Gluten-Free Bari: pastry, pizza and seafood for coeliacs

Bari’s centre is compact. Bari Vecchia, the old town, sits on its peninsula between the old and the new port, and south of Corso Vittorio Emanuele the straight streets of the 19th-century Murat quarter run down to the station. From the station through the Murat grid to the Basilica di San Nicola is about 20 minutes on foot, by our estimate, so the whole centre is walkable, and most of the places on this page sit along that walk. Colibrio is on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, at the edge of the old town, with Piazza Mercantile and the Teatro Margherita each about 5 minutes away on foot. La Gouterie, Panificio Magda and L’Isola del Celiaco are in the Murat grid, each about 5 minutes on foot from the station, and La Battigia is on the seafront, about 5 minutes on foot from the Teatro Margherita. Two pizzerias, Arte Pizza e Talenti and Pizzeria da Donato, are further out, east and south-east of the station: a bus or taxi ride from the centre. All walking times are our estimate from the map.

A day that works (not a Monday, when the Pinacoteca is closed): breakfast at Colibrio, an entirely gluten-free bar, pastry shop and bistrot in its own words; check its opening hours before you go, as its card says. Cross into Bari Vecchia by Piazza Mercantile and walk to the Basilica di San Nicola, the cathedral and the Norman-Swabian castle, all within about 10 minutes of Colibrio on foot, by our estimate, then take the walk along the Muraglia, the old wall above the sea. For lunch, La Battigia on the seafront is a mixed kitchen: have grilled or raw fish, ask which first courses they can make gluten-free, and ask about the fryer before any fried dish. After the Teatro Margherita, follow the seafront to the Pinacoteca, about 10 minutes on foot from La Battigia by our estimate. Dinner is at Arte Pizza e Talenti, about 10 minutes on foot from the Pinacoteca by our estimate, a mixed pizzeria with a separate gluten-free kitchen in its own words: say the sentence, and check that your order goes to that kitchen. Another morning, start at La Gouterie in the Murat grid, an entirely gluten-free pastry shop for sweet and savoury in its own words, and take something from its gastronomia counter for later.

Across Italy, many places belong to the coeliac association’s eating-out programme, Alimentazione Fuori Casa (AFC). AIC calls them «informati», informed: staff trained on coeliac disease, AIC’s rules for preparing gluten-free food, a signed agreement, and an in-depth visit from AIC at least once a year. It is not a certificate, and joining is voluntary: plenty of kitchens serve gluten-free food outside it. The regional branch here is AIC Puglia, whose office is in Foggia, not Bari; its site, puglia.celiachia.it, posts a notice each time a new place in Puglia joins the programme, and the official, up-to-date list of members is only on AIC’s own sites. On this page, Pizzeria da Donato says on its own site that it takes part in AFC, and Arte Pizza e Talenti states an AIC link on its own site. Both also cook with wheat, so treat the AIC link as a strong signal, not a guarantee. AIC advises booking ahead so the kitchen can get ready. When you book, and again when you order, say you have coeliac disease: «Sono celiaco/a».

Bari’s bakeries and street food lean on wheat, so focaccia, panzerotti, popizze and orecchiette are things to ask about, never to assume. AIC Puglia lists the cereals that contain gluten: wheat (frumento), rye, barley, farro, spelt, Khorasan wheat (often sold as KAMUT) and triticale. For the local classics, go where they are made gluten-free: the gluten-free focaccia at Panificio Magda, a mixed bakery (ask for it packed, or packed separately for you), and pizza at the pizzerias on this page, after the question «Come preparate la pizza senza glutine? Impasto, banco e forno sono separati?» (how do you make the gluten-free pizza; are the dough, the work surface and the oven kept separate?). For anything fried, sgagliozze included, ask «Per il fritto, c’è una friggitrice dedicata al senza glutine?» (is there a dedicated gluten-free fryer?). Raw and grilled seafood is the easy part: plain fish and shellfish are naturally gluten-free, so ask about any sauce or breadcrumb topping. We haven’t checked a Bari hotel breakfast yet, so confirm it when you book, and for a beach picnic or a day trip along the coast, stock up at L’Isola del Celiaco.