Destination Guide: Gluten-Free Milan, Italy
- Alina
- Jul 8
- 10 min read
Updated: Jul 8
Benvenuto a Milano, Italy's fashion and finance capital that perfectly blends modern style and luxury with historical grandeur. From shopping top designers to marveling at the city's Gothic spires, Renaissance art and architecture, and cobblestone streets — plus Italy’s iconic lake district just an hour away — Milan is the perfect base for a quintessentially Italian getaway.
Further complementing this fabulous vacation destination is Italy's strong celiac awareness. From dedicated 100% gluten-free restaurants and bakeries serving everything from risotto to cannoli, to AIC-certified establishments with completely separate gluten-free kitchens that deeply understand cross-contact protocols, Milan makes dining out with celiac disease feel effortless rather than stressful.
One of our favorite cities on our Italian adventures to date, the city rewards foodies searching for the ultimate meal, art and history lovers seeking cultural treasures, and shopaholics hunting for the perfect statement piece. Ready to start planning your own Milan adventure? Then read on for our tips, tricks, and recommendations for a celiac-safe, gluten-free vacation to the magnificent city of Milan.
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Restaurants
Recommended Eats
Safety: ★★★★★
Dedicated, 100% gluten-free restaurant
Dairy-free, lactose-free, and vegan options available
Allergens are clearly labeled
Taste: ★★★★★
While Bistro bills itself as a French restaurant, the menu is chock full of classic Italian fare as well. The free bread they bring out to each table is to die for, and was easily the best gluten-free bread we’ve had in Italy. They also have gluten-free ravioli, which can be hard to find!
Must tries: Fried cheese appetizer
Overall Experience: ★★★★★
This was our favorite lunch/dinner spot in Milan. The menu is HUGE, so you can easily come here multiple times and not get bored! If you can, ask for a table upstairs — climbing the beautifully decorated spiral staircase really maximizes your experience of the restaurant’s French-meets-Italian charm. While we were able to be seated right away, this restaurant does fill up, so be prepared for a wait.
Safety: ★★★★★
Dedicated, 100% gluten-free restaurant
Taste: ★★★★★
This is one of my husband’s favorite restaurant groups, and I’d prioritize it and Bistro at the top of my list if we went back to Milan! As the name implies, the menu is full of a wide variety of risottos to try, among other dishes, as well as an extensive array of appetizers and desserts. Come hungry!!
Overall Experience: ★★★★★
Risotteria Melotti has numerous locations across Italy, and opened up their Milan location in 2024. They also have a fabulous spot in New York City, in case you want a round two in the states! Full disclosure, we’ve only been to their NYC location, and it was amazing! I’m sure their Italy locations are even better, given their roots in the country and the higher quality produce available in Italy. Fun fact: You can buy risotto there to bring home with you!
Safety: ★★★★★
Dedicated, 100% gluten-free gelateria (including drinks!) + accredited by the AIC (Italian Celiac Association)
Taste: ★★★★☆
They have gluten-free cones!! While this isn’t the #1 gelato we’ve had in Italy (that honor goes to Gelateria 5 Terre in Cinque Terre), it’s still excellent, and has so many great flavors to choose from. They also sell drinks and sometimes other treats, depending on the location.
Must tries: Hazelnut, Gianduia, and Cremino gelato
Overall Experience: ★★★★★
You’ll find this Italian gelato chain all over Italy, and across other big cities in wider Europe as well. We go to Grom whenever we get the chance, and they’re made extra fun by the fact that each store seems to have its own special item, from crepes and gelato-stuffed pastries to frappes, hot chocolate, and affogatos! Definitely plan to stop here multiple times, if you can.
Safety: ★★★★★
Dedicated, 100% gluten-free bakery + accredited by the AIC (Italian Celiac Association)
Taste: ★★★★☆
This shop may have a small footprint, but you wouldn't know it with how many goodies there were to choose from! We unfortunately forgot to take pictures, but trust us, it all looked scrumptious. Brush up on your Italian before you head here, or plan to translate with your phone; this is definitely more of a locals spot, so the shopkeeper didn’t speak much English.
Must try: Cannoli
Overall Experience: ★★★★☆
A great pit stop to load up on pastries and bread before heading up to Lake Como!
Heads up that this neighborhood was one of the rougher areas we saw in Milan, so we’d skip the walk and opt to take a cab directly there if we were to visit again.
Safety: ★★★★1/2
Accredited by the AIC (Italian Celiac Association); staff are very knowledgeable about cross contact to safely accommodate patrons with celiac disease.
Pros
Separate kitchen for gluten-free orders, making cross-contact risk all but non-existent
Gluten-free dishes come out on dedicated plates that are a different color than those they serve their regular gluten-full food on
Separate gluten-free menu
HUGE array of options — the whole menu is available gluten-free!
Cons
N/A
Taste: ★★★★☆
I have to caveat that I was utterly exhausted by the time we got here, so I didn’t get to try as much as I typically would, but we did enjoy everything we had here. I would love to go back one day. Our favorite dish was the arancini, and my parents had great things to say about their gluten-free pizza too.
Must tries: Arancini
Overall Experience: ★★★★★
This is a chain with multiple locations across Italy, including Milan, Rome, Florence, and Naples. Full disclosure, we visited their Florence location, not their Milan location, but every location is set up the same way regarding precautions (separate kitchens, menus, etc.) with the same AIC accreditation, so you’ll be in good hands! We were able to visit without reservations, but it was pretty late in the evening, so your mileage may vary.
Safety: ★★★★☆
Sealed, gluten-free cheeseburgers and dedicated fryers for french fries
Pros
Gluten-free cheeseburgers are packaged and reheated in plastic bags so as to avoid any cross-contact (other than maybe the outside of the bag) —- basically foolproof!
Fries are made in dedicated fryers (and not coated in gluten like they are in the U.S.) — just make sure to talk with an employee/show an allergy translation card before ordering these so they’ll take the necessary cross-contact precautions, i.e. fresh gloves, etc.
Note: We haven’t tried the fries, but anecdotally we’ve heard people have had good experiences with the fries
Cons
Takes a long time to get your food, as they take the time to keep it safe for you (don’t expect to be in and out in 5 minutes — we almost missed our train!)
No customizations possible for the cheeseburger, since it’s premade and sealed
The gluten-free cheeseburgers are reheated in the microwave inside of their bags, so not the freshest
No options besides gluten-free cheeseburgers and fries, and some locations only took orders at kiosks, making it difficult to safely order the fries
Taste: ★★★☆☆
My burger wasn’t heated enough and was therefore full of cold spots, so it was a bit disappointing. Nonetheless, I was glad I had something to eat on our train ride, and it was fun to have McDonald’s again, even if it was even more mediocre than I remembered pre-diagnosis! Hah.
Overall Experience: ★★★☆☆
I wouldn’t go out of your way to try a gluten-free McDonald’s cheeseburger in Italy, but hey, their locations all over make it a safe option in a pinch, for a train or car ride, or if you get the late-night munchies.
Others We Tried
Safety: ★★★★★
Dedicated, 100% gluten-free counter-service pizzeria
Taste: ★★★☆☆
We didn’t think our pizza was very good, but to be fair it was a bit late after the lunch rush and they were pretty picked over. Lots of other celiacs appear to like it, so we may have just been there on a bad day/time.
Overall Experience: ★★★★☆
Open for breakfast and lunch, Officina Zero serves pizza, breads, pastries, and rotating savories. It’s a tiny seating area, FYI, and we’d recommend against driving there yourself, as it’s super hard to find parking. If you end up in this area, consider also swinging by the bakery we mentioned above, Pasticceria Navotti Senza Glutine Milano, as it’s pretty close by.
Additional Researched Options
You can find our full list of researched restaurants, including some we didn’t get a chance to visit ourselves, on Find Me Gluten Free here (get $5 off FMGF Premium here). **Please note, all places on this list were well-reviewed for celiac safety at the time of our visit. We were only able to visit the above guide restaurants ourselves, though, so if venturing to any places on the larger app list, be sure to read the reviews and do your own due diligence before visiting.
Food Safety Tips
Tourist Attractions and Activities
Once you’ve got the food sorted, below are a few fun attractions and activities to consider in and around Milan as you’re planning your trip. Pro tip: Buy tickets in advance for popular attractions like The Last Supper and the Duomo to avoid long lines and disappointment from daily entries already being sold out.
When it comes to transportation, Milan has excellent public transit, and there are trains to many day trip locations as well. So you definitely don’t have to rent a car, but you may find it helpful if you expand your visit to the nearby lakes region and want to venture outside of the most popular cities.
In terms of lodging, the Galleria Vik Milano is a great hotel option if it fits within your budget. We were able to stay there thanks to credit card points, and not only is it perfectly located right next to the Duomo, subway station, and lots of shopping at the Galleria, it also has a breakfast buffet with packaged gluten-free items in a separate section—cereal, bread, rice cakes, sweets, and individual jars of jam. They can also make you eggs and other items in the back, but we didn't end up taking them up on cooking anything since we were rushed.
Culture It Up
Take in Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” at Santa Maria delle Grazie
Ask Charles about his favorite part of our Milan trip, and he will launch into a soliloquy on this painting, which he classifies as “easily one of the top experiences of [his] life.” Those of you who are religious will appreciate the details put into this iconic fresco, but even if you’re not, there’s a certain awe-inspiring solemnity to standing in the exact refectory the great Leonardo da Vinci once graced. It really puts the passing of time into perspective.
To visit, you’ll have to reserve a guided tour (tickets sell out months in advance, so buy your tickets early!) in which you’ll get 15 minutes with the painting. You definitely don’t want to put this off, as Da Vinci’s experimentation with a more fragile type of paint means the piece is rapidly fading away and soon will no longer be around.
Marvel at the Duomo di Milano
One of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world, the Duomo is another can’t miss in Milan. Besides the gorgeous exterior and interiors, the view of Milan from atop the roof terrace will take your breath away. We recommend purchasing tickets in advance so you can skip the extremely long lines that wrap around the plaza.
Wander through Castello Sforzesco
This impressive castle fortress houses several museums (tickets can be purchased upon arrival) with antique furniture and other historical exhibits, great for art lovers and history buffs alike. The adjacent park (Parco Sempione) is also perfect for a relaxing walk afterwards.
Catch a performance at Teatro alla Scala
One of the world's leading opera houses, this is a great place to get a taste of Italy’s musical mastery. You can even get discount tickets 2 hours before each performance.
Inside the theatre, which opened in 1778, there is also the Museo Teatrale, a museum which houses old sets, costumes and more.
Explore Navigli
This trendy neighborhood, best visited in the early evening, is known for its picturesque canals lined with restaurants, bars, boutiques, and cafes.
Get Your Shop On
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
One of the world's oldest shopping malls, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is home to luxury brands and historic cafes alike. But you don’t have to like shopping to make this worth a visit — its stunning glass vaulted ceiling and mosaic floors, as well as its great views of the Duomo from the 2nd floor food hall, make this a great stop for architecture and beauty lovers as well.
Quadrilatero della Moda
Milan is one of the world’s top fashion capitals, and there’s perhaps nowhere better to see it in all its glory than the Quadrilatero della Moda. Milan's famous fashion quarter stretches across Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga, Via Alessandro Manzoni, and Via Sant'Andrea. Even if you're not buying, it's worth a stroll for window shopping and people-watching.
Peck
A massive, three-floor, historic food hall that was originally opened in 1883, Peck is the perfect place to stock up on gourmet Italian foods and wines. Just be sure to consult our gluten labeling guide to make safe purchases!
Brera District
Whereas Milan’s Fashion District is home to the most storied fashion houses, Brera is the best place to find Italy’s most promising up-and-coming designers. Along its charming streets, you’ll find many boutiques, art galleries, and antique shops.
Turn Up the Adrenaline
Catch a game at San Siro Stadium
This legendary stadium is home to two of Italy’s best football (or soccer, for American readers) teams, AC Milan and Inter Milan.
Race the Monza Circuit
Racing enthusiasts will love a visit to this famous racetrack located just outside Milan. Check their website for events and tours.
Embrace Your Inner Child
Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology
This interactive museum features models based on Leonardo's designs, and is perfect for curious minds of all ages.
Venture Further with a Day Trip
Luxuriate on Lake Como
Just an hour away by train, Lake Como offers stunningly beautiful scenery (you can see some in the above photos!), elegant villas, and the most charming towns. Many of which, including Bellagio, Varenna, and Como itself, are accessible via ferry. Consider a ferry day pass to explore multiple towns in one day, or find an AirBnB in the hills to extend your adventures further.
Relax at Lake Maggiore
Another gorgeous lake in the region with slightly less crowds than Lake Como, Maggiore is best known for the towns of Stresa, Arona, and Cannobio, as well as the beautiful Borromean Islands (Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori; accessible by ferry from Stresa).
Get active on Lake Garda
Italy's largest lake is a fabulous choice for families and those looking to let off steam with water sports, a bike ride along a trail 154 feet above the lake, or a trip to Gardaland theme park. There are also lovely villas and gardens to visit, such as Il Vittoriale, Giardino Botanico Hruska, and Villa Romana, as well as spectacular views from the cable car to Monte Baldo. Some towns to consider visiting include Gardone Riviera, Riva del Garda, Desenzano del Garda, and Malcesine.
***Date of travel: May 2023