Berguna Gluten Free – in San Francesc
https://www.bergunaglutenfree.com
This is a lovely little combination coffee shop and eatery that is exclusively gluten free.
It has a very 1990s feel to it with white tile, decorative cinder blocks, metal, reclaimed (looking) wood and touches of leather.
The menu is on chalkboards above the counter where you order and includes wraps, salads, burgers, tostas (think avocado toast, bagels, eggs, pancakes and waffles. There are also smoothies, poke bowls, yogurt, fruit and the like on offer.
The counter service is friendly and efficient. Menus are in Spanish and English. This is not really surprising given the location quite near the Plaza del Anjuntament. You order, collect a number stand for your table and the food is delivered.
There are so many good gluten free options in almost every restaurant in Spain. It used to be that having a dedicated gluten free was a must — no one else cared. Now, however, restaurant staff is well versed in, from the wait staff to the kitchen.
That said, not many offer things like pancakes and waffles so Berguna is pretty special in that respect. Mind you, gluten free pancakes and waffles are pretty easy to reproduce and get the flavor and texture of the wheat based versions. Same with breads, muffins and the like. Fortunately, there are lots of good options.
Bagels, on the other hand, are harder. Bagels in general are kind of tough these days because they just aren’t made like bagels are supposed to be. The dough is kneaded, shaped, proofed, boiled and then baked. The boiling is the key step that has been replaced by steaming (if the step is even taken). Most wheat based bagels are just bread so finding one that approximates a real bagel that is also gluten free is challenging.
Berguna comes close. It’s more like a wheat based bagel of today than a bagel bagel but it is one of the better attempts. It is weird because you can’t just have a bagel at Berguna. It has to have something on it. That would be OK if the something was cream cheese or even butter but in this case it is egg and avocado, Nutella or pistacho spread or salmon. You cant just have a plain bagel.
The poke bowls are just that poke bowls. Tasty with cucumber, avocado, onion, salmon, tuna, rice, corn, some greenery and edamame. This is topped with a light creamy dressing. Overdressed as most salads are so it’s a good idea to ask for this on the side as it is really drenched.
The Vitamina salad is a good choice. When ordered the staff said “this is a sweet salad” as if they might have previously had complaints. It is also good and almost original including greens, feta cheese, blueberries, raspberries, candied nuts, sunflower seeds and diced apples. Like the poke bowls the salad is drenched in a very sweet balsamic dressing.
This is a case where we should have listened to the staff. Yes, this is sweet but it would be a great salad with half the dressing.
The thing is that Berguna is normal. A good restaurant even if you don’t have to eat gluten free. That’s encouraging because for so long folks who are gluten intolerant faced no good choices. Berguna is a good choice.