Gluten free Rome

[brians]

Hello,

I recently got diagnosed with Celiac disease and I'm off to Rome in a few weeks. I gather Rome is generally easy to find gluten free food but if anyone has any particular recommendations it would be great to hear. Also one thing I have been missing most since diagnosis is beer and I was wondering if anyone know any great pubs that serves gluten free beer there, particularly on tap. I know Brewdog serves beer on tap and also Mangiafuoco but if anyones knows of anywhere else it would be great to know!

While we're at it if anyone knows where else can get gluten free beer ON TAP in London that would also be great to know!

Cheers!

[Gemini]

  On 3/22/2018 at 2:28 PM, brians said:

Hello,

I recently got diagnosed with Celiac disease and I'm off to Rome in a few weeks. I gather Rome is generally easy to find gluten free food but if anyone has any particular recommendations it would be great to hear. Also one thing I have been missing most since diagnosis is beer and I was wondering if anyone know any great pubs that serves gluten free beer there, particularly on tap. I know Brewdog serves beer on tap and also Mangiafuoco but if anyones knows of anywhere else it would be great to know!

While we're at it if anyone knows where else can get gluten free beer ON TAP in London that would also be great to know!

Cheers!

Expand Quote  

I am sorry I cannot help you with beer on tap, Brian as I don't drink it, but don't sweat Rome.  Every celiac I ever knew who went there came back glowing about the food and how easy it is to find.  I import some items from Italy myself because their gluten-free foods are fabulous.  Like Ireland and London, everyone knows what Celiac is and are willing to accommodate.  I hope to go to Rome myself in the not too distant future.

London is another story.  I have been many times and can give you recommendations for good places to eat.

https://londonist.com/2015/01/london-pubs-that-serve-gluten-free-beer  One of the places listed on this site is the Truscott Arms Pub.  My husband and I ate there on a previous trip not too long ago and they have great gluten-free fish and chips.  It is in a suburb of London but it's a short tube ride away...we found it without too much difficulty. But there are a few places with beer on tap!

[lyfan]

mBrian-

 I enjoyed my last Guinness maybe 15 years ago, and in the meantime I have probably stumbled across and tried almost every gluten free "Beer, sort of" brew in the US. There are a few rarities that I've heard of (one in New Zealand brewed from chestnuts!) but not actually met. But I've never even HEARD OF a gluten free beer on tap. Expect that you won't, either. You may find some sorghum beer or "gluten reduced" products in some bars and restaurants, but they are at best "Beer?" and not beer. Not Harp, not Sam Adams, not Heineken...No, expect that you can find gluten-free food, but plan on packing your choice of gluten-free protein bars or protein shakes or other "dog food" for those days and times when you can't really trust what might be served, and really would prefer to simply not be sick all of the next day.

 A lot of good gluten-free products are made in Italy, so they do exist there. But gluten-free in restaurants is less common, and harder to be sure of. A safe food like rice noodles ay sound good--but the front staff don't realize they're usually cooked in the same gluten-infested water as the regular noodles. Ooops. That's when the dog food is the way to go. Just wave at the Guinness and sigh.

[brendygirl]

My favorite restaurant in Rome was next to Piazza de Poppolo called Il Porto di Ripetta- amazing gluten-free spaghetti with tomato sauce and bacon and a chocolate soufflé! Went there 3 x. 

Lots of gluten-free beer, like Peroni. Grom is a 100% gluten-free gelato chain with waffle cones and everything. The McDonalds (separately packaged/prepared) gluten-free cheeseburger was amazing! It has a Schar bun. 

“Senze glutine” is gluten-free in Italian.

[Talenyn]

You should check out Mama Eat!  There are two in the city.  Mama Eat Roma is a full restaurant where everything can be made gluten free, it's around the corner from the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere (a beautiful Late Antique church that is also worth a visit).  Mama Eat Street Food is a small shop a few blocks from the Vatican that makes gluten free versions of street food from around Italy.

You should also stop by Pandali bakery for a light lunch and baked goods.  It's just down the street from the Pantheon and everything is gluten free!

Pizza in Trevi, around the corner from the Trevi fountain, has a good sourdough-type crust (if you get tired of the thin crust everywhere else in the city) but is a bit more expensive and very crowded.

If you're going to be in the city for longer than a week, grocery stores like Doc, Coop, and NaturaSì have gluten free bread, pasta, crackers, etc.