I love sharing good food that happens to be gluten-free with the people I love. Having been diagnosed with celiac disease almost 10 years ago I know how hard it can be to adjust to a strict gluten-free diet.
This blog features easy, mainly healthy, no fuss gluten-free recipes and some fun places in Montreal to eat gluten-free.
Everyone needs a Gluten-Free Best Friend Forever.
Please share your comments!
The GF BFF 
I like your blog.
I am a celiac living in montreal for university. Any restaurant recommendations, I find it so difficult in the city, and am always embarrassed to be vocal about my needs. Awesome blog !
Thank you!
My old blog has some restaurants reviews http://krisgf.tumblr.com/ and I will be posting some soon.
A good place near McGill is Lola Rosa and near Concordia there is Crudessence and Burritoville. These are all veggie, but have gluten-free on their menu which makes it safer. Indian can be safe, but only if you speak to someone who knows what is in all the sauces. In the plateau Areperas on Duluth is great for gf Venezuelan Arepas.(sandwiches).
Good luck!
Thank you! Am looking forward to seeing some restaurant reviews. Definitely one of the hardest parts of having celiac disease.
Thank you so much for your restaurant articles. I’m visiting Montreal in July. I’m trying to figure out where I’m going to eat! 🙂
I will make sure to have a few more by then! I still haven’t posted a few of my favorite places. The best thing to do is call ahead and make sure a place knows what gluten-free is. I recently ate at two great places, L’Express on St-Denis and FBar in quartier des spectacles (call ahead and make reservations for both). Both were able to easily accommodate gf.
Montreal in July is amazing!
I’m so happy I found your blog Kris! Have you found a good gf poutine in Montreal?
Hi Julie,
thank you! The only one I found was a vegan poutine at Lola Rosa on Parc, it was different obviously but yummy. Make sure to specify it has to be gluten-free. I use a store bought gravy mix to make a homemade poutine when I randomly have a craving. It’s super easy to make a gravy with corn starch but most places in Montreal use flour.
Where do I shop for groceries in montreal?! I currently shop at the proviso on sherbrook and parc but have been having sever reactions from what I think is cross-contamination. Almost all of their produce sets me off as well as most of their meats. Do you know of any grocery stores that are safe?
There are no completely gluten free grocery stores as far as I know except Louis sans gluten in Dorval and she has gf products but no produce. It may be another food intolerance and make sure to avoid marinated meats and rotisserie chicken unless they 100 % confirm it’s gf. Well washed produce should be fine. Good luck!
How is there so much gluten free food in Montreal? I was so worried about finding places to eat and now I’m so excited 😀
I’ll be in Montreal for one week, are there any must eat places? I will be reading through your blog and taking notes, just wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything great. Thank you!
You always need to explain your allergy but Montreal is much better than it used to be. My favourites are Areperas and Pastaga. I also tried Majestique last night and they had a a few gluten free options!
I see a lot of places that you can get gluten free food but how safe is it for cross contamination.
It really depends. You have to speak to the server and it always helps to call in advance. In Montreal there are only a few 100 gluten free restaurants.
Well we noticed that some places say Gluten Free menu and when you ask questions you get the wrong answer. My Daughter has been diagnosed with celiac ‘s for 4 years now and I have it in my genes so I also eat gluten free. We find it hard going to places since we are always disappointed. We know that during rush hour we should not go but it seems a lot of places do not get the concept and think it is just a fade, Are they places that you are sure she will not have any problems because we basically go to ottavio’s.
Ottavios and crudessence are the best but crudessence is not too kid friendly. The marquis sans gluten is a bakery that has sandwiches and is 100 gf. Veganessa in beaconsfield is gluten free and vegan. Areperas is Venezuelan and 100% gf. Those are the best 100 gluten free bets. I will write you back if I think of more 100 percent gf options. Toque is expensive but very good with gf and also pastaga.
Thanks so much for this! It was very helpful for me when visiting Montreal and trying to find good GF food. I would love it even more if there was a way to search by map.
Thank you! I will look into putting my favourite places on a map. Glad to hear you had a good visit.
I’m a Montreal native and occasional GF blogger- this website is fantastic! What an excellent resource. I have placed a link to your site on my facebook page. Really superb. Keep up the great work!
Thank you Laura! I will check out your fb page.
Hi Kris, I enjoy your blog! I’m celiac and living on the West Island of Montreal. I’ve been preparing meals for friends with celiac for the last two years and have recently decided to offer my services to others. Many people don’t enjoy cooking, or don’t know how to cook gluten free. Let’s face it, GF prepared meals are incredibly expensive and offer little variety. Ordering from restaurants is both expensive and risky. For some, my service may be helpful. I would be honoured if you would like to try one of my meals. If you’re interested, you can contact me at sherry.helman@gmail.com and I’ll send you a menu. If you’re on VarageSale, you can see my ad in the West Island chapter. Hoping to hear from you soon!
Hi! I love your blog! I’m traveling to Montreal next week with my roommate who has celiac and your blog has been our travel guide! One question: I emailed Aux Vivres to make a reservation (and mentioned our dietary issues) and they said that cross contamination is common in all of their dishes and they can’t do anything about it. You say you feel safe there, so I feel torn. Should I be worried? I’ll do anything to keep my friend from getting sick! Thanks for your help!
Hi Ella,
That’s a tough question. I did feel safe there until they recently changed their menu to not list gf items and have been insisting that there could be contamination. Last time I was there my server assured me that the salads and bowls should be safe, as well as the smoothies, but it is really isn’t easy to say yes or no. I still eat there occasionally as as you can see from the list I recently posted there are very few 100% gluten-free restaurants in Montreal. I hope you and your friend have a great trip and get to enjoy all that Montreal has to offer! Lola Rosa is a another yummy vegetarian restaurant in the area with gluten-free options but there is also a risk of cross-contamination there.
Hi Kris,
I’m the founder of GlutenFreedom Toronto (glutenfreedomtoronto.com) and I love what you’re doing for Montreal what I am doing for Toronto! Planning a trip to MTL soon and would love to know your top 5 picks for a tourist and local alike!
Let me know. Feel free to email me at glutenfreedomTO@gmail.com if you’re ever in Toronto 🙂
Rachael
Hi Rachael,
Thanks so much! I only saw this now as I have been a little MIA. Hope you had a great visit to Montreal and keep me posted if I didn’t miss your trip and I can send you suggestions!
Kristen
What a great list – too bad I don’t live here anymore. I’ll have to share with my Brother…
My question: do you have a recommended Chinese restaurant? In Toronto, look up Riz. Gorgeous. Thanks.
Hi Anne,
I haven’t found any safe Chinese restaurants in Montreal yet but will post one if I do. Thanks for the recommendation in Toronto!
Hi Kris,
I just randomly stumbled upon your blog and I love it!
Very informative!
There is a new gluten-free, organic, and vegam beer available in Canada called Celia Lager. It tastes like a real lager and not like a gf alternative. It would be my pleasure to offer you some samples, have you try it, and have your review of it featured on your blog.
Let me know of this interests you.
Kind regard 🙂
Thank you. You can email me at krisoliver@gmail.com
Hi !! Thank you so much for your tips 🙂 It really helps ! I’m starting my gluten-free diet and all advice is welcome ! I was wondering how do you do in restaurants ? How do you proceed ? You ask for gluten-free options but how you can make sure that the waitress and the cook know what’s really gluten-free ? Because I realize that a lot of people working in restaurant don’t know what can contain gluten.. Like seasonings, soy sauce… or they don’t pay attention to cross-contamination and i’m not really at ease to insist about my intolerance…
Hi Roxannne,
Sorry for the late reply. I would recommend researching safe restaurants to start and also not being afraid to ask lots of questions. It also helps to eat at restaurants where most of the items are naturally gluten-free like some mexican and indian restaurants, and avoiding italian places that don’t accommodate gluten-free.