Gluten-Free Verona: pastry, gelato, seafood and pizza for coeliacs

Verona’s centre is compact, and most of the places on this page are inside it. La Costa in Bra is on Piazza Bra, facing the Arena; Gelato Crea is on Via Roma, between Piazza Bra and Castelvecchio; Vittoria 1938 is on Via Diaz and Corte Farina on Via Farina, both a short walk from the Arena; and Osteria Il Bertoldo is in a lane of the old town, about 5 minutes on foot from Piazza delle Erbe and the Duomo, by our estimate. The two entirely gluten-free places sit just outside that core: Dolci Sogni Gluten Free on Stradone Porta Palio, south-west of the centre and about 15 minutes on foot from Piazza Bra, and L’Amico Mio across the river in Veronetta, about 10 minutes on foot from Juliet’s House by our estimate. Pasticceria Roma, in the south of the city, and Quattrocento, out in Valpantena, are a bus or taxi ride away. The centre itself is easy on foot: from the Arena, Castelvecchio and Piazza delle Erbe are each about 10 minutes away, and the Duomo, Ponte Pietra and San Zeno about 15 to 20, all on foot and by our estimate. Porta Nuova station, where the airport bus arrives, is about 25 minutes on foot from the Arena, by our estimate.

A day that works (not a Monday, when the Arena and Castelvecchio are closed): start at Dolci Sogni Gluten Free, an entirely gluten-free pastry shop that carries it in its name, with whatever sweet pastry is in the counter that day; message first to check the hours and the day’s range, as its card says. Castelvecchio and its museum are about 5 minutes on foot from there, by our estimate. Walk back along Via Roma to Piazza Bra and the Arena, with a stop at Gelato Crea, where all the flavours are gluten-free in its own words (take a cup unless the cones are confirmed). Lunch is the gluten-free sourdough pizza at La Costa in Bra, facing the Arena: a mixed kitchen that says it has been in the Italian coeliac association’s network since 2014. In the afternoon, see Piazza delle Erbe, the Torre dei Lamberti and Juliet’s House at the time you booked, then cross the river to the Giardino Giusti. Dinner is at L’Amico Mio in Veronetta, about 10 minutes on foot from the garden by our estimate, where the whole menu is gluten-free, fried seafood included; check its opening days first, as it is a small place.

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. In Veneto, trained AIC volunteers visit a place before it joins and keep checking it afterwards; the training ends with a practical test at the venue, and a place that completes it receives the AFC sticker for its window, so look for it at the door. AIC’s list of member places is for its members, but visitors can buy AIC Mobile Welcome, a 15-day version of the AIC Mobile app, also in English. AIC advises booking ahead so the kitchen can get ready. When you book, and every time you order, say you have coeliac disease: «Sono celiaco» or «Sono celiaca».

Verona’s own food is where the traps are. Pandoro, gnocchi and bigoli are wheat. Gluten-free pandoro exists at Christmas, but only from a gluten-free baker or with the label; Pasticceria Roma, a mixed pastry shop in the south of the city, makes a gluten-free panettone worth ordering ahead, so ask for it packed. Risotto, here often made with Amarone, and polenta are gluten-free at the base, but ask «Il brodo è senza glutine, anche se usate il dado?» (is the stock gluten-free, even if you use a stock cube?) and whether flour went into the sauce. Every pizzeria on this page also makes wheat pizza, so ask «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?). The one with a gluten-free zone of its own, with its own oven, mixer, counter and fridges in its own words, is Quattrocento, a bus or taxi ride out in Valpantena. At the gelato counter, take a cup, not a cone. For a day trip to Lake Garda, pharmacies (farmacie) carry gluten-free staples for a picnic.