I recently visited Paris for the second time! It was just like visiting any major city in the Unites States when it comes to eating gluten free and options. Many people speak English and many places have English menus. If you don’t speak French then google translate is your friend. I came prepared with french sayings to explain about my dietary needs that I would walk in and show a waiter to see if I could eat there, if it wasn’t a place I was able to vet before. See the translations below. Part of my French translation for meal requests includes about cross contamination but with my limited knowledge of French, it is difficult to ask the follow up questions that I would normally. I have noticed that French cuisine doesn’t have the copious amounts of fried food Americans have which limits cross contamination risk. Although, many restaurants seem to have been Americanized in touristy places. You will have better luck at more traditional places.
French Phrases to Save. Put them together for a small paragraph to show to servers. I kept mine in a note on my phone.
Je suis coeliaque. = I am celiac.
Je ne peut pas manger le gluten. = I can’t eat gluten.
Est-ce qu’il y a des repas à votre restaurant qui sont sans gluten? = Are there meals at your restaurant that are gluten-free?
Est-ce sans gluten? =Is this gluten-free?
Avez-vous du pain sans gluten? = Do you have gluten-free bread?
Je suis coeliaque/intolérant(e) au gluten. = I am a celiac/intolerant to gluten.
Je ne peux rein manger de contaminé par du gluten. = I can’t eat anything cross contaminated with gluten.
Tipping In France
Before I go on I want to address tipping in France. All research says it’s not required because jobs actually pay a fair wage. We did ask the concierge and he told us that tipping isn’t compulsory but you may tip for exceptional service in which case to tip 10%. It feels so weird but is good to know! In most cases there was a place for tips, either a jar or on the receipt. In Paris I people were happy if not slightly expectant to receive tips, at least from us Americans. When I was in the South of French a few years ago the bartender literally threw it back at me on the table.
Here is a list of places I ate in Paris, France!
Many places I walked in had salmon or steak as an option for a gluten free meal, and that is pretty much it. These are meals I like to eat once but have a hard time eating repeatedly. Also, just like in the USA, there were some waiters who claimed to have gluten free safe options then went on to say, “peanuts, you can’t have that. Pasta, that is ok.” I’m not even joking. These are the types of places I skip out on.
You can see pictures of meals on my Paris story highlights on Instagram and a few videos on my TikTok account.
Castle of Versailles: A little bit to prepare you for this visit first, wear tennis shoes. There is a lot of walking involved. We walked at least 10 miles and could have kept going if time permitted. This is really an all day event. From the castle, to the gardens and then Marie Antionette’s cottages… there is a lot to look at. The tickets to the gardens are separate from the castle but inexpensive. The lines to Versailles are large to get into the castle, if you can afford it then it’s worth it to pay extra to cut the lines or for a tour guide. There are a couple different restaurant options that I saw. We ate at Angelina. The waiter showed me the allergen menu and there were limited options, maybe 2 dishes and 2 sides. I ordered the salmon fillet which, once served, I noticed the rice didn’t look to be gluten free. I double checked and it was bulgar. When I mentioned it, the manager came over and was in disbelief. “We vetted the menu thoroughly”. After insisting it was not gluten free he googled it himself and informed me that I was correct. Surprise, surprise. I was able to switch my meal to the steak, which was the most expensive item there but was good and I was starving by this point. It came with potatoes that I believe were roasted.My family didn’t like their meals sadly. We got a meringue dessert which also wasn’t very good. I hate to give bad reviews, but I have to be honest. To that point, if you are concerned about food it might be best to hit up NoGlu or another gluten free bakery the morning (or the day before since bakeries tend to open later) and pack yourself a gluten free sandwich.
Le First: A restaurant at The Westin Vendome Hotel, they don’t have a menu but said they could prepare a vegetarian item for dinner which I declined due to a bad history of people mistaking gluten free with vegetarian. I did get breakfast, an egg-white omelet and some gluten free bread that was tasty. French gluten free bread is much softer!
Le Lutece: This was around Notre Dame and Shakespeare and Company and was a walk in (meaning I didn’t research before). I showed them my gluten free french saved note and someone brought out an allergen menu and checked the items on the menu for me. You can see the complete list of options on my Paris story highlights on Instagram. I was going to order the sausage but the waiter let me know it was “guts”. That was kind of him! I ordered the steak which was ok. My mom got the chicken with a mushroom sauce which was also listed as gluten free and tasted great! Lastly, I tried escargot for the first time (click the link to see the video of me trying). Tastes like mussels! Full disclosure, I felt sick that night but was fine by morning. It’s possible that the chicken needed to be ordered gluten free, which my mom’s wasn’t and I did take a bite of. Or, maybe the escargot was too fancy for my stomach. Hehehe.
Little Nonna: This is an all gluten free pizzeria that it amazing! I got pizza, gnocchi and tiramisu. The pizza was amazing! The pizza crust will have you question if it’s gluten free. The gnocchi was ok and the tiramisu was not good. It was a rough sort of sweet bread topped with ice cream which was the only thing tasty about it. My family got the crème brule and said it was good. If you can, make a reservation. We did not and we had to sit outside and it was a bit crisp out.
NoGlu: This place lives up to the hype! It’s a tiny café that opens at 9am, where many open at 11am in Paris. I got a baguette sandwich which was good but not as satisfying as the gluten free éclair which was amazing! So very good. When I returned I got quiche, a regular and chocolate croissant, and some sort of chocolate tart. It was heaven. I took a sandwich and leftovers to-go so that I wouldn’t have to worry about some meals while touring Paris. What I also loved was meeting the other gluten free/celiac folks there. We all exchanged information on where to go, one person recommended Hip Paris for Italian Food. NoGlu is a 10 minute walk to the Musee Rodin (which has a cafe with fruit and wine that we celiacs can eat). It’s also about a 15 minute walk to the Musee de L’Oarangerie which i highly recommend visiting with the audio guide. On the way to the Orangerie we walked over the “love bridge” where lovers place locks on the bridge. Too cute!
Place De L’Opera: Right across the street from the Opera house and nice shopping is this little cafe. This was another walk in that I showed my french card for dietary needs. They directed to me a few items and I settled on the salmon which was quite good! The waitress spoke English and she confirmed the fries were cross contamination free. I love French fries! We didn’t make it into the Opera but we were able to watch some of the French singers outside, though they were mostly English songs.
Tasca: An all gluten free restaurant walking distance from the Eiffel Towel. Reservations might help but we were able to walk in. I had gluten free ravioli that was to die for! I tried some of my sisters pizza which was tasty and got an amazing gluten free tiramisu. Amazing!
Places I didn’t get to eat at but either researched ahead of time or heard of through word of mouth: As always, do your own research and ask your own questions.
Big Love: All pizza is gluten free!
Breizh Cafe: I really wanted to make it here for some gluten free crepes but sadly it didn’t happen.
Cafe Mareva: gluten free chicken and waffles.
Chambelland: A well known all gluten free cafe and bakery. So sad I didn’t get to make it!
Gallettes: Naturally gluten free.
Helmut Newcake: All locations were closed during the pandemic. On google it listed 1 as open, unfortunately when I tried to show up it was not there. Another shop said many people were looking for it. The Helmut Newcake website says coming soon so maybe that means they are coming back.
Hip Paris: Recommended by a celiac I met at NoGlu.
Kapunka: Totally gluten free with vegan options.
Le Arcane: Located in Montmarte and another Micheline star restaurant reported to be allergie friendly.
Le Florimond: A Michelin star restaurant with gluten free options (seen on social media somewhere).
Le Pont Traverse: When I was at NoGlu they gave me this business card. It’s a cafe that serves NoGlu’s gluten free products! This would be a great place for everyone to eat and is about 10 minutes away from NoGlu.
Le Scuderia Del Mulino: Gluten free pasta options.
LouLou: Celiac accommodating according to some Yelp reviews.
Madison Plume Bakery
Magou Saveurs: Apparently a gluten free cafe.
Yummy Guilt Free: 100% gluten free, great for gluten free waffles.
