Restaurant Guides and Safety Tips
Dining-out options for people with celiac disease and gluten intolerance have grown rapidly.
In the immediate Boston area, more than 50 restaurants offer GF menus or are "allergen-aware." There are many more restaurant options elsewhere in Massachusetts and New England.
Click the links below to find restaurants in Boston, Massachusetts and New England. If you need to find a GF restaurant elsewhere, three excellent guides are listed further down the page. And below that section is perhaps the most important information of all: reminders of what you need to do to make sure that your dining experience is safe and enjoyable.
Bon appetite!
GF Restaurants in Boston & New England
Click on the links under "Location" for a list of GF/allergen-aware restaurants in that geographic area.
| Location | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Massachusetts Multi-Location | This list includes restaurant chains that have outlets in Massachusetts. |
| Boston & Nearby | This list includes individually owned restaurants in the City of Boston and towns in the immediate vicinity, such as Cambridge. |
| Boston Suburbs & Beyond | Individually owned restaurants in most of the rest of Massachusetts, including Worcester and Springfield, but excepting Cape Cod. |
| Cape Cod | Individually owned restaurants on Cape Cod. |
| Rhode Island | Individually owned restaurants in Rhode Island. |
| New Hampshire | Individually owned restaurants in New Hampshire. |
| Connecticut | Individually owned restaurants Connecticut. |
Guides to Dining Out Elsewhere
| Dining Guide | Description |
|---|---|
| Gluten-Free Restaurant Guide | This guide comes in book form, and annotates each of the over 5,000 restaurants throughout all 50 U.S. states. |
| Gluten-Free Registry | A searchable, online database of over 16,400 restaurants, bakeries and other "gluten-free friendly businesses" throughout the U.S. |
| Gluten-Free Restaurant Awareness Program | An online searchable database of restaurants that participate in the restaurant-education program operated by the Gluten Intolerance Group. |
Important Tips on Dining Out Safely
| Gluten-Free Safety Tips | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Call ahead during an off-peak time and ask to speak to a chef/manager. | Calling ahead between meals gives you the opportunity to speak to knowledgeable individuals (i.e., chefs and/or managers) who may not be available to speak at length on the phone during a lunch or dinner rush. |
|
Tell them the following:
|
If the restaurant doesn't have a specific menu available for individuals with Celiac Disease, ask them to go over some menu choices with you which would be acceptable for your dietary needs. Tell the chef or manager to clean the portion of the grill where your food will be cooking especially well, or maybe they can cook yours in a separate pan. Sometimes they will make a notation in their books about your dietary needs and will send a manager to your table upon your arrival. On the rare occasion, even after going through all of the above precautions you still may feel as though your needs are not being taken seriously. If you are doubtful that your meal won't be safe, ask to speak to a chef or manager. If you still don't feel safe, finding another restaurant may be an option for you. |
| Specific Menu Cautions | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Tell them that you can't have any croutons on your salad. | If the salad is made beforehand with croutons, they can't just pick them off! Ask for a freshly made salad. Many salad dressings in restaurants are not GF. Instead, ask olive oil, vinegar (not flavored after the distillation process), and lemon slices. |
| Soups in restaurants are rarely gluten-free. | Even if a restaurant makes its own stock from scratch, there is still a strong possibility that they will add gluten containing seasoning packets for flavor. |
| If ordering meat, be aware that au jus almost always contains gluten. | When restaurants run out of natural cooking juices from meat they resort to canned stock or powdered mixes which may contain gluten. |
| Make sure the menu items you're ordering don't have flour added to them. | This can be an unexpected one in that flour can also be used as a fluffing agent. For example, scrambled eggs, omelets and mashed potatoes may have a flour containing batter added to them to make them more substantial. This isn't usually the case but it's always a good idea to check. |
| If you're ordering rice, keep it as plain as possible (plain steamed white or brown rice). | Seasoned rice or rice pilaf may contain gluten in one form or another, be it seasonings or vermicelli. |
| Fried potatoes can only be prepared in a dedicated fryer with their own oil and not coated with gluten containing ingredients in order for them to be safe. Mashed potatoes may be from a mix and not from fresh potatoes. | Also check to see if home fries are made from real potatoes and gluten-free seasonings on a gluten-free cooking surface. Check to see if the mashed potatoes are made fresh and from gluten-free ingredients. |
| Check to see if the restaurant warms up steamed vegetables in pasta water. | When pressed for time during a busy meal, restaurants have numerous time-saving techniques which can be dangerous for individuals with Celiac Disease. |
