Spain

[Michael]

The place to discuss local topics and to meet others in your area.

[karyanca]

I'm planning a trip to Spain next summer. I've heard that it's very hard to get vegan food in many areas. I have a hard enough time getting vegan food where I speak the language, so I'm trying to prepare as much as possible in advance. I haven't decided yet whether to join a tour or travel independently.

Apart from checking out restaurant listings on HappyCow.com, any suggestions?

[IamJen]

Well, you could learn a bit of Spanish before you go, since it's months away. :D

Honestly, I had no trouble eating vegan there. If you're going on a tour, it may be harder because you may end up having to eat at specific restaurants instead of choosing for yourself.

[rockindancer86]

I wasn't veg*n when I lived there, but a couple people in my study program were. Most of them ended up eating shellfish at the least, if not other meat. However, that was after a few months of eating mostly bread and olive oil.

If you're only going for a few weeks you should be okay, as long as you explicitly say "no ham, no shellfish, etc" because they won't really understand. There's ham in EVERYTHING. They even have ham-flavored chips. I had them. They were gross.

The bigger the city you're in, the more likely you'll find things. But in the south for example, gazpacho is very common, and that's purely veggies. Salmorejo, however, which is very similar, has egg and ham. Paella almost always has meat and meat-broth base. Salads aren't so good in Spain. Don't even try :) I remember eating a lot off eggs and ham (not together).

It's doable, but you have to be prepared that you won't be able to eat pretty much anything traditional.

[karyanca]

Well, you could learn a bit of Spanish before you go, since it's months away. :D

I'm waitlisted for a university Spanish course. *fingers crossed* Just a little nervous. I pick up written language very quickly, but really struggle with the spoken part. Hopefully all those years of French classes will help.


If you're going on a tour, it may be harder because you may end up having to eat at specific restaurants instead of choosing for yourself.

We've almost definitely decided to go with a tour - and added Portugal and Morocco to the trip, as well. I'm waiting to hear back from the tour company, but in general they treat special diets as "requests" rather than requirements. Apparently, it's very dependent on the individual tour guide whether you get any consideration with regard to meals.


If you're only going for a few weeks you should be okay, as long as you explicitly say "no ham, no shellfish, etc" because they won't really understand. There's ham in EVERYTHING.

That's what I've heard - fish isn't usually considered "meat" and could be added to the "vegetarian" meals and ham is treated almost as a condiment.


The bigger the city you're in, the more likely you'll find things. But in the south for example, gazpacho is very common, and that's purely veggies. Salmorejo, however, which is very similar, has egg and ham. Paella almost always has meat and meat-broth base. Salads aren't so good in Spain. Don't even try :) I remember eating a lot off eggs and ham (not together).

It's doable, but you have to be prepared that you won't be able to eat pretty much anything traditional.

I'm planning on arriving early for the tour, bringing some food with me and hitting the food stores just in case. It's a little sad not to be able to eat "local", but that's the way it's has to be.

Thanks to you both for the tips.

[Reef]

I live in on the Atlantic Coast of Spain...near Portugal...say "hello" if you are coming to Spain or you live here / Portugal.

Vivo en el oeste de España, cerca de Portugal....puedes decirme "holá" si estás venir a España o vives aqui / Portugal.

[Cosplaying Cat]

I am going to Barcelona and Valencia in about two weeks, and have no clue what I am going to do! Someone please help!

[KaoticaKeira]

Although it's true that to be vegetarian or vegan here is not the easiest thing it's not impossible ;)

Let me give you some tips ; :hungry:

There are plenty of Chinese, Indians, Mexican, Turkish, vegetarian and Italian restaurants in every city. The problem are the traditional Spanish restaurants and tapas bars. Anyway, in those places you can ask for paella with just vegetables, mushrooms with garlic and paisley, pisto, fried potatoes with green peppers, vegetable creams or fried vegetables (tortilla, arroz a la cubana and patatas bravas if you're vegetarian). We have lots of different salads and it's not difficult to find one with no tuna, ham or egg. The best thing in my opinion is that we don't usually use sauces in salads. We put olive oil and sometimes vinegar which is vegan and healthy. You could also ask for gazpacho instead of a salad. If you go to Murcia as this region is famous for its delicious vegetables you'll find there vegan dishes which consist of vegetables and legums.

I recommend you to check this website: http://www.frescco.com/ It's almost a vegetarian restaurant. It's a healthy buffet where you can make your own salad choosing between lots of ingredients, and there is pizza with vegetables, pasta with the ingredients you like or rice with mushrooms. There is just one option with meat. For a dessert there is coffee, tea, ice-cream and fruits. It costs less than 10 euros.

It is possible to find soya or almond milk, tofu and veggie creams in each supermarket in the dietetic section. But for more specific stuff it's better to go to "herboristerias" where you can find vegetarian ham, sausages, hamburguers, vegetable milks, b12 vitamin, herbs, teas and so on. This shops are very popular here, I live in a little town and there are two of them.

Don't forget about tea shops. If they are not arabic it's possible to find there vegan desserts and almond, quinoa or soya milk for your tea.

Enjoy your trip!! And your meals if possible ;)

PS: I forgot about breakfasts!! They are the easiest thing!! Orange juice with a toast with margerine, fruits, olive oil, or tomato with olive oil!! As you can see, life here is tough if you don't like olive oil!

[KaoticaKeira]

I live in on the Atlantic Coast of Spain...near Portugal...say "hello" if you are coming to Spain or you live here / Portugal.

Vivo en el oeste de España, cerca de Portugal....puedes decirme "holá" si estás venir a España o vives aqui / Portugal.

¡Hola Reef! Yo vivo en un pueblo de Alicante ¿Cómo estás?

[ForestGlade34]

Randomly found links, but links of consequence anyway! (*useful to & for the spanish people*)

http://internet.suite101.com/article.cfm/best_spanish_programs_on_the_net
http://website-reviews.suite101.com/article.cfm/best_spanishlanguage_web_sites

[mgm84]

Yea, vegetarian does not mean the same thing over there. There were a couple of times that I specifically said I was vegetarian and no meat (no carne, no pollo, etc.) and still ended up with fish on my salad. You just have to be real specific and flexible. But it was surprising to see how easily they could add ham (hamon) to everything, even sides of veggies! I ended up going to a grocery store and picking up some staples, and then carrying things around with me, just in case.

[IamJen]

Pah. Even here in the UK, fish is not infrequently included on "vegetarian" menus. There's a vegetarian cafe in Oxford that has seafood on the menu. A couple of years ago, the head of the Vegetarian Society had to correct a national channel news reporter about fish not being vegetarian even.

[O'Doyle]

Hey, guys, I live in the Basque Country, which is in the north of Spain, so if you've got any doubt about being vegetarian/vegan here or if you'd like to know vegetarian/vegan restaurants, shops and products in the country, just let me know & I'll give you as much information as I can :)