Rome - The tasty and safe gluten free guide

Set in the famous area of Trastevere – this restaurant’s whole menu can be made gluten free in their 100% gluten free kitchen. The selection varies from street food to authentic Italian dishes worth trying. I visited this place more than once as their menu is so extensive that you wish you could order and taste everything! Their pizza hands dough is the best pizza I have ever eaten in my whole life. 

TIP: Try the ‘Italian Fry’ option which includes different appetizers. Their Pistachio Tiramisu is divine too!

This bakery is located 7 minutes walk from the Vatican and offers gluten free sweet and savoury options: my favourite were the croissants. We visited the place for breakfast which eventually turned into lunch as we realised that they offered freshly baking pizzas. Although the food is what matters the most, traditional practices (like those in other Italian bakeries which serve pizza by weight) make you feel more included. Would you agree?

This gelateria is only 1 minute walk from the Pantheon. To be honest with you, the first time I entered the shop I asked the waitress three times whether she was sure that all of the cones and ice cream were gluten free. I was so surpirse: as coeliac I am normally used to the single-packaged cones that are stored in a corner somewhere in a gelateria. Not this time. Here, there are no gluten-containing cones and everyone’s being served gluten free ones!  Simple pleasures in life!

Close to the Vatican City, there is the family run restaurant with history that dates back to year 1908. Can you imagine the passion and knowledge they are putting into every single dish? As presumed, here you can find the most typical Roman dishes – all gluten free! I was drawn to try out their homemade pasta – how can you not? They also offer a wide range of appetizers, pizzas, meat and much more! Their gluten free food is marked with a ‘gluten free’ flag as they also serve gluten containing dishes from a separate kitchen.

This is also a 100% gluten free gelateria, close by the world famous Trevi Fountain. This gelateria not only offers a wide range of 100% gluten free cones and ice-creams but it also serves 100% gluten free crepes! This place does not serve anything containing gluten so you don’t have to worry about cross-contamination or whether the crepe plate was well cleaned from gluten.

Once again, this is a 100% gluten free eatery that does not serve any gluten containing dishes– so yes, you’re safe! This is the perfect go-to-place if you work remotely or if you’re a book worm. Among others they serve freshly baked cakes, cookies and focaccia. During lunch they offer specialities filled with greens and healthy foods. In fact, it was a nice break from all the carbs eaten during this trip. The menu is not fixed but changes according to the seasons – and that is something I love. Worth a try if you’re on a longer trip in Rome.

This place, as the name suggests, is a salumeria serving loads of different kinds of cured meat and different kinds of cheese along with a wide selection of wines since year 1540. Be careful and always double check as this place is not a 100% gluten free eatery since it serves regular gluten containing bread. On the back of the shop, you may find a very small counter and only 5 small tables: here you can choose any cured meat you like along with your favourite cheese and pair it with a glass of your favourite wine. Alternatively, you may order a mixed platter and it is up to the staff which cuts and tastes to select. This is what I did and I loved it!

When you are in Italy, and especially when you are in Rome, you cannot miss out on any pizza! If your stomach fits, try them all!

This is a special restaurant too. Although the location and the setting of the restaurant is not my favourite, their 100% gluten free menu is definitely worth trying. At night I obviously tried out their pizza – which I loved, and I also tasted their traditional parmigiana. This restaurant offers also gluten free beer which I have never tasted before, so that was also a plus.

This is one of a chain risotteria around the world. In fact, they also have one restaurant in New York City. Although this restaurant, contrary to the others is not accredited by AIC, this is a 100% gluten free restaurant since all dishes are based on one natural gluten free ingredient – RICE. Even the bread and all the desserts are made of rice. In fact, most of the menu includes risotto that include different sauces, meat and veggies. Additionally, they have a selection of arancini and many other options. Here I also managed to find the gluten free artisanal beer made by the same company, and of course, made from rice!

Compared to other options in my list of suggestions, this perhaps is the fanciest of them all. The restaurant is close to Castel St. Angelo, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Although this is not a 100% gluten free restaurant, the whole menu can be made gluten free. They also have various gluten free beers. This food concept is very different from the other Italian restaurants that I have visited before. The menu is mainly based on different types of meat balls, served with different sauces. For example, when I visited, we ordered Carbonara pork meat balls and chicken meatballs with citrus sauce. Moreover, they also have this cool concept of bread filled with meat balls or topped pizza, which is different than the regular pizza we are used to.

If you think that I have already mentioned all gluten free bakeries around Rome, you are wrong. Here is another 100% gluten free bakery in the centre of Rome. I visited the bakery only on my last day in the city, and I wish I had come there before. The selection of sweet and savoury snacks is so extensive that you will be confused on what to choose. They serve typical Italian pizzas by weight too. I highly recommend it.

I visited this restaurant for my last lunch in Rome. Set right in the middle of Campo Dei Fiori, the restaurant’s almost whole menu can be done gluten free. Once I have informed the staff that I  would require gluten free food, they also went out of their way to change our cutlery and glasses, to make sure that no cross-contamination had taken place in the process – now that’s what I call seriousness. My favourite option was the gluten free spaghetti with truffle! This again is the place you do not want to miss. PS. Their tiramisu was amazing too!