Vegetarian options in Spain

My wife is vegetarian, but does eat fish and seafood, and she does fine in Spain. It will take some doing though, you will need to ask questions, what might look like a great vegetarian dish, but they sneak meat in. Lots of vegetables and soups are mixed with or served with bits of jamon. You may also have to veer from traditional Spanish food, which is meat heavy, once and a while, but all places have lots of options.

I have traveled with two vegetarian adult children in Spain and they had no trouble beyond being careful - but they do eat fish.

There are plenty of vegetarian restaurants in the big cities. Not sure about Ronda, but I'd expect to find some even there.

You should not have any trouble, especially in the big cities. When in doubt you can always order a tortilla española, a vegetarian dish you will find everywhere in Spain.

I've been to all those places at least twice. I've never had a problem finding lots of veggie options, including on the lunch "menu del dia" which is very good value. The only caveat is that some dishes may have a non-veggie garnish. I always tell the waiter that I'm vegetarian and ask to make sure all ingredients are okay for me. One of my faves is salmorejo, Cordoba's "gazpacho" which is served with a topping of grated egg and diced ham. I just tell them to leave it off.

Tortillas in Spain contain eggs and often cheese, so they're OK only for ovo-lacto vegetarians.

Tortillas in Spain contain eggs and often cheese, so they're OK only for ovo-lacto vegetarians.

I've never seen tortilla española made with cheese in all my life.

The ingredients are always eggs, potatoes, olive oil, salt, sometimes onions. No cheese. Though depending on the chef they might let the eggs be a little runny, thus you may see this "cheesy texture"

I've never seen tortilla española made with cheese in all my life.

I have. And it's immaterial in any event, as eggs disqualify the dish for rigorous vegetarians. Which is what we were talking about.

You will have no issues at all. Just tell the waiter/tress that you are vegetarian and they will serve you appropriate dishes. Authentic Spanish tortilla contains eggs (but please, NO cheese!!!), potatoes, onion and salt, so depending on your vegetarianism, you may be able to eat it (I know vegans don´t, but many vegetarians do).

And it's immaterial in any event, as eggs disqualify the dish for rigorous vegetarians. Which is what we were talking about.

The OP never mentioned they were strict vegetarian or vegan. As far as I know many vegetarians do eat eggs.

I think probably more in line with the OPs concern, many menus in various European countries are quite good about indicating dishes that are Vegetarian or Vegan.

By common definition, Vegetarian dishes may include egg and dairy in preparation, something labeled a Vegan dish should not have any dairy, eggs, or other animal derived products. I also often see where they indicate that a dish can be made either Vegan or Vegetarian, though the description may contain meat.

Last I saw, the EU itself does not have a legal definition of either term.

Since the term "vegetarian" is a rather broad term, it would be extremely helpful before we continue wandering aimlessly that we have clarification from the OP. @sampathk1 what are the dietary restrictions do you have and what type of vegetarians are you?

Thanks for all the replies. I should have mentioned. No eggs and fish. I will add cheese to that as some cheese has animal rennet. So we are not vegan but "strict" vegetarians. Hope that is not too confusing :)

... a simple Google search for my homecity....

https://www.barcelonafoodexperience.com/blog/best-vegetarian-vegan-restaurants-barcelona
https://www.puffincorp.com/en/the-best-vegan-and-vegan-friendly-restaurants-in-barcelona/
https://veggiesabroad.com/vegan-guide-to-barcelona-what-to-do-in-the-sunny-city/

You’re probably familiar with the Happy Cow website.

happycow.net

You can filter for vegan, vegetarian, restaurants with veg options, etc.
We’ve found some good places that way.

I loved the restaurant Vega off the Gran Via in Madrid. Great vegetarian food that my daughter and I have enjoyed all different trips. Another favorite is the chain "Honest Greens" that has locations in Madrid and Barcelona. Although not a vegetarian restaurant, they have a lot of vegetarian dishes to chose from.