I recently travelled to Puebla Mexico for a wedding. Eating gluten-free is not easy in this area of Mexico if you do not speak Spanish. Even with my Spanish Gluten-Free card it was a challenge. I learned how to explain that I have celiac disease in Spanish but my pronunciation was terrible. In general I stuck with dishes I knew were made with corn tortillas and took a chance. I love to travel and choose to eat out and take my chances while I am discovering a new place. I am always as careful as I can be without stressing out too much about what I can’t control. It happened twice that I was brought dishes visibly containing wheat even after having the waiter read my spanish gluten-free card and specifying I needed to have my tacos on corn tortillas. One time I had them take it back and bring me something completely different on the menu (I was nervous they were going to remove the taco filling from the flour tortilla and place it on a corn tortilla). The second time, at a different restaurant, my boyfriend switched dishes with me as his dish was gluten-free. I made sure to bring snacks from home and picked up yogurt and extra snacks at the local store so I had something to eat in between meals.

All that to say travelling with celiac disease is hard, even when you speak the language. My tip is focus on all the amazing things you are experiencing and less on the annoyances of eating, like the amazing wedding we attended in nearby Atlixco. I did get a bit poisoned while we travelled but pushed through it like I always do. Having a travel partner who is understanding and supportive makes the process a whole lot better. I have been lucky to travel with some amazing GFBFFs over the last few years!

Here are the top 4 places we ate while we were in Puebla.

El Mural de los Poblanos

Chalupas!

This restaurant was delicious and the waiter really took the time to explain what could be made gluten-free despite there being a little bit of a language barrier. We really enjoyed our lunch here. This restaurant is on the more expensive side and I have mixed feelings about recommending it. We went for lunch and had a great experience but went back a few days later for dinner and were treated very poorly. This is an issue with the hostesses only I believe and could have been avoided if we had made a reservation.

Casareyna

I loved this restaurant! Everything was delicious and it is incredibly beautiful. I think this was our nicest meal while we were away. The only problem was our waiter didn’t understand gluten-free and I had to really double check everything I was eating (which was basically the case everywhere we went).

La Mexicana

Huevos Rancheros

We went here for breakfast as it was right near our hotel. I had huevos rancheros which is what I had almost everyday for breakfast as it seemed to be safe and is delicious. The atmosphere is really nice and you can eat your breakfast outside.

Azotea Rooftop Bar

This was a great spot for a drink overlooking the central square. It was a little expensive but a nice treat and they were able to make me a fresh salad with a few ingredients removed to make it gluten-free.