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Eating in Andalusia

I have certain dietary restrictions due to Irritable Bowel. I have to watch gluten, garlic, fried foods, etc. I am wondering how accommodating Andalusian restaurants are? Can you get pretty basic meals? I have tried searching restaurants and exploring their menus but their websites are difficult to find. Much of what I read shows a lot of exotic foods, many items seem to be fried. I just returned from traveling the Loire River Valley in France and found the restaurants there fairly accommodating.

Anyone else who has digestive issues have any comments about eating in Andalusia? Thanks much.

Posted by
984 posts

I developed IBS about four/five months ago. The only problems with food I am sure I have are with milk and dairy digestion so perhaps I will be no great help.
And sorry, it's a very rare occasion I would eat in somewhere calling itself a restaurant so I am not sure what you aim for. There are many ways to describe eateries in Andalucia and Spain, I wonder if that is why you do not find restaurant menus or is this to do with elegance?
Whilst fish is popular (all over Spain) unless you go to a freiduria I would have thought there is sure to be something to suit on the menu.
A fine taberna and published menu in Cordoba for example - http://www.tabernasalinas.com/
In Malaga (which area does have a reputation for fried fish as a speciality) - http://www.elmesondecervantes.com/eng/index.html

Posted by
4535 posts

Of the items you list, garlic will probably be the hardest to avoid. It is used a lot in Spanish cooking, even in things that don't seem to have a garlic flavor.

Most of Europe is very sensitive to celiac disease and so avoiding or limiting gluten will not be too hard (though you will miss out on a lot). Many tapas have a crostini base, but if you are only sensitive and not allergic, you could just skip eating the bread. But many tapas are also either fried or have garlic so it will limit your ability to eat tapas. The good thing though, is that you can easily pick and choose and usually can see them on display, so you will better know what you are getting before ordering.

Restaurant menus will be pretty diverse and most will have something you can eat. Seafood will be very common and as long as you avoid a garlicky butter sauce, you should be fine with that. Fried foods are not nearly as common in standard restaurant menus as they are in the US.

I would also bring a list of things you need to avoid written in Spanish to show the wait staff. English isn't as well spoken throughout Spain as it is other places in Europe and having it written down avoids confusion. People are very nice and will politeness on your part, will work to accommodate you.

Menus tend to be posted outside, just like France.

Posted by
107 posts

Neil, thanks for the link to that restaurant in Cordoba and their menu. It was very encouraging as the menu seemed pretty wide-ranging. Again, have been unable to find links to many restaurants on the Internet, particularly when researching though tripadvisor and the websites of this ilk. Not sure exactly what a freiduria is that you happened to mention. I presume it is something a bit less than a regular restaurant?

Douglas, good response. I sensed that garlic was in most everything based on some of the restaurant reviews I have read in FODOR'S. Excellent idea to also write it out in Spanish what I am allergic to. Really appreciate that. Especially in light of your comment that English is not as widely spoken as in the rest of Europe. I did have a sense of that as well just by what I had been reading.

I can say that the French were most accommodating, and as I mentioned, we spent most of our time in smaller villages even. And I seemed to read that FRIED fish was more common in Andalusia so I am happy to hear that it is not as widely experienced as I had thought. When I think about the restaurants we frequent here in the States, it seems in many cases (at least at the non-bar/pub restaurants) that fried foods are disappearing off the menus.

Posted by
984 posts

'freiduria' - solely fried fish eatery.

As I have intimated you are going to have a hard time finding somewhere if you are sticking with looking for and eating in something which is a '' 'regular' 'restaurant '' and miss a great deal.

Posted by
4535 posts

I'm not exactly sure I know what Neil means when he says you won't find many "restaurants." It may be a matter of semantics, as there is more variety in eating establishments than you find in the US. There are outdoor cafes, tapas bars, ethic eateries, jamon shops, sandwich shops, pastry shops and more traditional, sit down and have a fine meal restaurants. You'll see them everywhere. Pastry shops and sandwich shops may not offer much that you can eat. For me, outdoor cafes and restaurants are pretty much the same thing and those vary by how fancy they are too (some layout the fine tablecloths for dinner but are more casual during the day). They'll have their menus posted.

Posted by
107 posts

Thanks all.

Douglas, that is quite a statement, ie., more variety in restaurants than the US. I thought that was impossible. But it is great to hear. That gives me a heck of alot more flexibility. Again, I liked your idea of spelling it out in Spanish IN ADVANCE of what I cannot eat. I will definitely do that. And good to hear also that many or most of the restaurants post their menus outside (like most places here, and in France, and I would think most other countries do). Your whole response gives me a bit more peace about it, as I have mentioned, I was having a hard time finding websites for Andalusian restaurants online.