We had a lovely holiday on the island of Lefkada in Greece this summer and I have collated all my gluten free Lefkada finds for you. From restaurants and gelato to baked goods and supermarket ranges, consider this your go to coeliac guide for Lefkada.
Lefkada is a great choice if you prefer to avoid the main tourist destinations. There’s certainly a good amount of tourist infrastructure on the island, with English widely spoken, but there are also glimmers of real Greek life and hidden gem beaches.
As a coeliac, I found that gluten free options available in the shops and supermarkets on Lefkada were far better than the other Greek islands we have visited (most recently Skiathos and Zante). Perhaps as it is connected to the mainland by road, but being able to enjoy gluten free Greek treats certainly made my holiday tastier!
We ate out most evenings, self catered our breakfasts and lunches, and I had a great experience everywhere. I am a cautious coeliac and always ask a lot of questions about preparation. I was so impressed with how well and safely restaurants were able to cater for me.
I had done some thorough research prior to our trip, so please bear in mind not every restaurant will cater for coeliacs. However, there should be plenty of choices below for you to work through. Below you’ll find a list of my tried and tested restaurants, plus others that came up during the course of my research.
Self Catering – Buying Gluten Free Food on Lefkada
We mainly had easy breakfasts at our accommodation and picnics for lunches, with a home dinner thrown in to give our tired little kids an early night. So I thought I would briefly cover what gluten free products I found in supermarkets on Lefkada.
We stayed just south of Lefkada town, so the supermarkets we visited were in that area. However I did also spot gluten free goods in smaller shops around the island.
Papas
You must go here. It’s more of a health food shop than a full supermarket, but they have a HUGE gluten free range. This included lots of traditional Greek baked goods from a gluten free bakery in Athens. It was wonderful being able to try kristinia (sesame breadsticks) and koulourakia (Easter cookies).
Be sure to check out the chest freezer at the back of the shop too, as there is more gluten free stuff in there. We got pizza, savoury pastries and chocolate eclairs! The eclairs in particular were excellent.
They have a big range of Schar and other gluten free products (even tamari and beer). I really enjoyed the mini piadina – warmed and filled with panfried egg and avocado made a wonderful breakfast each day!
AB Supermarket
One of the main Greek supermarkets, I find AB tends to have a good selection of gluten free products.
There was no gluten free section here, so you do have to search around a bit (always so annoying when you are used to a dedicated free from section).
But, I was rewarded for my efforts with gluten free granola, beer and bread!
Lidl
We found a really nice array of gluten free products in Lidl too, also scattered around the store.
We bought the selection pictured below and everything was really good quality. The wafers in particular were a big hit with my kids!klj
Eating Out – Coeliac Friendly Restaurants on Lefkada
I found lots of restaurants that could cater really well for me as a coeliac while we were in Lefkada. Below I’ve listed the eateries we enjoyed. I’ve included their location in brackets after the restaurant name.
Nautilus Restaurant (Lefkada Town)
We had wonderful pork and chicken souvlaki here, cooked perfectly, all juicy and delicious with crispy chips on the side (cooked in a dedicated fryer) and a nice portion of salad. Also some great tzatziki and Greek salad.
Located in the main square of Lefkada Town, this restaurant caters so well for coeliacs. Staff were very clued up, as they tell me the owners have coeliacs in the family.
The menu is marked to show which dishes are gluten free but be sure to let them know you are coeliac so they can take care when preparing your dishes.
Our kids loved eating here because there is a games arcade off to the side of the square where you can rent giant ride on animal toys (horses, giraffes etc). Our kids loved riding them around the square while we finished our wine.
The Barrel (Nidri)
A bustling tourist restaurant on the main sea front strip in Nydri, which happens to be amazing for gluten free.
If you book and give them 24 hours notice they can even make gluten free moussaka! I recommend booking and requesting a table at the front of the balcony, as the views are beautiful. We walked in, so had a table at the back which was very hot.
It’s also very busy so I recommend going a bit earlier than planned if you have kids, to allow time for the food to come.
But back to the food, the menu is marked up to show gf options, even the kids menu. And there are loads of wonderful choices, including fried calamari and deep fried courgettes in batter. They also offer gluten free pizza and pasta.
Staff told me they have a dedicated area for preparing the gluten free dishes, including a dedicated fryer.
Zio Fede (Nidri – Perigiali)
Absolutely delicious gluten free prawn pasta, I thoroughly enjoyed our meal here. The food was all so well cooked (the prawns were absolutely perfect) and beautifully presented.
Zio Fede is a lovely restaurant, set on the beach just outside of Nidri – you can walk there along the beach and it’s really nice to be away from the busy main strip.
They understood my coeliac requirements and said everything that was marked gluten free on the menu was okay for me, aside from the pizzas (due to a cross contamination risk).
It’s a really gorgeous setting, looking over the water at sunset, and our kids enjoyed dipping their toes in the waves while we waited for food (although it all arrived very quickly).
Pardalo Katsiki (Karya)
Set in a charming village, in a beautiful large square shaded by huge leafy trees, is this gem of a restaurant. You can also sit on the restaurant terrace if you prefer. The sign is written in Greek, but you can identify it by the goat head picture.
They were very helpful and double checked how the fries and Greek salad were prepared, so I could share those with my family. Then the menu was easy to navigate with gf being marked up (I also checked preparation methods for my main dish).
The food was excellent – it’s modern Greek fare. Much finer food that we had tried at the more touristy restaurants, plated beautifully and with amazing flavours.
I had a slow cooked pork dish with plums and potatoes and it was wonderful. There was no written kids menu but we asked them and they had some options, so my two were happy.
Fresco Gelato Artiginale (Lefkada Town)
A coeliac friendly gelateria! For your ice cream hit, I highly recommend this place, we went three times.
Staff were lovely and helpful and when I told them I am coeliac they said they would use a fresh scoop and scoop from a new tub.
The gelati are wonderful too, I especially enjoyed the pistachio flavour. It’s set just a short walk from the main square.
Elena Restaurant
A casual restaurant with a glorious setting on pontoons over the bay. We ate excellent sea bream and chips here, although I should note it was pretty expensive. Twice the price of other fish dinners we had enjoyed on the island, but the fish was excellent.
Staff were super nice and helpful, running through cooking processes and ingredients with me.
Plus our kids loved feeding bread to the fish from the restaurant pier, it kept them occupied!
Sivota Bakery Cafe (Sivota)
We didn’t have a meal here but online reviews are positive on the gluten free front. I had been excited to get some gluten free baked goods, however it turned out they weren’t coeliac friendly.
However, they did have some mini gluten free vegan cheesecake pots in the fridge and some other prepackaged gluten free options.
Other Restaurants To Consider
Below are places I have not eaten at personally, but that I found during my pre-trip research. Plus ones that have been recommended to me by readers.
- Taverna Spiridoula (Sivota) – a lovely-looking restaurant on the harbourside in Sivota. I spoke with the staff and they said they could cater for gluten free – natural gluten free options such as grilled fish and chips (cooked in a dedicated fryer).
- Cisore Restaurant (Lygia) – if I were a couple without kids I would definitely have visited this fine dining restaurant. It was recommended by our airbnb hosts so I contacted them and they confirmed they could cater for coeliacs and have gluten free pasta on their menu. Looks lovely.
- Nissi Mediterranean Kuzina (Lefkada Town) – lots of good reviews for this place, which is next door to Nautilus. The food looked very good.
- Restaurant Thymari (Lefkada Town) – well reviewed on the gluten free front and the menu sounds delicious.
- Lighthouse Tavern (Lefkada Town) – a read a very positive review about eating gluten free here, so it could be worth checking out. It’s set in a cute little side street.
- Panorama Greek Restaurant (Nidri) – positively reviewed by gluten free diners and with gluten free options marked on the menu.
- Eleni Tavern (Karya) – we actually tried to eat here but it was full, so we went elsewhere. However staff told us they could cater for gluten free and it gets good reviews from coeliacs online.
- Rachi Restaurant – with amazing sunsets views, this restaurant in the hills is a popular spot. They can cater for gluten free diets, take cross contamination into consideration (if you tell them you are coeliac) and have plenty of gf options.
- Cosmo Hotel – this place gets lots of good reviews from young and old coeliacs alike.
- To Kyma Restaurant (Vasiliki) – well reviewed as able to cater for coeliac adults and children, with chips cooked in a dedicated fryer and helpful staff.
- Maraboo Beach Bar (Nidri) – a cool beach bar that can cater for gluten free diets. Looks like a lovely place to relax on the beach.
- Taverna Pantazis (Nikiana) – I saw a couple of reviews really singing the praises of this restaurant, saying they enjoyed the food and that staff were very helpful and welcoming on the gf side of things.
- Lefteris (Agios Nikitas) – a few reviews mentioned that this restaurant can cater for gluten free.
- Nikiana Beach Club Tavern (Nikiana) – some nice reassuring reviews about how gluten free people ate here safely and felt well looked after. They also have a hotel.
- Karnagio (Meganisi) – on the neighbouring small island of Meganisi, I’m including this one in case you head there on a boat trip. The owner has coeliac disease so they cater well for gluten free diners. Accomodation also available.
- The Pistrina Project (Meganisi) – in the same place as above, also able to cater for gluten free.
Well, that should be plenty for you to be going on with and to get your gluten free Lefkada research started. If you’ve any extra tips or updates please get in touch laura@mygfguide.com.
While I aim to keep guide information as accurate as possible, it is your responsibility to ask questions before you dine at any of these restaurants. Menus and processes can and do change and I cannot be held liable for any bad experiences you may have at the restaurants listed above. This is simply a guide, based on my experiences, as I wanted to share the lovely places we ate at and to help other coeliac travellers have a wonderful time on Lefkada.
Happy holidays!
Laura xxx
p.s. why not check out some of my other travel guides while you are here:
