Where to eat gluten free in Paris? Don't get lost in the City of Lights with this essential guide

Bonjour!

So you wanna visit the City of Lights and are wandering whether you'll be able to keep up with your celiac diet and to which places you could go?

Fear not, having being myself in Paris recently, I am more than happy to share with you those places I went to. Here it is my essential guide for gluten free dining around Paris, enjoy and bon appetit!

While this was not my first visit to Paris, it was the first time I had to rely on eating out everyday as coeliac, and yes, having to check out places where to eat gluten free in such a big city can be a bit stressful considering how big the city is.

For this reason, this time I had to do some prior research, and frankly, I was surprised to find out that there were more gluten free restaurants than expected, considering that France is not as gluten free friendly as some other places.

This is a Express Guide based on my experience of this short but intense trip. There are of course many more places, but these ones featured here are those I had the chance to eat in. I hope that you enjoy it and that it would be useful for your next adventure in Paris!

I would like to give a shout-out to Kathleen from Gluten Free Family Travel and Soraya from Gluten Free in Paris for their help and good suggestions on how to navigate through Paris coeliac life. 

The restaurants

Tugalik Cafe.

Located nearby to the Luxembourg gardens, Tugalik Cafe is a gluten-free and vegetarian restaurant.
 
You can order single dishes or make it a menu  by adding a fresh-made juice at a convenient price. Here I'm having some chicken with peas, broccoli and a ratatouille kind-of-sauce. I ordered the "menu" option, so I also got the fresh-made juice to go with the meal.

Fresh made juice with chicken & veggies

There are two floors, but the venue is somewhat small. However, as it wasn't crowded by the time I got there, I was able to take my meal out to the terrace and enjoy the food under the lovely Parisian sun.

Maybe due to the time of arrival to the restaurant, the food was a bit cold, so it was heated on the microwave prior to be served. I appreciate being able to eat my meal warm instead of it being cold, but you can always tell the difference when something has been heated on the microwave even at home.
 
Other than that, I liked the food and found the location to be very conveniently close to the Luxembourg gardens.

Luxembourg Garden

Note: at my time there, there were fish and chicken available, which I think is a nice gesture in case you are not vegetarian.

Additional info: The staff was very nice and spoke English.  Free WiFi was available

There are several locations. I attended the one in the 5éme. This location seems now to be permanently closed.

Tugalik Cafe

4 Rue Toullier, 75005 Paris| Métro Saint-Placide, Métro Vaneau

My Free Kitchen.

Located in the 9ème, on the right bank across the Seine, My Free Kitchen is a very charmant restaurant offering 100% bio, gluten-free and lactose-free food.

You can order different options like quiche, soup, salad and plat du jour  (dish of the day) for under 10€. You can order them individually or make a special combination (lunchtime) called La Formule Healthy and La Formule Gourmande. The first one consists on an entrée (your choice among cake, quiche or soup) plus a big salad or soup for 10,90€. The second one also consist on an entrée plus the plat du jour for 12,90€.  If you feel fancy, don't miss out the glass of bio wine for 5€.

I ordered La Formule Gourmande, consisting on a entrée (being a cake, quiche, salad or soup)  + the plat du jour for 12,90€. I chose the aubergine quiche with the plat du jour : quinoa risotto with carots, mushrooms and soy sauce.

The quinoa risotto:

The aubergine quiche:

I’m always down for dessert, so I couldn’t leave without trying it. As I was craving for something sweet, I couldn’t say no to this muffin aux 3 chocolats (3 chocolates muffin).

Just look how crunchy and fluffy and sweet and wonderful it looks like. And trust me, the taste was even better than what it looks like. It was delicious!

The staff was really nice and helpful, and it turned out that the owner herself is celiac, which made me feel at ease. I don't know if this happens to you as well, but when I find out that the chef or owner of a certain restaurant is also celiac, I feel relief because I know that they are aware of all what it means eating gluten free (like the importance of avoiding cross-contamination for example). After all, we never know what happens inside the kitchen of a restaurant, and we can only hope for the best.

The premises are rather small, but I arrived at a time when everything was quiet and had plenty of space to enjoy the food and chill out after being all day out and about in Paris.

Additional info: They spoke English as well and free WiFi was available

My Free Kitchen

1 Bis Rue Bleue, 75009 Paris, Francia | Métro Poissonnière

Chambelland.

I had heard wonderful things about Chambelland bakery (French: boulangerie) and it might live true to its name, because when I got there, pretty much everything was gone! So sad to arrive so late, but at least I was able to get a piece of lemon cake.

This bakery offers a big variety on gluten-free breads, as well as sweet (sucré) and salty (salé) snacks options such as cheesecakes, brownies, muffins, cookies and sandwiches.

I took the lemon cake piece away with me and we both went on tour through the city, stopping at the Jardin des Tuileries. What a peaceful moment, stepping in the beauty of the garden and enjoying this soft and spongy lemon cake.

Tuileries Garden

Chambelland

14 Rue Ternaux, 75011 Paris | Métro Parmentier; Métro Oberkampf

Biosphére Cafè.

I couldn’t leave Paris without trying crêpes , so I head to Biosphére Cafè, a famous gluten-free  and organic bakery (pâtisserie) and crêperie. Let me repeat it: all the food is gluten-free, from the pastry to the bread and crepes. A gluten-free heaven!
 
Located in the 8th arrondissement, in the heart of Paris, it also offers some lactose-free options.

Breton galette, made from buckwheat flour.

If you noticed the façade, it is advertised as Creperie Bretonne. And what is that, you may ask, and what would be the difference with a non-bretonne creperie?  Well, crepes are normally made from regular flour, which is a big no for coeliac. However, in the French region of Brittany, they have this speciality called Breton galette and what it makes it so special is that is made from buckwheat flour, which is naturally gluten-free, so we could say that it is coeliac approved.

I ordered the galette called La Protéinée, consisting on egg and ham. It was really yummy and the perfect end for a long day.

 What about dessert? Sadly (and again), pretty much all the sweets were gone (I’m really thinking on doing an early morning tour around French bakeries so I can get to taste all the products), but luckily, there were still macaroons left. I know that there are very famous places in Paris to order macaroons from, but cross-contamination is not guaranteed. I really enjoyed these ones from Biosphére, and with the peace of mind that they are 100% gluten-free (and there are some lactose-free options as well).

If macaroons are the dessert par excellence of a Paris trip, the Eiffel Tower is the quintessential monument. What happens when you combine them both? A win-win situation.

Eiffel Tower & macaroons: Oh lá lá!

Additional info: The customer service was really good, but I would suggest to go with enough time to enjoy the experience. The venue is really small, so I strongly recommend booking in advance. I saw that some people ordered to take away, so that can be an option in case it’s fully booked.

Biosphére Cafè

47 Rue de Laborde, 75008 Paris | Métro Saint- Augustin

EXKi.

This was quite an unexpected finding. I was at the airport waiting for my flight and wandering whether I would be able to get some gluten free food prior to embarking when I came across this restaurant. EXKi is a Belgian food chain delivering natural, fresh and healthy fast food.

I really liked the fact that allergens were clearly pointed out and that there were many gluten free options among the variety of soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts offered.

Soup of the day

There's a menu option, and also each item can be bought separately. I opted for the  carrot soup and a bakara salad. I wasn’t ready to leave Paris, it was nice to enjoy some comfort food to comfort me (pun intended ;) ).

EXKi

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport | RER Aéroport Charles de Gaulle

Helmut Newcake.

I was told wonders about Helmut Newcake, a 100% gluten-free bakery, and was highly recommended to try their macaroons.  The problem was that, apparently, macaroons have to be ordered with at least 5 days in advance (or so I was told at the bakery), so sadly I couldn’t get any macaroons here.

Mouth-watering gluten-free pastries

My sweet tooth was fully satisfied for the day, but the pastries looked very appetizing, I wish I have had room left for all of them!

Helmut Newcake

36 Rue Bichat, 75010 Paris | Métro Goncourt

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Paris additional info

The districts or arrondissement

The city of Paris is divided in 20 arrondissement (meaning district or quarter), and each one is identified by the (last) number of the zip code. For example, the zip code 75007 refers to the 7th arrondissement, also called 7ème. By the way, that's where you will find the Eiffel Tower ;)

Being Paris such a big city, I personally found it useful knowing in which district the restaurants were located; it helped planning the visit and deciding what to do and see everyday, there’s so much to be seen in Paris!

The mètro

Inaugurated as early as in 1900, Paris mètro is the easiest and quickest way to move around Paris. It is very efficient and there are 16 lines connecting all the city, each one represented with a different colour. You can find more information at the official webpage.

You would most likely use the metro very often as, again, distances are big in Paris! (What I thought that would be a pleasent walk of just couple minutes from Jardins des Tuileries to Notre-Dame Cathredal, turned out to be longer that expect. Quite a pleasent walk indeed, but luckily I was not in a hurry). For this reason, besides the address of the restaurants,  I also included the closest mètro stop, so you know to which stop head to when navigating the big mètro lines.

Paris metro

While on the street, the stops can be signalized as Métro, Métropolitain or simply by the letter M

The RER (Résau Express Régional) are regional trains that also operate in downtown Paris.

Oh, and don't forget to look for the blue Sortie sign, that's the french word for Exit.

Bonus: Excited about the public transportation in Paris? Check out this Gluten free metro map by Paris to Go, really handy!

Eating out & Sans Gluten

First things first: parlez-vous français? (Meaning “do you speak French?”).  Knowing the local language always helps, for sure, but there’s no need to stress too much about it if you don’t.  At most places where I’ve been to, the staff spoke English.
 
In case you want to try to speak some French, these are the basic keywords for the coeliac traveller:
Sans gluten is the word for gluten free. You can also say Je suis celiaque, for I am coeliac, and contamination croisée is the word you are looking for if you are concerned about cross contamination.
 
Regarding the food scenery, it seemed to me that most of the gluten free restaurants are also vegetarian; take that in consideration in case that you are not vegetarion and so you know what to expect.
 
I would also suggest to double check the restaurants and stores opening times; there is nothing as frustrating as arriving to the designated location after a full day strolling around the city, and finding out that it’s closed; even more when you are coeliac and can’t just do a walk in to any “other” restaurant. From my experience, some places might be closed on weekends; some others close as early as 6pm (no time for dinner). It always come in handy knowing the opening times to schedule your day around Paris; remember, it’s a big city and moving around takes time, moreover when you are impressed by the beauty of the city and can’t stop admiring it and taking pictures at the same time ;)

Lastly, but not least, my personal to go tip: always double check with the staff as things can change with time.

Bonus: Kathleen, from Gluten Free Family Travel has a list of many gluten free restaurants and cafes, and bakeries and shops on her site, check it out. Erin, from Gluten-Free Globetrotter has racked up these Paris top travel tips.

Now tell me, have you ever been to Paris? I’d love to hear your experience there! And if not, let me know if this guide was helpful and if you are looking forward to visit now ;)

Glutenacious Life attended these places at own cost and choice.

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