Soy vegano. Or soy vegetariano.

I’ve seen an increase in the number of future pilgrims asking about the availability of vegetarian or vegan dishes along the Camino de Santiago. They worry that it will be hard for them to find suitable food. And it’s understandable.

Obviously, you need adequate nourishment.

And, although it’s true that the Mediterranean diet includes a lot of vegetables and pulses, it is also true that Spain is not the most vegetarian-friendly country. It’s common for an ensalada to have tuna; and a “vegetable sandwich” with either tuna or a slice of ham is a classic (and nobody thinks it’s odd!).

Things are changing and it’s not unusual now to find restaurantes vegetarianos or veganos. But they are not available everywhere. They are more common in the bigger cities. But the Camino goes through a lot of smaller towns and rural areas. So, is it possible to do the Camino as a vegetariano/a* or vegano/a*?

The short answer is: YES! It’s possible, with some planning.

What are your options as a vegan or vegetarian on the Camino?

You have two main choices:

• You can buy food and snacks from the local fruterías and supermercados (see Shopping on the Camino for the pronunciation of these words). Some albergues have kitchens where you can prepare your own meal. You just need to find out if the place where you are staying has such facilities.

• Or you can also eat out and enjoy the local cuisine, even in the smaller towns. And it’s probably easier than you think.

There are many Spanish dishes that are naturally vegetariano/vegano or can be easily adapted (In this article you can find a long list of Spanish dishes that are suitable for vegans: https://www.thenomadicvegan.com/the-ultimate-vegan-guide-to-spain/). You just need to know a few Spanish words and phrases to make sure you get the right food:

Soy vegetariano / Soy vegetariana or Soy vegano / Soy vegana

I’m a vegetarian or I’m a vegan.

*If you are a male, you will refer to yourself as vegetariano/vegano. If you are a female, you will use vegetariana/vegana instead.

• You can also specify the foods you don’t eat by saying No como… (I don’t eat…) + anything you need to mention, such as carne (meat), pescado (fish), huevos (eggs), lácteos (dairy) or queso (cheese). If you have food allergies, get more info here.

• Let’s say you are not sure about the ingredients of any particular dish: you can ask ¿Lleva carne, huevo…? (Does it have… meat, egg…?).

• If a dish is mostly vegan, but it has some egg or cheese, for instance, you can still order it and ask them to serve it sin huevo (without egg) or sin queso (without cheese).

• You could even take advantage of the menú del día. I know I said in this previous post that the second course is normally pescado or carne. No problem! You can explain that you are vegetariano/vegano and ask if you could take dos primeros (two first courses) instead of a primero and a segundo. Most places wouldn’t have a problem with that.

Do you have any experience as a vegetariano/a or vegano/a in the Camino de Santiago? You can share it in the comments!

Today’s Spanish words

¡Buen Camino!

Menú del día |

What is a menú del día? When can you have it? And when can you find comida (food) in Spanish?

Before I answer those questions, let me clarify that the word comida is also what we call the most important meal of the day: lunch. You can refer to lunch as almuerzo, but comida is used more frequently -and it’s easier to pronounce! So I’ll use comida.

If you have been to Spain before you will know this. But if you haven’t, you should be warned: mealtimes in Spain are late compared to other countries. The reason for this is that we are living in the wrong time zone (this article explains it in more detail).

Mealtimes in Spain

As I was saying, la comida is the most important meal, but obviously not the only one. We also have:

• Desayuno (breakfast). Spaniards, in most cases, don’t take desayuno too seriously. Many just drink a cup of coffee before leaving their homes. That’s why it’s common for people to go down to their nearest bar or cafetería during their break, for a mid-morning café con leche and pincho. Despite that, we have a verb meaning “to have breakfast”: desayunar.

• Cena (dinner). It is usually a light meal. 10:00pm is a perfectly acceptable (and normal) time to have dinner. It’s not common for restaurants to start serving la cena before 8:30pm. We also have a verb meaning “to have dinner”: cenar.

Having lunch in Spain

Since it’s the most important meal, let’s concentrate on la comida. I already said that lunch in Spain is late, compared to other countries: don’t expect restaurants to start serving lunch before 1:30pm. And you normally have a couple of options:

1. You can choose from the full carta (menu). This option tends to be more expensive, but it gives you the freedom to choose exactly what you want.
2. You can go for the menú del día. Generally a more economical option. The price is set and you get at least 2 or 3 choices for each course.

El menú del día

Menú del día was introduced by law in the 60’s. Back then it was called menú turístico and, as the name suggests, it was created to cater for all the tourists that started visiting Spain in those days. The government set the prices and what the menu should include. It should be served as fast as possible and it should also try to promote typical Spanish dishes among the tourists.

Things have changed since, and restaurantes don’t have to offer a menú del día, although many do. Needless to say, prices are not set by the government either and they can vary a lot from one place to another.

The picture shows a real menú del día from a restaurant along the Camino Portugués.

In this menu, you can see the first and second courses separated by a line. So you have siete  (7) primeros and cinco segundos to choose from. The price is €12.00 (€12.20 if you sit outside) and it also includes a bebida (drink), postre (dessert) and café (coffee).

The primeros usually include vegetables, soups, eggs and/or pasta. All of these are included in this menu:

Vegetables: ensalada (salad) as well as vegetable wok.

Soups: lentejas (lentil soup) and crema de verduras.

Eggs: revuelto (scrambled eggs).

Pasta: tortellini.

The segundos are in most cases either fish or meat dishes.

Some places may offer a vegetarian option among their segundos, but you’re more likely to find one among the primeros. So, if you’re a vegetarian and you still want to avail of the menú del día, you can ask to have 2 primeros, instead of a primero and a segundo. That’s an acceptable practice and most places will be happy to oblige.

What is frowned upon and not allowed in many places is to share a menú del día between 2 people. 

In some places, they have a plato del día (just 1 course instead of 2).

Today’s Spanish words

For the pronunciation of primero and segundo, check Eating on the Camino.

Related articles

• Shopping on the Camino
• ¿Dónde vas a comer
• Eating on the Camino
• Soy vegano/a
• Finding food on the Camino

¡Buen Camino!