Where to eat gluten-free in Tenerife? – Selected restaurants, bakeries and shops

Did you know that today you can travel from one end of Tenerife to the other without a single crumb of gluten ever reaching your plate? Breakfast with freshly baked bread in the old town of La Laguna, lunch by the sea in Candelaria, a dinner of traditional Canarian cooking in the highest village in Spain... and nowhere do you have to study the menu with a magnifying glass.

For a long time, eating gluten-free on the island pretty much meant this: salad and a bit of hope. That has changed. There are more and more places where gluten-free is not "the exception at the bottom of the menu," but where the whole kitchen revolves around it, from the crust to the dessert. We have gathered five of them, from the four corners of the island.

1. Taberna Girón — Candelaria

A gluten-free restaurant right by the sea. The kind of place where you don't have to choose between the view and the menu: you sit down next to the water and you can point at anything on the menu, because the whole kitchen is gluten-free. No "let's see if...," no negotiating with the waiter.

2. Sana Locura — San Cristóbal de La Laguna

Did you know that the smell of freshly baked bread was, for years, forbidden territory for many people? At this gluten-free bakery, pastry shop and café, you get it back. Bread, sweets and breakfasts that really look and taste the way they should, only gluten-free.

3. Sin Gluten Raquel — Granadilla de Abona

In the south of the island it is both a café and a grocery shop, gluten-free. You can sit down for a relaxed afternoon snack and, before you leave, fill your pantry with things you would search for in vain on the regular shelves.

4. Minelis Safe Food — Santa Cruz de Tenerife

In the capital, a little taste of Venezuela, gluten-free. Arepas and Latin flavour from a kitchen where "safe food" is not a slogan but the whole point. A good example that gluten-free is no synonym for bland.

5. Asador El Rincón de Chasna — Vilaflor de Chasna

Up in the highest village in Spain, a grill house where traditional Canarian home cooking is entirely gluten-free. Grilled meats, flavours of the land in the shadow of the Teide, without giving up a thing. Here safety is total: the family that runs it lives gluten-free, so they know exactly what cooking without contamination means; even the croquettes and the homemade desserts are gluten-free too.

And to stock the pantry?

Life gluten-free doesn't end at the restaurant door; the weekly shop counts just as much. The good news: in the island's big supermarkets you'll already find whole gluten-free aisles.

• Mercadona — with its own range labelled "Sin Gluten," from bread to biscuits.

• HiperDino (Dino) — the classic Canarian chain; in the large HiperDino stores the gluten-free selection is wider than in the neighbourhood SuperDino shops.

• Alcampo — in the big hypermarkets, the widest selection if you want to stock up all at once.

That way you not only eat well when you're out, but it's also easy to cook gluten-free at home.

The Canarian cuisine that already plays in your favour

Before looking for special menus, it's worth knowing something: a good part of traditional Canarian cooking is already naturally gluten-free. If you know what to order, almost any guachinche or neighbourhood restaurant turns into an option.

• Papas arrugadas con mojo (wrinkly potatoes with mojo sauce) — the most Canarian dish of all, without a single crumb: potatoes boiled with coarse salt and red or green mojo.

• Fresh grilled fish — vieja (parrotfish), cherne (wreckfish) or sama (red seabream) straight from the sea, with a drizzle of oil and lemon.

• Grilled meats and mixed grills — the base is simple and gluten-free; just check the marinades and the sauces.

Watch out for the gofio! Even though many dishes may look safe, gofio (that very typical toasted flour) is usually made from wheat, especially in stews, broths and in gofio escaldado. Always ask whether the dish contains gofio and whether it's made from wheat or from millo (maize).

The key is simple: always let them know you eat gluten-free and ask about how the dish is prepared, above all to avoid contact with flours in the kitchen. In Tenerife more and more kitchens are used to the question.

Gluten-free to go: beach, trail and picnic

A day at the beach or on the trail? There's no need to give it up. At bakeries and shops like Sana Locura or Sin Gluten Raquel you can take away gluten-free bread, sandwiches and sweets ready for the road. A good gluten-free picnic with the Teide as a backdrop counts as a plan too.

How to get around gluten-free on the island

A few practical notes to make eating gluten-free in Tenerife easy, not an odyssey:

• Say it clearly and early — when you sit down, mention that you eat gluten-free; you save time and avoid surprises.

• Ask about the potatoes — in some places the fries are cooked in the same oil as the battered fish; better to check.

• Look for the seals — if a place displays the ACET seal (the local association), that's an added guarantee; in the supermarket, look for the "Sin Gluten" label.

• Filter before you head out — on islas24 you can see at a glance the places suitable for gluten-free, so you don't leave it to chance.

Discover them on the map

Five places, five completely different atmospheres, from the coast to the mountains. And this is only the beginning: the list keeps growing. See all the gluten-free places on the island on islas24:

👉 All the gluten-free places in Tenerife on islas24

One last note: gluten-free cooking doesn't taste like less, it just brings one less crumb of worry.

Note: the information is for guidance only; we recommend confirming the options and your specific needs directly with each establishment.