Restaurants in El Médano
The Burger Cafe
Few things prime your apatite like a day on the beach. The volcanic sands of El Medano are no different. After hours spent marvelling at the hundreds of kite surfers performing gravity defying feats it was time for feed. As we strolled past a burger cafe and I spotted the big 'Gluten Free' sign. This sparked a fireworks display of excitement in me and I just had to try it out. I was beyond impressed, they had loads of options and I went for the Mariachi Burger (Beef 200gr, tomato, cheddar cheese, onion, sweet corn, mexican sauce and Guacamole) & chips. It was so tasty, the best part is that my gluten free burger looked just as good (if not better) than the regular one :)
La Boqueria Taberna
This restaurant appeared as the only 5 star establishment on Trip Advisor when I pushed that most overworked of filters - "gluten free options". It had a range of fresh GF options for Tapas (so much so we had to go back for a second evening). I had the duck salad and spicy potatoes. The food was really wonderful here, I would highly recommend. They also had gluten free beer - Mahou! When I told the waiter I was coeliac announced happily that they had gluten free bread, I was super excited. After he brandished a plastic pack of GF crackers, I was less so! But that took nothing away form the wonderfully cosy experience we had both nights.
El Timon
When a local recommends a place, you better listen. At least that was my experience with the family run seafood restaurant- El Timon. The waiter advised on the Paella for two and it was delicious (ignore the distorted image below, this was enough food to feed an especially hungry horse). We sat upstairs and the view out over the bay was spectacular. It was a really windy day so the sea was covered in Kite and Wind surfers.
Agua Cafe
A post work swim on a Thursday meant we were driven (by ravenous hunger) into the first place on the El Medano promenade. The staff spoke english and were very knowledgeable on Gluten Free options. With only a few GF tapas options I decided on the Carpaccio. It's a dish of thinly sliced raw beef. It sounds a bit weird but it was really delicious. I also got the courgette carpaccio with rosemary and olive oil. I managed to share (steal) some garlic mushrooms and prawns which were mouthwatering.
Barrio Cabezo
This was another highly rated restaurant in El Medano. I had this Tuna steak out of pure curiosity and it was extraordinary. Melt in your mouth levels of tenderness with a fresh salad to keep it company.
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Golf del Sur
Alecrim
I popped over to Golf Del Sur to visit some friends and we took a stroll along the beachfront which was lined with restaurants. We stopped one called Alecrim and I remembered seeing it on Tripadvisor and it was the highest rated in this area but it didn't have the "gluten free options" tag on it. The restaurant was empty while its neighbours were teaming with customers. My friend Bridie advised this was a red flag.
As trip advisor had guided us unerringly so far, I decided to go in and ask the waitress anyway. But to my surprise she ran through the menu and explained that most dishes were gluten free including the fish, steak, chips, salads, pasta and gluten free bread!
Our wonderful Romanian waitress brought me out some GF breads which they had just taken out of the oven. One of them was made with Carob, so it had a chocolatey taste to it. I sat in silent worship of the bread for 10 minutes and only re-engaged with my friends when my carbonara arrived. We came back here a second time and I got the steak and chips which was amazing too. Couldn't recommend this place enough.
