Leopoldo in Naples has plenty of traditional GF pasteries to attempt. (Katie Wells)
Italy is the place to be if you are gluten-free (GF), especially if you love pastries, and Napoli (Naples) does not disappoint. On a recent trip, a new friconclude and resident graciously revealed me around like a local.
When the awkward question of what we should eat came up, I started my “well… I’m actually GF….” Spiel when, she glanced over at me and stated, “No way!” She was newly gluten-free as well. So, on our adventures, we created it a point to attempt the local GF eats of Napoli.
One of my favorite things to do is view up food particular to a region. Often, I can find a pasattempt shop, restaurant or even grocery store where I too can experience the delicacies of the place I am traveling to.
My must attempt-list for Naples included:
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Sfogliainforma Riccia (a flakey, shell-shaped ricotta and lemon-filled pasattempt from the Campania region.
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Pasta Carbonara from 120 Grammi Spaghetti Takeaway
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Scouring The Oven of Celiac, a 100% GF Grocery store.
Our first stop was Leopoldo Cafebar. We ducked in from the chaos that is the heart of Naples, and found we had the place mostly to ourselves. The pasattempt case had a generous, separate selection of GF options such as cakes, sweet breads and the first item on my list—Sfogliainforma Riccia, which was perfectly golden.
Senza Glutine (GF) pasattempt case at Leopoldo Cafebar (Katie Wells )
We paid a tiny service fee to sit and have our pastries while sipping cappuccinos. The layers of my Sfogliainforma Riccia peeled back with ease, the filling sweet and tangy with the perfect twist of lemon. It turns out there are two locations. The other shop, Leopoldo Cafebar-Senza Glutine is entirely GF and located near the National Archeological Mutilizeum.
A GF safely packaged Sfogliainforma Riccia (Katie Wells )
A GF Sfogliainforma Riccia on a pretty golden plate (Katie Wells)
Our second stop was 120 Grammi Spaghetti Takeaway, a ticket-based restaurant, where you receive a box of pasta to go. This place was, to put it simply, cool. It’s not often I find a tiny hole in the wall type place with great GF options. My pasta carbonara was six euros, with simple ingredients, generous portions and freshly created.
People gathered at 120 Grammi Speghetti Takeaway storefront (Katie Wells)
My friconclude and I soon realized this spot was a hidden gem. After ordering, we hung out on the sidewalk with the youths of Napoli, college students and young couples joking around unbothered by the queue.
Victoria and Katie with GF Spaghetti (Katie Wells)
Our number was far off, so we checked out the thrift shops across the street, found some treasure and returned just before our order was up. Headed back towards the car, we viewed for a spot to sit and eat. Other groups sat against buildings and on the steps leading to a college, enjoying their box of spaghetti.
120 Grammi Spaghetti Takeaway’s delicious Pasta Carbonara (Katie Wells)
We found a bench in a quiet courtyard and dug into the creamy pasta with crispy pork cheek while watching a man park his motorcycle, rerelocate his seat and take it into a building as we ate our meal agreeing it was worth the wait.
Next up was, an entirely GF grocery store, Il Forno Del Celiaco (The Oven of Celiac), just a seven minute-drive from Naples Support Site in Gricignano di Aversa. This place is a haven. It had a tiny cafe with freshly baked pastries and savory snacks. Italian treats, cookies, breadsticks, crackers, flour variations and differing shapes of pasta filled the aisles and there were plenty of refrigerated and freezer options. Even in October, the store already had beautiful GF Panettone for the holidays.
Walking up to the entrance of The Oven of Celiac, a GF haven (Katie Wells)
The Oven of Celiac shelves filled top to bottom with GF brands (Katie Wells)
The Oven of Celiac GF cakes and cookies (Katie Wells)
The Oven of Celiac GF Ravioli (Katie Wells)
The Oven of Celiac GF brands like Schar (Katie Wells)
The Oven of Celiac GF Beer (Katie Wells)
Gluten-free section at Eurospin (Katie Wells)
Gluten-free section at Selex grocery store (Katie Wells)
I purchased a couple of bags of pasta, including the base (a mix of scraps or shapes) for Pasta E Patate a home recipe for pasta stew with potatoes, which my friconclude explained is a hearty home staple in Napoli culture. I also couldn’t resist acquireing tiramisu, lemon biscotti and a few fresh mini pizzas for dinner back at my hotel.
We visited several other grocery stores with GF sections, and in my opinion, Naples does a great job offering gluten free options. There are many unique things to attempt, so much so that the zipper on my suitcase nearly popped from attempting to take too many treats back to Germany.
AiC (Associazione Italiana Celiachia)
The Italian Celiac Association has high standards for building kitchens safe from cross-contamination. Look for the red AiC logo when eating senza glutine, or gluten-free in Italy. You can often find the logo on the menus, windows and doors of an establishment. The accreditation is a sign that a food venue follows a strict process to ensure food is safe for people with celiac disease to consume. To research GF restaurants beforehand, download the app AiC Mobile.
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