<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
I traveled to Austria in fall 2013 and was delighted with the gluten free
options which were available. Each BnB provided gluten free bread when I
alerted them that I had Celiac Disease in advance. Breads were available in
stores as well. Restaurants always had an option to meet my needs. I ate a
lot of char (Atlantic salmon) and rosti (potato dish). They were both
yummy. I learned a simple phrase to inform waiters and waitresses. If they
didn't understand, I gave them a card explaining in German so they could
take
it to the kitchen. There were a few places that went out of their way to
provide authentic food prepared gluten free.
Italy markets have loads of gluten free options. Carry some with you. It
was a little harder in restaurants, but there were some that were perfect.
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I'm a student studying abroad in Bonn, Germany, and I am actually currently
in Vienna! I have celiac disease, so I was nervous about visiting Vienna
because I wasn't sure what the gluten free situation would be like here.
However, after just the first day here, I realized it is actually much
easier to find gluten free food here than it is in Bonn!
There are a few websites dedicated to eating gluten free in Vienna
specifically (haven't visited the other parts of Austria so I can't speak
for those; but I would think if you're in a big city, you should be fine).
I used this website:
http://www.glutenfreeinvienna.com/2015/06/23/gluten-free-restaurants-in-vienna/
Of that list, I've eaten at Pizzeria Scarabocchio, Blueorange, and
Bröselei. All three of these places have allergens clearly marked on their
menus and offer menus in English (everything may be in German here, but
most people speak pretty good English too). All three had good food, but I
absolutely loved Scarabocchio! I've eaten there twice in the last two days.
They have many different kinds of gf pasta, and even gf gnocchi! When I
went to Bröselei, I didn't see any crepes or paninis like the link says,
but maybe it depends on the time of day (I went in the early afternoon). In
any case, her pastries are amazing. She also asked me if I needed help
finding gf places to eat around Vienna, so she could probably offer you
some great advice!
Also, I use the app "Find Me GF" back home in the states. To my pleasant
surprise, it works in Vienna!
Pastries and desserts are HUGE in Austria. So when I got here, I was
resigned to not being able to take part in the festivities with my peers.
But if you know where to look (and there really are plenty of places), you
don't have to miss out at all. Hope this helped. Have a great time in
Europe!
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We ate at an organic burger place in Salzburg but buy GF stuff before you
go as the grocery store was not stocked with much GF stuff. Carrefour was
great, in general though.
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You may know that Europe in general is very much more Celiac-aware than the
U.S. Have not been to Austria in many years, but would worry a little
because the traditional cuisine is very gluten-y. However, if travelers can
manage well in Germany these days (& they do), then I'd guess the same
thing is true in Austria.
Italy is a dream. Leave it to the pasta-eaters to have come up w the best
gluten-free pasta out there: La Venetziana. Many restaurants, even v small
ones, have a gluten-free pasta, often that one, waiting for us in the
kitchen. Wonderfully, they usually know they need to cook it in
uncontaminated water. A great food culture & highly Celiac-aware. You will
find lots of solicitous service and great choices, especially away from the
mass-market tourist-centric places.
Food in Venice can be spotty. Lots is not so tasty, but the best is
wonderful. Choose w care.
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We have many reviews for the destinations you mention below on our website,
GlutenFreeTravelSite ( http://glutenfreetravelsite.com ). Simply go to our
Search/Mapping page ( http://glutenfreetravelsite.com/maps/map-locator.php )
and enter a town (i.e. Venice) into the Search Box. You'll get a list of
restaurants that have been reviewed. *Click on any restaurant to see it
highlighted on the map and to link to the user-submitted review. *
*You can also search more broadly, by country, on this page of our site: *
*https://glutenfreetravelsite.com/searchreviews.php*
<https://glutenfreetravelsite.com/searchreviews.php>
*We also have an APP -- free and available for either iPhone or Android --
called DINE GLUTEN FREE. It enables you to access the reviews and other
helpful information on our site when you're on-the-go. Here's a link to a
page on our site with more information: *
*http://glutenfreetravelsite.com/mobileresources.php*
<http://glutenfreetravelsite.com/mobileresources.php>
Please let me know if you have any questions. And please "pay it forward"
and share any other GF-friendly places you find -- where you live or
wherever you travel -- by submitting reviews to our site (
http://glutenfreetravelsite.com/submit.php ). It will benefit the thousands
of other people searching our site for guidance on safe GF dining.
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Here's a GF bakery in Vienna:
https://www.broeselei.at
I'd recommend printing out the gluten free explanation of celiac in German
and handing it to your waiter and asking for suggestions. It's not as
common to be gf over there, but restaurants tend to tAke it seriously when
you present a celiac card. (I lived in Germany and used to carry duplicates
because sometimes the kitchen forgot to give it back.) sausage and other
ingredient tend to have fewer fillers, so things are generally safer, but
spices sometimes contain them. Also, drug stores tend to carry a better gf
selection of items than grocery stores.
At least it's easy to say: Glutenfrei (glue-tayn-fry)
I live in Switzerland – it’s a pretty easy place to be GF. The fruit and
veg are delicious and you can get pre-cut salads in the groceries. In the
Coop and Migros groceries (the main chains) you can find ‘Free From,’
‘A-ha’ and Dr Schar’s products (be warned, you won’t find every product
in every store) – and most drogeries will have a wide range too. (A
drogerie is like a CVS without a pharmacy counter, and an Apoteke is a
pharmacy). Health food stores are called ‘Reformhaus’ – expensive but with
broad offerings. Here’s one website:
http://www.reformhaus.ch/content/standorte/basel/index_ger.html
Most food is restaurants is well-explained on the menu – few, if any,
hidden glutens. Tell the waiter you are ‘Zoliakie’ or need food ‘ohne
Gluten’ (pronounced oh-ne with a short e). You can bring a German GF card
too (I don’t use one).
Some, but not all, restaurants will have GF bread or pasta. And the
ubiquitous wursts you buy on the street are GF (just ask for them without
bread – ohne Brot). A classic northern Swiss food, Rosti, is a giant
hash-brown, and is GF -and you can get it topped with everything from egg
to cheese and ham.
A couple of restaurants to consider:
Tibits – in Basel, Zurich and Lucerne – vegan buffet with GF options
labeled - https://www.tibits.ch/
Bindella -owned restaurants -Italian with GF pasta. -
http://www.bindella.ch/ the one in Basel is called Latini, I eat there all
the time. Vienna is similar – I don’t know the supermarket chains as well
but have always been able to find cookies or crackers when I needed them.
And the classic meal ‘Tafelspitz’ is braised meat and veg – delicious,
simple and safe. Great hot chocolate, classic location (but not GF
pastries) at the Café Landsmann or Café Central near the Hofburg palace.
Visit the Celiac Web Page at Http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html
Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC
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