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Eating Gluten Free in Seattle - by a Local

Seattle
Seattle. Courtesy of Tiffany Von Arnim

by Malinda Armstrong

I have lived all over the Seattle area my whole life. I have very severe reactions to gluten, I could probably be a test kit. I am also a nutritionist with a degree from Central Washington University in Nutrition Dietetics. I know some Celiacs who can get away with eating gluten free options at restaurants that also serve wheat but I would still get very sick and have a much stronger immune system only eating at home or certified gluten free places. No one in my home ever brings gluten into our house. So here is the list of places I highly recommend.

Flying Apron
Certified gluten free and vegan facility

Located in Redmond near the Redmond Town Center and Seattle near the Woodland Park Zoo.

Open seven days a week all day.

They serve things like: chocolate chip cookies, muffins, cake, bread, fresh made veggie juice, soups, lasagna, doughnuts, brownies, coffee (including mocha's and pumpkin spice lattes), tea, cinnamon rolls, etc.

Most of their food is so yummy and we go there all the time with our two picky eating kids who love it.

There are a couple foods I don't like there: cinnamon rolls are pretty dense but okay if they are heated. There "hot chocolate" is a joke. Its basically warmed milk with hardly any chocolate in it. Their scones are pretty solid and just plain awful.

Everything else here is wonderful and the staff is friendly. The service is a little slow but worth it.

Capitol Cider - Seattle
Certified gluten free pub and eatery.

They are famous for their gluten free apple ciders on tap. They serve food like fish n' chips (which are my favorite), burgers, roasted chicken, French onion soup, salads, etc.

They have wonderful service, and adorable restaurant with wonderful ambiance, clean, reasonable prices, and very pleasant date atmosphere. Friendly to children too. This is my husband and my favorite date night place to eat. The parking can be tricky as you have to find a side street but once you are there its great. They serve brunch, lunch, and dinner.

Ghost Fish Brewing Company
Certified gluten free facility/pub

They are kid and dog friendly. So dog friendly that last time I felt sick eating there (as I'm allergic to dogs and that time the owner was there and his huge dog kept wandering all over the restaurant). If dogs aren't a problem for you and you want another pub option in Seattle this place is great.

They have their own unique beers on tap and traditional pub fair. I did not like their fish n chips but their pizza and desserts are great. My husband just loved the grapefruit beer which is not sweet at all.

Sweet Cakes - Kirkland WA
Open seven days per week

Wonderful adorable bakery. They have many gluten free options but they alsoserve wheat items sitting right next to the gluten free ones. They make all their gluten free items first in the morning and then make their gluten filled items after. They also very thoroughly clean the kitchen. I do not recall ever having a reaction here but stopped eating here as I was too worried about it. We used to order all our birthday cakes here. So if you don't need to be paranoid like me this place is great.

No doughnuts here, but they have lots of cupcakes in many different seasonal flavors, cakes, and cookies.

Razzi's Pizza - DO NOT EAT HERE!

I do not know how they got a certified gluten free kitchen because they serve wheat, a lot of it too. They have separate kitchens - one for gluten free and one with gluten but my family and I got cross contaminated here so many times we finally gave up. I actually trusted them so much I kept thinking something else was wrong with me. Only until we stopped eating here did my migraines and nausea go away. Do not trust this place!

Grocery store options:
(great way to save money on lunches and have a pick nick).

PCC Natural Markets
Kirkland, Seattle, Bothell, Issaquah, Redmond, Edmonds...

Has tons of well priced gluten free packaged items like: pasta noodles (in fun different kid friendly shapes like sailboats), cookies, chocolate bars, cake and bread mixes, frozen pie crusts, chicken nuggets, lunch meat, muffins, slicing bread, Olivia's baguettes, energy bars, chips etc. Do NOT order from their deli though as they have gluten in there and do not change gloves in between serving different customers. They do not guarantee no cross contamination in their kitchen. So we only buy sealed, packaged, certified gluten free products like Applegate farms, Pamelas, etc. A great place to find things to make a pick nick lunch.

Trader Joes
They have stores everywhere!

Tons of wonderful snack foods that are gluten free at wonderful prices. Very popular place! Make sure what you buy says gluten free on it and does not mention "made on shared equipment" and you will be set. Always check labels as sometimes it changes. Our kids love getting so many things here from fruit leathers, pumpkin bread mixes, pumpkin pancake mixes, chips, juice boxes, cereals, JoJo's (gluten free equivalent of Oreo cookies), coconut ice cream, etc.

Janell's Gluten Free Market - Woodinville WA

Everything in this place is gluten free. I mean everything. We can even find graham crackers and animal crackers here. I love it!

Whole Foods Natural Markets "Whole Wallet"

Fun place to look around. If you want to spend a lot of money shop here. They do have a lot of specialty gluten free options you cant find other places. It's a beautiful place. I don't eat at the deli or salad bar as I suspect cross contamination is high.

Note: you can also find a few gluten free products at normal grocery stores like Safeway, FredMeyer, Target, and QFC. Prices can vary a lot.

I hope this helps!

If you want more places to eat at and want to visit the USA the best place to visit for gluten free is Portland Oregon. Lot's of different options! I hope Washington state ketches up with them soon.

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