Gluten-free pizza restaurant in Madrid
Any kind of 100% gluten-free restaurant in Madrid is welcome, for celiac disease sufferers such as myself in particular, due to the risk of contamination at a regular restaurant, and now we have a pizzeria. we can safely enjoy.
Grosso Napoletano Senza Glutine is the new Gluten-free concept from Grosso Napoletano, Senza Glutine meaning gluten-free/sin gluten in Italian.
This new location, located at Calle de Fernando VI, 23, 28004 Madrid, close to metro stations Chueca and Alonso Martinez looks upscale and attracted a lot of admirers who stopped to look.
Already established in Madrid since 2017, Grosso Napoletano has a solid reputation for great stone-baked pizzas, often coming top of polls for the best pizza in Madrid and also the top 50 pizzerias in Europe. Congratulations to founders Jorge de Blas, who manages the business side, and Hugo Rodriguez de Prada, the gastronomical side!
Sandwichboard outside the restaurant mentioning ordering online for collection
Let’s party,because there’s No Gluten!
In some ways the success is down to authenticity, 80% of the ingredients come from Italy, and the custom wood-burning oven is made by artisan makers “Forni Grimaldi” based in Naples. The dough is double fermented over 48 hours to give that perfect elasticity.
At the time of writing, there are six starters on offer. Burrata, Mozarrela with pumpkin, Veal with tuna and anchovies, Caprese with avocado, beef carpaccio, and Smoked Provola melted in the oven with tomato sauce and herbs. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it!
There at twelve pizzas to choose from, the usual classics such as Margherita, Diavola, four seasons, calzone etc they also offer vegan and white sauce bases for those who aren’t keen on tomato. The pizza dough is made from a blend of buckwheat and rice flour, both naturally gluten-free.
Prices start at 10,90€ for Margherita and vegan prices and then jump to 13,90€ and then 14,90€ for the most expensive. I opted for the mid-priced Diavola pizza whilst my wife opted for the ham and mushroom “Prosciutto E Funghi”. Both pizzas were delicious and you almost couldn’t tell them from a non-gluten-free pizza. As for the prices, it’s worth noting that 1€ goes to the NGO Flores de Kiskeya in Haiti.
“Prosciutto E Funghi” or “Farmhouse” ham and mushroom pizza along with a bottle of extra spicy extra olive oil in the background.
Diavola
I would have preferred a bit more topping, meat and spice on my pizza, thankfully there was spicy oil that WAS genuinely spicy available on the table. Actually, we weren’t sitting at a table, we were at a window bar. As we were only two people and most tables were reserved for 4 or more people, including some smart-looking rounded booths.
Incidentally, the extra spicy extra virgin olive oil is available to take home for 7,90€ a bottle. Something I’ll consider next time I visit.
A sneaky view of the interior and mix of clientele through a mirror.
When we arrived at 19:45 for our reservation, easily made online through their website, on a Friday night (later times were already taken) it was fairly quiet but there were some diners already there (the kitchen doesn’t close in the afternoon I think. It quickly became busy and potential diners without reservations were turned away. There was a nice vibe, music playing loud enough to add atmosphere but not too loud that you needed to raise your voice to talk to someone.
Pizzaiolos prepare pizzas in the open kitchen, in the foreground one of the booths and then bars around the food preparation area. Note the huge amount of boxes for takeaway on the left.
As is common in times of COVID, restaurants require you to scan a QR code to access the menu. The waiter turned up to take our drinks order and of course, we hadn’t gotten around to checking out the drinks part of the menu yet, our eyes drinking in the delicious-sounding items on the menu, trying to whittle down the choices to one or two to choose from.
Daura Märzen from the Estrella Damm company. Gluten-free and double malted. 7.2% alcohol.
On the subject of drinks, the waiter was able to tell me that EVERYTHING on the menu was gluten-free and suitable for celiacs, apart from a handful of regular beers, he quickly listed the gluten-free beers and I chose a Marzen beer from Daura Damm, a double fermented beer with around 7.2% alcohol and less than 3 parts per million of gluten. This makes it perfectly fine for Celiacs. It was nice to have a double malted beer for a change and this one was again tasty and I didn’t notice it being much different to their Voll Damm product which I used to drink in pre-celiac days.
White Tiramisu. Mascarpone cream and white chocolate with an Italian sponge base, amaretto and cafe
Having decided to skip the starters, and after having wolfed down the pizza, it was time to consider desserts. Being celiac, the dessert course is usually the one I can’t partake in unless I want a piece of fruit, something I definitely wasn’t going to opt for with all gluten-free options for dessert. Usually, I’m not allowed to eat Tiramisu for dessert because my wife makes the best one, but today she said it was ok and because she’s struggled to find gluten-free ladyfingers to make one suitable for me at home.
The white tiramisu (Tiramisu Bianco) on the menu here for 6,50€ is described as being Mascarpone cream and white chocolate with an Italian sponge base, amaretto and cafe. Delicious, heavier than a regular Tiramisu, probably due to the thicker cream containing white chocolate. Served, hipster-style, in a jar and with two teaspoons it was a nice amount to share.
The restaurant is based on one floor, there seems to be step-free entry and large unisex disabled person bathroom. Always good to see here. Hand gel on entry and sufficient spacing.
All in all what are my thoughts? I definitely enjoyed my first gluten-free pizza in Madrid. It was better than my pizza experience in Paris, though the restaurant there had a more extensive range of dishes. Perhaps next time I’ll see if I can grab a later reservation and try three courses with a bigger appetite, that or I’ll opt for take-away. Not forgetting to also pick up a bottle of their extra spicy oil.
I've been back twice since writing this post. I went once for lunch and ordered one of their white pizzas and a starter with mozzarella balls. Very nice.
They have now launched a home delivery service. You order through the website and our order of four pizzas arrived about 40 minutes later.
I still haven't bought the spicy oil and I'm regretting it.
Here are some links to the menus! (links open in new windows)
Go on, pin it, you know you want to!