Tag: Germany

I found Frankfurt a really tricky city to navigate on a gluten-free diet. After doing lots of research before my visit I found very few restaurants with good reviews from gluten-free diners and the coeliac community (those I sourced mainly came from Find Me Gluten Free). I emailed plenty of restaurants to see if they offered gluten-free options and to enquire if they were able to avoid cross-contamination in the kitchen. Unfortunately the answer I came up against on numerous occasions was a ‘no’ on both accounts.

If you’re travelling to Frankfurt and need to avoid gluten, I’d recommend doing some research beforehand, contacting restaurants ahead of time, and as always, travelling prepared with gluten-free snacks if possible. Whilst eating gluten-free was a challenge in Frankfurt, it certainly isn’t impossible. In this posts I’ve included some of the best gluten-free eateries I found.

Lua Cuisine

Isabella Glutenfreie Patisserie

Wow! Isabella Glutenfreie Patisserie had it all. A dedicated gluten-free bakery offering gluten-free macaroons, cakes, breads, brownies, biscuits, chocolate and so much more. They also offered plenty of vegan options too. I tried the gluten-free brownie, white chocolate cheesecake and blackberry mousse tart – all were incredible.

Vevay

Update October 2024 – Unfortunately Vevay has closed since writing this post in 2023.

Vevay is a vegetarian restaurant offering plenty of clearly marked gluten-free and vegan options. I had the sweet potato fries with guacamole plus the mango rice noodle bowl with lots of colourful veggies. Super tasty and healthy food options. Their gluten-free desserts including the creme brûlée looked delicious but unfortunately I didn’t have room after my feast. I’d recommend booking a table here as it gets busy.

EatDoori Deli

This one was well-recommended on Find My Gluten Free so I thought I’d give it a go. They are a small shopping centre food outlet offering various curry bowls. I was assured that all of the options (apart from the breads of course) were gluten-free. I went for the chicken tikka curry bowl pictured below.

Glutenfreie Kaffeebar by Alex

So disappointed I didn’t make it here as it looks awesome. Glutenfreie Kaffeebar by Alex is a dedicated gluten-free cafe in Frankfurt and well recommended by coeliacs.

Supermarkets

Rewe

I shopped at a few Rewe stores across the city and each had a small gluten-free offering gluten-free breads, pastas, crackers, cookies, chocolate and waffles.

DM

DM is a healthstore with a small health foods section where I found gluten-free wraps, pretzels, breads, biscuits and pastas. There were plenty of DMs dotted around the city so you’ll never be too far from one of these stores.

Gluten-free German Vocabulary

Whilst plenty of people spoke excellent English, I found it helpful to learn a few words and phrases, particularly when looking at the lists of ingredients on supermarket food items.

Overall verdict

Overall rating

I’m giving Frankfurt two stars simply because during my time there I found few eateries which offered gluten-free options and where I felt confident that cross-contamination was avoided. Overall it didn’t seem commonplace to mark items as gluten-free on menus, and staff didn’t seem too aware of the importance of gluten-free foods.

Coeliac friendly

Coeliac disease didn’t seem widely understood and few restaurants I encountered were aware of or able to offer gluten-free options. When asking about cross-contamination, many said they did not take measures such as using separate fryers or chopping boards etc to avoid cross-contamination.

Safety

The places where I did eat I felt were safe in offering gluten-free options and avoiding cross contamination. As always, I have only included places where I have had positive experiences.