Restaurants

Where to Find Gluten-Free Restaurants in BC

The best restaurants, bakeries and more for gluten-free BCers

By Catherine Dunwoody /

For people with Celiac Disease or with gluten sensitivities, the safe pickings out there can seem slim. Here, we offer a well-researched list created by BC Celiac Association Board Director Catherine Dunwoody. Read on to discover gluten-free places to enjoy across BC.

14 Restaurants and Bakeries with Gluten-Free Menus

The Art of Slow Food

The Art of Slow Food  is an exclusively gluten-free artisan bakery and café in the alley behind the Victoria public market. Pizza for vegans or carnivores is on hand (plus hard-to-find GF items like sausage rolls) and for lunch, they had me at kimchi grilled cheese.

Delish Gluten Free Bakery

Delish Gluten Free Bakery in Port Coquitlam is the type of gluten-friendly place people travel for. I love the spinach and feta scones, party-perfect colourful donuts, savoury focaccia, red velvet cookies and so much more.

The Polly Fox Bakery & Bistro

In Abbotsford, The Polly Fox Bakery & Bistro  steers away from gluten, peanuts and sesame. Plus, it offers loads of vegan and dairy-free options. Bakery faves like vegan apple fritters and a cashew bar made with coconut milk dulce de leche are delicious, and lunchtime musts like BLTs are available. Grab some ciabatta, baguettes and other breads to take home, too.

Iki Japanese

Iki Japanese is a small, unassuming restaurant in Kitsilano that is 100% gluten-free and wildly popular. Imagine the freedom of choosing from a menu where you can order anything without having to have ‘the talk’ with the server. Expect your sushi favourites and interesting rolls, plus gyoza, teriyaki, tempura, noodles—all the dishes we GF-eaters miss dearly when eating Japanese.

Festal Café

Festal Café in Squamish is a 100% gluten-free café and restaurant that carries vegan and keto options, too. Try the GF waffle benny for breakfast, a beef brisket dip for lunch, or butternut lasagna for a comfort-food dinner.

Black House Bakery

Black House Bakery in Prince George is a dedicated gluten-free bakery that doesn’t have a storefront, but you can find their goods at cafes and stores all over town. I love the hard-to-find old fashioned lemon loaf, whoopie pies and cream puffs. Custom cakes can be ordered with a week’s advanced notice.

The Fish Counter

With locations on Commercial Drive and Main Street in Vancouver, and in North Vancouver’s Edgemont Village, The Fish Counter has dedicated fryers for their fish and chips with a delicious GF batter that’ll have you remembering how comforting this Westcoast meal really is. The Fish Counter uses only Oceanwise sustainable seafood, too.

Crumbs and Roses

Kelowna’s Crumbs and Roses not only has the best name for a bakery, but the fact that everything is GF makes shopping here so much fun. I’ll have a pizza bun, a fruit galette, some snickerdoodles and—oh, a pot pie please, to go.

Bare Bones Fish House & Smokery

Port Alberni’s Bare Bones Fish House & Smokery is 100% GF and offers fish and chips, tacos and healthy bowls.

Wild Poppy Market

Wild Poppy Market in Ladysmith offers GF grab-n-go meals, lovely baked goods like lemon meringue pie and grilled paninis for lunch.

The Barley Merchant

The Barley Merchant in Langley has a somewhat scary name for Celiac people (since barley contains gluten) but don’t let that steer you away. They have a complete GF menu plus a GF draft on tap, so burger ‘n beer night doesn’t mean we get left out. Have the Dirty Bird, a buttermilk-brined, breaded chicken burger with pickles, greens and spicy aioli. And yes, with fries, all safe.

The Tannenbaum

The Tannenbaum in New Westminster whips up authentic German fare, and the owner is very dialed-in about safe gluten-free dining. Have the crunchy breaded schnitzel or bratwurst, because you can.

Juke Fried Chicken

Juke Fried Chicken in Vancouver’s Chinatown is coveted for its crunchy GF batter that is so satisfying in their chicken (bites, burgers and pieces).

Gluten Free Epicurean

Gluten Free Epicurean may well have the best breads in Vancouver. Witness the Seeded Danish ‘Rye’ shown, a true thing of beauty.