Gluten Free Guide to Bucharest

Looking for a gluten-free guide to Bucharest? Look no further, I created one just for celiacs. Before going to Romania, I did extensive research on Romania and where celiacs could eat. I connected with some locals who told me that they did have options, but it could be difficult. For the celiacs that are reading, I’ll be honest it was harder to find food in Bucharest at the restaurants. The larger Carrefours have gluten-free sections. I highly suggest you pick up some bread and snacks from there, or bring some with you, which is something we always do. We didn’t find one café with gluten-free options for a quick snack other than a drinkable yogurt. We also kept lunch meat on hand to make her sandwiches in the afternoon. Often times waiters didn’t seem to understand that it would make her sick if she ate gluten, I think due to lack of knowledge. Even if they do speak English, I suggest you hand them a gluten free card in Romanian, explaining that you can get very sick if you eat it. When you are traveling with a celiac patient it can be tough if they are sick, I hope my gluten-free guide to Bucharest helps you on your travels.

Gluten-Free Options

• Aubergine They have lots of gluten-free options, my daughter had falafels for a starter. For her main course she ate hummus with a cutlet. She really enjoyed it and didn’t have any issues. For picky kiddos you will be out of luck here.
• Blue Margarita This hands down was a fan favorite for all of us, but also the most expensive place at $75 USD. My husband and I both had two drinks and we shared two desserts between us, but that was pretty standard. My Minion had the nachos with shredded beef, she loved it. Totally not gluten-free, but the Mexican spicy chocolate molten cake and the churros are a must try!
• La Crimini My daughter ordered the lamb here and said it was pretty good, and she did not get sick. A word of caution, when we sat down we were told by the waitstaff they did not have gluten-free. We asked to speak to someone in charge, who assured us they did have gluten free, which is what we had read online. They were out of the one other meal that was GF, thankfully my daughter isn’t picky. The local wine here was really good.
• Caru’ Cu Bere This is a local place that I would recommend for the environment, the food was okay, but we loved the atmosphere. Our daughter ordered a pork dish with polenta, she had absolutely no issues. The pork was tough, but tasted fine.

Tread Carefully

• Bellini my little minion ate gluten-free carbonara; unfortunately, she woke up sick the next day, and was sure she had gluten in her food, I’m not 100% sure, but be aware there.
• The Beef Room we asked about gluten-free and they told me they had several options; however, after sitting down most of them were foods my kiddo wouldn’t like. She isn’t picky either, but basically it was a mushroom soup or eggplant. She ended up with a burger with no bun and a few veggies, she threw up the next morning though, so we also think she had gluten.

Non Gluten-Free Options

• Gregory’s Greek Deli & Coffee was my favorite place for quick cappuccinos and the dessert pastries were delicious. I loved the phyllo dough topped with Nutella. They sold pre-packaged Greek yogurt smoothies which were gluten-free.
• Second Cup also a good place for coffee and they did have gluten-free hot cocoa.
• Origo the perfect place for specialty coffee. They roast and brew it here. My kids loved the fresh squeezed juice which was gluten-free.
• Gyros Thessalonikis They never claimed to have anything gluten-free so we didn’t even try. The rest of us ate here and it was a good cheap meal.

If you are worried about accidentally ingesting gluten, I highly suggest a Nima Sensor. We don’t own one yet, but have looked into them quite often. We have read wonderful reviews about them!