Gluten-Free Lake Garda: pizza, pasta, gelato and Gardaland for coeliacs

Lake Garda is shared by three regions: Veneto along the east shore and around Peschiera in the south-east, Lombardy on the west and south-west shores, and Trentino at the northern tip. Each has its own branch of AIC, the Italian coeliac association, and this page goes round the shore in five areas. In the south-east, Peschiera del Garda is the rail gateway from Verona: La Gelateria HomeMade and La Rocca, a pizzeria and trattoria, are in the town, Antica Osteria Busocaldo is outside it, about 3 km from the lake front by our estimate, and Pizzeria Saloon is inside Gardaland, the theme park between Peschiera and Lazise. In the south-west, Il Vicolo is in Sirmione’s old town, a few minutes on foot from the castle by our estimate, and Desenzano has Kapperi, which describes itself as a gluten-free restaurant, and Rose & Sapori on the lake-front promenade. Up the east shore are La Cantinetta in Bardolino, Pizzeria Ristorante Catullo on Garda’s lake-front promenade and Bar Pizzeria da Pedro in Malcesine; up the west shore, Ristorante Pizzeria Minerva in Manerba, Ristorante & Pizzeria Al Torchio in Tignale and Ristorante Gemma in Limone; and in the north, Ristorante Pizzeria L’Ora in Riva del Garda, Pizzeria Ristorante al Fiume in Arco and Bambloo, a gelato shop, in Torbole. Each card shows the place as it describes itself on its own site, and none carries a ★: apart from Kapperi, every one is a mixed kitchen or counter that also works with wheat. Two hotels that write about gluten-free food on their own sites, Hotel Eden in Brenzone and Hotel Monte Baldo in Limone, are under “Where to stay”. The towns are spread right round the lake, so plan by area: the railway reaches the lake at Peschiera del Garda and Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione in the south, for the north you take the train to Rovereto and bus B332, and buses and, in season, boats do the rest.

A day that works, while the boats still run (until 1 November 2026): take a regional train from Verona Porta Nuova to Peschiera del Garda, about 13 minutes. Have lunch at La Rocca, which says on its own menu that it has a gluten-free dough but no separate kitchen: say the sentence, hear how they handle it, then decide. Walk the lake front, then have a cup at La Gelateria HomeMade, a couple of minutes on foot from La Rocca by our estimate; it says it has followed AIC’s protocol for its gelato since 2024, so ask which flavours are made under it, and ask about cones and biscuit toppings before you choose. For a second day, take the train on the Milan line to Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione. Lunch at the bistro of Rose & Sapori on the lake-front promenade, open every day from 12.30 to 15.00 by its own site: most of its menu comes in a gluten-free version, prepared, it says, in separate areas with dedicated equipment. Then take Arriva bus LN026 or LN008 to Sirmione for the castle at the entrance to its old town; Il Vicolo, a few minutes on foot away by our estimate, has a gluten-free bun for its burgers, so ask about the fryer if you want fries. Back in Desenzano, book dinner at Kapperi, which describes itself as a gluten-free restaurant with a dedicated kitchen. Its opening days aren’t on the pages we read, so check first, and confirm at the door that the whole kitchen is still gluten-free, as its site says.

Mind the season. The passenger boats run on an autumn timetable until 1 November 2026, with many runs daily only until 11 October; from 2 November 2026 to 12 March 2027 the only boat on the lake is the Torri del Benaco-Toscolano Maderno car ferry, about 30 minutes a crossing. ATV buses 482 (Verona airport to Peschiera) and 483 (Peschiera along the east shore to Malcesine) stop after 18 October and return on 21 March 2027; the trains, ATV 484 and 164, Arriva LN026 and LN027 and bus B332 to Riva keep running. Many kitchens close for the winter too, and each card gives its season as the venue states it: Pizzeria Ristorante Catullo in Garda closes for holidays from 1 to 30 November, Bar Pizzeria da Pedro in Malcesine is open every day from April to the first week of November and only at weekends in winter, Ristorante Pizzeria Minerva in Manerba gave 1 April as its 2026 reopening date, and Hotel Eden’s restaurant is open from Easter to 17 October. Where a card says the season isn’t stated, check before you go. Gardaland is open every day until 1 November 2026, closed from 2 November to 4 December, then open on set days for Magic Winter until 6 January 2027. The park says its gluten-free meals are made by an outside specialist company, reheated in a microwave kept for them and served at the table still sealed, at its main restaurants, Pizzeria Saloon among them, and that it runs a gluten-free kiosk in the Dragon Empire area. It also says there is gluten in its pizzeria and kitchens, and it asks you to speak to staff about ingredients before you order; check that the pack is still closed when it reaches you.

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. Around the lake the programme is run by three regional branches: AIC Veneto for Peschiera, Gardaland and the east shore, AIC Lombardia for Sirmione, Desenzano and the west shore, and AIC Trentino for Riva, Arco and Torbole. A venue receives the AFC window sticker when it completes the training, and in Lombardy every AFC venue receives a new one each year, so look for it at the door; in Lombardy a pizzeria that joins must also have an oven kept for gluten-free pizza. AIC Trentino makes a point worth knowing: an AFC place needs no separate kitchen or special equipment, only set procedures to keep gluten-free food from contamination, so the sticker means trained procedures, not a gluten-free kitchen. It adds that almost every restaurant now says it can cater for coeliacs, but mistakes are often made through poor knowledge of how a gluten-free meal must be prepared. On this page, Antica Osteria Busocaldo, La Gelateria HomeMade, Kapperi and Rose & Sapori say on their own sites that they belong to AIC’s network; AIC’s list of member places is for its members, so that is their claim, shown as they make it. 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».