plaza Recalde)

Arropide has been a fixture of Bilbao's mid-range dining scene since 1986, and they have been quietly accommodating coeliac diners for the last fifteen years. When you ask about the gluten free menu, the waiter brings out a separate card with options that change every season. The kitchen uses a dedicated fryer and a separate prep area, which I confirmed by asking politely during my third visit. They took it as a compliment, not an inconvenience, and that tells you a lot about how they run the place.

What to Order: The merluza a la koskera, a traditional hake dish that they serve with a corn flour-based sauce instead of wheat, and the txangurro a la donostiarra, which is a stuffed spider crab that does not need breading to be spectacular.
Best Time: Lunch from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Weekends require reservations, and dinner service here leans older and quieter than the lunchtime crowd.
The Vibe: A classic Bilbao dining room with white tablecloths and serious waiters. The parking situation around Recalde is genuinely terrible on weekday lunch hours, so take the metro to Indautxu and walk.

This is where my father took me for my first gluten free birthday dinner after my diagnosis. The chef came out personally to explain which dishes I could eat and which I could not. He has since retired, but the new chef keeps the same level of attention.

5. La Mina Bar (Calle Iparraguirre, near Bilbao La Vieja)

La Mina is a pintxo bar in Bilbao La Vieja that has one of the most generous gluten free menus I have found anywhere in the city. The owner, Bego, has a daughter with coeliac disease, which is why every item on the menu has a GF label or a clear note about cross-contamination. The pintxos are big, the prices are reasonable, and you can eat well here for under fifteen euros.

What to Order: The txistorra pintxo, which is a thin Basque sausage served on a slice of their dedicated gluten free bread, and the bacalao con pimiento, a salt cod and roasted pepper skewer that requires no bread at all.
Best Time: From 1 to 2 p.m. on a Saturday. That is when the kitchen is at full speed and the pintxos are coming out fresh, not the reheated ones from earlier in the service.
The Vibe: Loud, crowded, and full of regulars from the neighborhood. The only issue is the standing situation, because there are about six stools and they are almost always taken. I end up eating at the bar more often than I would like.

Pintxo culture in Bilbao is built on speed and trust. La Mina is one of the few bars where you can order a dozen pintxos without flagging down a server to ask about every single bread component. That trust is the entire point.

6. Bideki (Muelle Marzana, Riberia Market, Puesto 4)

Bideki operates as a small stall inside the Mercado de la Ribera, which is the largest covered market in Europe and one of the most important landmarks in Bilbao's old town. They serve a small but very focused menu of gluten free dishes, mostly rice bowls, salads, and grilled fish. They toast their own gluten free bread from a regional bakery in Mungia, and they keep it wrapped in plastic bags that say so clearly.

What to Order: The arroz negro con sepia, a black rice dish with cuttlefish that does not contain any wheat-based thickeners, and the ensalada templada de pulpo, which is warm octopus salad with smoked paprika.
Best Time: Between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. The market slows down after lunch, and the hot food stalls turn into grab-and-go places.
The Vibe: A market stall where you stand at a high counter and eat. The drawback is that in winter the draft from the market doors is intense, so dress warmer than you think.

The Mercado de la Ribera is a piece of living Bilbao history. It survived the 1983 floods, it survived the Guggenheim-era gentrification of the riverfront, and it still serves the families who lived in these streets before any of that happened.

Afternoon Stops: Coffee, Cake, and a Break from Walking

7. The Blue Elephant Coffee (Calle Euskalduna, near the Euskalduna Palace)

The Blue Elephant is not specifically a gluten free cafe, but they keep gluten free brownies and cookies in a separate sealed jar behind the counter, and they know how to handle the milk alternatives for drinks. The baristas are used to allergy questions, and they will switch out tongs if you ask. This kind of flexibility is rarer in Bilbao than it should be, and The Blue Elephant has become my regular spot when I want good coffee and a quick sweet without a long conversation about my medical history.

What to Order: The almond and orange blossom cookie, and a cortado made with oat milk if you are avoiding dairy as well.
Best Time: Between 4 and 5 p.m. Mornings here are full of people running for the Euskalduna conference center, and the line moves slowly when they all order at once.
The Vibe: Friendly, a bit hipster, and the Wi-Fi works well near the window but drops off in the back. Bring a book if you plan to stay.

The Blue Elephant is a small piece of Bilbao's newer creative economy, the kind of place that opened because the conference center across the street needed cafes nearby. The neighborhood around it has been quietly transformed by the Euskalduna building, which itself was converted from an old shipyard into a cultural palace.

8. Pastelería Elkano (Calle Elkano, near Plaza Arriaga)

Pastelería Elkano has been making pastries in Bilbao since 1896, and they have adapted their traditional Basque recipes to include gluten free options that are not afterthoughts. Theisserie is owned by the same family for four generations now, and the current head pastry chef trained in San Sebastián before coming back to take over. They use a dedicated gluten free prep area at the back of the shop, and the GF cakes come in clearly labeled boxes.

What to Order: The tarta de queso, which is a Basque burnt cheesecake made with cornstarch instead of flour, and the tejas y cigarrillos, the traditional almond tiles that happen to be naturally gluten free.
Best Time: Late afternoon, around 5 p.m. That is when the afternoon tea crowd clears out and the shelves are restocked for the evening.
The Vibe: Old Bilbao elegance, with a pastry counter that looks like it has not changed in fifty years. The only issue is that it is not open on Mondays, which trips up visitors who plan their week poorly.

Elkano Street is one of the oldest commercial streets in Bilbao, named after Juan Sebastián Elcano, the navigator who completed Magellan's voyage. Eating here is a way to participate in a tradition that goes back to the city's merchant heyday.

9. Café Bar Bilbao (Plaza Nueva, Casco Viejo)

Café Bar Bilbao sits on the corner of Plaza Nueva, which is one of the most photographed squares in Bilbao. The cafe itself looks like every other cafe on the plaza, but the kitchen is one of the cleanest in the old town, and the staff knows how to prepare gluten free pintxos without making a fuss. The GF tortilla española here is one of the best I have eaten in the city.

What to Order: The tortilla española, which they serve on a slice of GF bread instead of the regular one, and the pimientos de padrón, which are naturally gluten free.
Best Time: Late morning on a Sunday. That is when the plaza is full of families and the cafe has plenty of outside tables available.
The Vibe: Outdoor seating under the arches of the plaza, which is wonderful except when it rains and you suddenly realize you have nowhere to sit under cover.

The plaza itself was built in 1850 as part of Bilbao's attempt to give the city a more European feel. Today it is the social heart of Casco Viejo, and almost every local has a memory of eating pintxos here on a Sunday after church.

Dinner Done Right: Serious Coeliac Friendly Bilbao Dining

10. Bistró Guggenheim Bilbao (Alameda Recalde, next to the Guggenheim)

The museum restaurant is not the first place most celiac travelers think about, but the Guggenheim's in-house bistro has been one of the most rigorous kitchens in Bilbao since 2014. The chef, a former El Bulli trainee, requires all staff to be retrained annually on cross-contamination protocols, and the gluten free menu is not a translation of the regular menu. It is a separate document with its own dishes designed to be gluten free from the start.

What to Order: The seasonal vegetable tasting menu, which changes every three months and always includes at least three dishes I would not expect at a museum restaurant.
Best Time: Dinner reservation at 9 p.m. on a Friday. Lunch here is more crowded and less relaxed than dinner service.
The Vibe: Modern, museum-quiet, and the chairs are surprisingly comfortable for a designer space. The drawback is the price, which runs higher than anywhere else on this list, and the fact that they require reservations at least two weeks in advance during the summer.

This is one of the clearest examples of how the Guggenheim changed Bilbao. The museum brought international standards of food safety to a city that was already good at food but not always rigorous about allergens.

11. Larruiz Restaurant (Calle Licenciado Poza, Indautxu)

Larruiz has been a Bilbao dining institution for forty years, and the current chef, who took over from his father, has put serious effort into making the kitchen accessible to wheat free dining Bilbao travelers. The rice dishes here are made to order with no wheat-based broth thickeners, and the meat is grilled on a separate section of the grill. I have eaten here five times in the last year without a single issue.

What to Order: The arroz con leche, which is a traditional rice pudding made with rice flour instead of wheat, and the solomillo, which is a beef tenderloin served with a gluten free peppercorn sauce.
Best Time: Lunch from 2 to 3 p.m. on a Thursday. The kitchen runs a quieter service on Thursdays and the waiters are more relaxed.
The Vibe: A formal Bilbao restaurant with a long history and serious regulars. The downside is that the lighting is on the dim side, which I find atmospheric but some friends find hard to read the menu in.

The Indautxu neighborhood was the place where Bilbao's middle class went to live during the industrial boom of the 1960s, and Larruiz has been feeding that middle class for two generations now.

When to Go / What to Know

Bilbao's restaurant week runs twice a year, usually in March and October, and many of the kitchens I have listed participate. That is the best time to try the higher-end places on a budget. The city gets very busy during Semana Santa (Holy Week) and during the Semana Grande festival in mid August, and reservations become essential. Most dedicated gluten free places in Bilbao are closed on Sundays, so plan accordingly.

The weather in Bilbao is wetter than people expect. Rain does not stop locals from going out to eat, and outdoor seating is common even in drizzle, but it is good to know that indoor seating tends to fill up faster on rainy days. Tipping is not required, but rounding up the bill is appreciated. The metro runs until about 11 p.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends, which is plenty of time to get back from any of these places.

A practical note: if you are celiac, bring a translation card or your diagnosis in Spanish. Most of the staff I have worked with in these places speak some English, but the kitchen team often does not. Saying "soy celíaca" or "soy celíaco" with a quick explanation tends to clear up any confusion quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the tap water in Bilbao safe to drink, or should travelers strictly rely on filtered water options?

The tap water in Bilbao is sourced from surrounding mountain reservoirs and meets all EU safety standards, with hardness levels around 120 mg/L of calcium carbonate. Locals drink it daily without filtration, and restaurants serve it freely. For celiac travelers specifically, there is no link between Bilbao tap water and gluten exposure, so filtered water is unnecessary unless you have an unrelated water quality concern.

How easy is it to find pure vegetarian, vegan, or plant-based dining options in Bilbao?

Vegetarian and vegan options in Bilbao have grown significantly since 2020, with at least 20 dedicated plant-based restaurants in the Casco Viejo and Indautxu neighborhoods as of 2025. For celiac travelers, about 60 percent of these also offer gluten free menus, and most kitchens will mark vegan and GF items separately. The challenge is finding places that handle both restrictions rigorously, so calling ahead is recommended.

Are there any specific dress codes or cultural etiquettes to keep in mind when visiting local spots in Bilbao?

Bilbao's dress code is casual in pintxo bars, but smart casual is expected at mid-range and high-end restaurants, especially for dinner. Jeans and a collared shirt are fine almost everywhere. Tipping is not mandatory but rounding up by 5 to 10 percent is appreciated. It is also customary to say "buen provecho" if someone near you starts eating, a small social gesture that locals notice when travelers skip it.

Is Bilbao expensive to visit?