Paris Gluten Free

We have been lucky enough to travel to Paris Gluten Free twice - oh how we love the City of Lights!

Paris Restaurants Serving Gluten Free Food:

There is only one dedicated gluten free restaurant in Paris, Des si et des mets,and I would highly recommend that you not go there!  It was honestly one of the worse meals I have ever had, anywhere. 

With a dining card and friendly "bon jour" to the waiter, you can eat gluten free at almost any nicer restaurant in Paris.  Don't try to grab a gluten free baguette at the local corner bistro but Paris has so much wonderful food cooked naturally that you can eat very well here.  And there is always macaroons for dessert.

For a quick lunch, omelet’s and pomme frites (french fries) are good options and easy to find almost anywhere. They do not fry a lot of food so GF frites were pretty easy to find.

We did not eat at the all of the following, but I did extensive research before we traveled and came up with this list of options. I noted the ones we tried ourselves in the comments. You will not find gluten free pasta or bread, but you will find wonderfully delicious naturally gluten free food cooked to perfection.

• Brasserie Balzar 49 rue Ecoles; 01 43 54 13 67 We had lunch here.  The lunch crowd was a business attire crowd so you do not want to go casually. We had frites, eggs with mayo and salads. It was pretty close to the Latin Quarter.

• Breizh Café 109, rue Vieille du Temple 75003; 01 42 72 13 77 Did not make it here, they are reported to have gluten free pancakes! I sent them an email trying to confirm the rumor, but they did not respond.

• Cojean They had no idea what gluten was and spoke basically no English, but we figured out that the tomato soup and of course the salads were safe. One conveniently located behind the Louvre but remember the Louvre is huge so it can be a long walk.

 

• Gallopin – 40 Rue Notre Dame des Victoires 75002; 01 42 36 45 38 A charmingly French brasserie next to the Paris stock exchange. Beautiful atmosphere and we had a very lovely dinner here. I had a beautiful filet and the gluten free teen had the vegetarian option. 

• Jardin des Voluptes 10. rue de l’Echiquier 75010 : 01 48 24 38 68 Recommended by the gluten free grocer at Biospare.  Lonely Planet calls it "a cosy teahouse attached to a bona fide qigong (ch’i kung) centre, this health-oriented place would have no trouble fitting in in California. What’s surprising is how popular it is with Cartesian-esque Parisians (particularly local families), attracted by both the quality of the organic ingredients and the original cooking. Kids might shy away from the quinoa vegetable stir-fry, but other dishes (meatless chilli, salmon-and-leek gratin, dairy-free lemon meringue pie) can do no wrong. Sunday brunch is by reservation only."  Could not find a website for this restaurant so I would call first to confirm GF meals.

• La Bambou Vietnamese Restaurant 70, Rue Baudricourt, 75013;  01 45 70 91 75  Did not visit this ourselves but heard it is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in Paris and they can cater to the gluten free diet.  Because of it's popularity, it can be very crowded.

• Laduree There are several locations including a large Laduree on the Champs Elysses.  Our favorite is the smaller restaurant on 16, rue Royale - 75008 Paris.   This is our favorite place for lunch in Paris. 

How can you not love a place with so much charm, good food and wonderful macaroons. We had salads, omelets and frites for our meals and macaroons for dessert.  Pistachio was my favorite!  I received a letter from them stating that "we do not use flour in our macaroons; sometimes you can find ingredients such as corn starch in them. We don’t use any raw material containing gluten or peanut. However, as a precautionary measure, some of our providers specify on the ingredient technical delivery notice that the ingredient can contain traces of nuts, milk proteins, eggs proteins, gluten and peanuts.

This precaution is due to the fact that some ingredient containing gluten or peanuts are used in the same production unit.  Therefore, risks of contamination from one ingredient to the other are possible and should be considered, even if in this case it is a matter of traces." We ate them abundantly without any problem.

• MACÉO Restaurant 15 rue des Petits Champs 75001 Did not personally eat here but emailed them and received confirmation that "avoiding Gluten is not an issue at Macéo. Simply remember to inform the staff when ordering. Macéo offers a wider range of Gluten free options & has an excellent 'Green Menu' with a choice of some of the best vegetarian food in Paris".
  

• Pierre au Palais Royal 10 Rue de Richelieu 7500; 01 42 96 09 17  A more modern restaurant close to the Louvre. I was not too crazy about the décor, but we had a wonderful meal here as well.   I had the catch of the day and the gluten free teen had tomato soup.  Really delicious.

• The Reminet  3 rue des Grands-degrees, 5th; 01.44.07.04.24 Did not personally eat her, but heard they were willing to tailor just about anything on the menu to be gluten-free. Close to Notre Dome
  The meals range from Burgundy snails to deluxe comfort food like steak. 

• Saveurs Veget' Halles 41 rue des Bourdonnais 75001; 01 40 41 93 95  Vegetarian with gluten free items marked on the menu. 

• Willis Wine Bar13 Rue des Petits Champs, 75001 Did not personally eat here, but received confirmation that they can easily accommodate the gluten free diet if you just inform the server.  Also reported to have English speaking staff and a long polished Oak Bar, displaying over 250 different wines.

• Pierre Herme – Wonderful chocolate and macaroons.  I emailed them before we traveled and they have a few options that do not contain gluten:

Ispahan: A subtle combination of sweet rose cream flavored with litchi,whose taste extends those of rose and raspberry while establishing a contrast with its acidity and power. All of this goodness is contained in a tender, crisp macaroon shell.

Origine: Tender chocolate cake, light ganache made with Pure Origin Porcelana chocolate from Venezuela

Plénitude: Chocolate macaroon, dark chocolate chips with pure sea salt, bitter chocolate mousse, bitter chocolate ganache, crunchy caramel

 

NOTE:  Paris has on all gluten free restaurant - Des si et des mets. 

If it is still open when you visit, do not eat here.  Truly one of the worst restaurants we have ever eaten at.

Gluten Free Grocery Store:

BIOSPHÄRE- 57, rue Saint Maur 75011; 01 48 06 08 81  Reported to have a good selection "végétarienne & sans gluten."  Did not personally visit the store. 

A Picnic on Jardin des Tuileries:

One of our favorite dinners was a picnic at the Jardin des Tuileries. These are the wonderful gardens that reach from the Louvre up towards the Place de la Concorde. The Hotel packed us a nice salad that we complimented with our wonderful macaroons and some gourmet cheese. We relaxed with the rest of Paris as the sunset and the Eifel Tower came to life. What a moment!

Where to Stay:

The first time we traveled to Paris we stayed at th Hotel du Louvre which was absolutely wonderful. Great location as we loved being near the Jardin des Tuileries and very charming rooms with gold trim and period decor.  Looking for a place with a kitchen to prepare your own food, then i highly recommend Paris Perfect Apartments.  We rented an apartment through them on our second trip and it was fabulous.  Within blocks of the Eifel tour and so nice to have a kitchen to make coffee in the morning and for those nights when you have walked too many miles to go out to dinner!

French Gluten Free Restaurant Card:

Click on this link to Celiac Travel for a downloadable French dining card:

Je souffre d'une maladie qui s'appelle la maladie cœliaque et je dois suivre un régime absolument sans gluten.
Je suis susceptible de devenir gravement malade si je mange des aliments qui contiennent des farines ou des grains de blé, de siegle, d'orge ou d'avoine.
Cette nourriture contient-elle de la farine ou des grains de blé, de siegle, d'orge ou d'avoine? Si vous avez le moindre doute sur ce qu'il y a dans cette nourriture, dites-le-moi s'il vous plaît.
Je peux manger de la nourriture qui contient du riz, du mais, des pommes de terre, des légumes et fruits de toutes sortes, des œufs, du fromage, du lait, de la viande et du poisson, pourvu qu'ils n'aient pas été cuits avec de la farine de blé, de la pâte à frire, de la chapelure, ou une sauce contenant les aliments qui me sont interdits.
Je vous remercie de votre aide.

I have an illness called Celiac Disease and have to follow a strict gluten free diet.
I may therefore become very ill if I eat food containing flours or grains of wheat, rye, barley and oats.
Does this food contain flour or grains of wheat, rye, barley or oats? If you are at all uncertain about what the food contains, please tell me.
I can eat food containing rice, maize, potatoes, all kinds of vegetables and fruit, eggs, cheese, milk, meat and fish - as long as they are not cooked in wheat flour, batter, breadcrumbs or sauce.
Thank you for your help.