My wife and I have traveled all over the world. It's one of our favorite things to do, and we typically love planning trips beforehand and accidentally (but consistently) overpacking our itinerary. However, the planning process became a lot more complicated once my wife found she could no longer eat gluten. It's just an added variable that can create a lot of complexity in trip planning. Some countries can be really tricky (Japan). But others, like Argentina, can be incredibly easy as we found out in January.

We had long wanted to go to Argentina as we both love hiking and were eager to go to Patagonia. We'd also heard great things about Buenos Aires, and so we decided to book a flight and start planning. As soon as we started planning, we quickly realized that finding gluten-free options in Argentina was going to be a walk in the park compared to many other places, including home.

Argentina is one of the easiest and most accommodating countries when it comes to offering gluten-free options. They actually passed a law (in 2009!) that enforced required labeling of gluten-free foods (SIN TACC), strict requirements on what deems something gluten-free, a government approved registry of gluten-free products, and a requirement for most establishments and restaurants to offer at least one gluten-free option.

This isn't by accident. Argentina has one of the highest diagnosis rates of Celiac disease in the world (~1.49% of the population). This is evident when you go anywhere to eat in Argentina, including McDonald's! Pretty much everyone is knowledgeable about gluten and is happy to accommodate you, which was a massive difference than many of our dining experiences in the US.

I can not say enough good things about Argentina, in general, but if you are celiac or gluten-sensitive, it is a bucket list item for sure. Below, I will walk you through our food journey in Argentina, which includes a mix of restaurants & booked activities/experiences. I'm writing another post with some highlights from our hikes in Patagonia + some GF snacks we took along the way.

Buenos Aires

Restaurants

Campobravo

Meat is obviously one of the things anyone going to Argentina is excited to eat. Campobravo (Instagram here) is a 100% gluten-free steakhouse, so we made sure to knock that off on Day 1!

I made a reservation just to be safe, but that may not have been necessary given that we ate at 8 PM (on a Wednesday), which is effectively a geriatric dinner in Argentina! It did seem like later availability might be tough to come by, so I'd recommend going with a reservation to be safe.

We enjoyed a good combination of starters & entrees, starting with Aged Provoleta & gluten-free bread (provided). We followed this up with the Campobravo Steak and Braised Lamb Ravioli. They have a great drink selection as well, so I did a gluten-free beer and she did a cocktail.

Overall this was a great experience. It was a good vibe inside. The place was not overly crowded, the place is 100% gluten-free so we could eat stress free, and I thought the prices were reasonable given it was a steakhouse. We spent $76 at dinner, which we could never do in Atlanta for the same meal + drinks.

Campobravo has several locations in Buenos Aires; we went to the Palermo location, but the reviews at all of them look solid. See more reviews at the Campobravo Palermo WiseBites page.

McDonald's

You may chuckle at this one, but my wife absolutely loves McDonald's, and it unfortunately is something she no longer gets to experience any more. Thanks to Argentina that changed! I will note that it's not quite the same experience as a gluten-containing McDonald's trip, but they were thoughtful and definitely took it seriously.

We ordered separately just to minimize confusion around part of the order being gluten-free and part of the order not. My wife ordered a cheeseburger and fries, which they prepared completely separately.

Note: You do have to tell them specifically to add cheese and other toppings or they will not do that!

The bun is prepackaged, but it is clearly labeled SIN TACC (gluten-free). Another funny thing is that they would not let her order anything but water to drink, which seemed like they did out of caution around cross-contamination from touching cups. We don't speak great Spanish but that was what I was able to gather from them. As you can see from the photo above, she was clearly happy with the experience!

If you're coming from the US, the McDonald's in other countries is a nice surprise. It feels more like an old-school diner where servers come out and check on you, the environment is very welcoming, and they even had an ice cream bar in this one!

Pain Du Jour

This is another place with multiple locations around Buenos Aires that we made multiple stops at. Pain Du Jour is a 100% gluten-free bakery that offers a variety of pastries & treats as well as some heartier options like sandwiches, pizzas, and pastas. It's probably best as a breakfast or lunch option, but we enjoyed both of our trips here! It also is a great place to stop for a quick coffee or espresso.

On our first trip here (pictured above), we just got some pastries and coffee to hold us over between lunch & dinner. However, we came back to enjoy a lunch here where we got sandwiches as well as some of their juice. Fair warning, the place is a little small inside, so if you go during a busy time you may want to have a plan to get your food and walk somewhere to eat. See more reviews at the Pain Du Jour WiseBites page.

Sintaxis

If you've searched for gluten-free food in Buenos Aires, I can guarantee that you've seen Sintaxis (see their IG) pop up in the results. Another 100% dedicated gluten-free facility, but this place has quite an extensive menu, particularly with things that are often available gluten-free.

You really can order just about anything here, and they are open late (American late lol), so it's a great dinner option. My wife and I went with a few appetizers that normally aren't possible options — fried prawns & mozzarella sticks. We also split a burger and fries, and with the apps that was definitely enough food between the two of us. They have a ton of treats and bakery items you could buy if you want a snack for later or a dessert to enjoy.

You definitely have to do one dinner here, because the food is good and they have a lot of unique options. See more reviews at the Sintaxis WiseBites page.

La Union Gluten-Free Bakery Recoleta

I really enjoyed our stop at La Union (see their IG). They have a good variety of options, and the woman working here was so nice & welcoming. I feel like it's a good option for breakfast or lunch, because they have a good variety and you can get some heavier items.

For our trip here, we split an empanada, cinnamon roll, pastry, and some alfajores. Having a gluten-free cinnamon roll is always a treat, especially when it's a good one. We walked here in the morning from our Airbnb in Recoleta, and I really enjoyed the walk here. This is also a great place to load up on some gluten-free snacks to have for later. See more reviews at the La Union WiseBites page.

Taccoff

Much like Sintaxis, Taccoff (see their IG) is a place that comes up on most of the gluten-free lists for Buenos Aires. And for good reason. It's 100% gluten-free, and they have a very large menu. Interestingly, empanadas & pizza is a big combination in Argentina but it was hard to find somewhere that did both gluten-free.

Thankfully Taccoff makes both of those things, so my wife got the chance to enjoy a pizza & empanada pairing that was gluten-free. They also make a variety of other pizzas, pastas, empanadas, and have a very large bakery selection.

This is another must stop, and I'd recommend doing it for dinner. They do serve breakfast here, but I think it provides a better dinner option as it pertains to the 100% dedicated gluten-free options in Buenos Aires. See more reviews at the Taccoff WiseBites page.

Booked Experiences (Must Do These)

Local Family Asado with Betty and Marcelo

Okay this was probably the highlight for me in Buenos Aires. Participating in an asado is a cultural must while in Argentina, and you can not do any better than Betty and Marcelo (see their IG). From the moment I landed on their Viator page, I knew this was something we were doing. Not just because they seemed awesome, but because they clearly mentioned they could provide a special menu for gluten-free (just mention while signing up!).

Betty and Marcelo are a lovely couple, who recently went full-time into the culinary experience business. Betty acts as your guide/host, and she kind of orchestrates the evening for you, while Marcelo is the grill master.

They immediately made us feel at home and did a great job of creating natural conversation amongst everyone in attendance. We enjoyed good drinks and a TON of good meat during our evening with them. We also got to participate in things a little, as you can see from the photo below of me in my apron with Marcelo!

I honestly feel like I could have stayed here all night, and it probably didn't help that we were enjoying a few glasses of wine + stuffing ourselves. This was our last night in Argentina, but I truly can not recommend this enough. I promise the price is worth it, and you will thank me later!

Pachamama – Argentine Cooking Experience

Empanadas are one of the things you can not make a trip to Buenos Aires without eating a lot of. However, we really wanted to do an empanada cooking class, and we found we could accommodate gluten restrictions with Pachamama.

Note: While they acknowledge they can accommodate, other people in the class are using ingredients to make empanadas which contain gluten in the same kitchen. That said, the people at Pachamama did a great job of ensuring any food my wife ate was prepared separately and was not touched by these people. They actually had the gluten-free empanadas packaged separately so they were pre-made. She still participated in the making of a regular empanada (thorough hand-washing after 😀), but she ate one of the already made gluten-free empanadas (which were great!).

This was one of the first activities we did in Buenos Aires, and I really enjoyed it. It was a great way to meet other people who were traveling to Buenos Aires, we learned a lot about the history & culture of Argentina, a good overview of empanadas, and we got to enjoy some great food & drinks.

Fun fact: the way the edge of the empanadas is folded is meant to indicate what type of contents are inside it.

Aside from just being a fun experience, where they did a really good job accommodating us, they provided a lot of recommendations for the rest of our time in Buenos Aires. They note on their Get Your Guide page that they can accommodate gluten-free, but I recommend messaging them ahead of time!

Buenos Aires really is such a great place to travel if you are celiac or can not eat gluten! Aside from the food piece, the country has so much to offer from Patagonia, salt flats, waterfalls, and more. I'll write a separate post about our adventures in Patagonia, but we will definitely be making our way back to Argentina!

Have a spot to add? WiseBites is built on community signal — review your favorites →