Gluten-Free Slovenia

I'll start by saying that Slovenia is an absolutely amazing place to visit, and luckily for Coeliacs I also found it much better at catering for the gluten-free diet than I was expecting - I had some really fantastic food here.

LJUBLJANA

Eating establishments and bars with outdoor dining line the Ljubljanica River in the centre of this small city, and although when presenting my Slovenian restaurant card I found that not all were able to cater for me, we managed to discover some excellent places where I could eat.

Ljubljanica River

Pizzeria Trta

Pizzeria Trta taken from a boat tour on the Ljubljanica

Located just outside the bustling city centre (no more than a five minute walk) this pizzeria clearly lists the availability of gluten-free pizza bases on the menu:

 

My tuna and tomato pizza 'brez glutena'

I really couldn't fault Pizzeria Trta on either service or on quality of food - the waiter repeated that it was a gluten-free pizza when serving my food which is always reassuring and he also informed me that it had been cooked separately to reduce cross-contamination risks which is of course always the bane of a Coeliac's life when trying to eat out. The pizza itself was very tasty with a nice crisp base and variety of topping options available.

Zlata Ribica

Situated right in the centre of town and with a pleasant outdoor seating area, we had an excellent dining experience at Zlata Ribica. Although not familiar with catering for Coeliacs, the waiter responded positively when I showed him my restaurant card before we sat down which was a nice surprise as I often found people would look at it rather bemusedly. Buoyed by this promising start, we were not to be disappointed and gluteny and non-gluteny members of our party alike enjoyed the meal. A huge TV showing the France/Germany World Cup Quarter Final was also appreciated!
The waiter showed my restaurant card to the chef and then explained clearly what would be appropriate off the menu. I had pork and potatoes which were all well-cooked - my main criticism would be that there wasn't a sauce available but the waiter brought me some olive oil which went well. At the end we even got a free drink of blueberry liquor!

Cokoladnica Cukrcek

This aaaaaaaamazing chocolate shop completely prevented any jealousy occurring when other members of the party opted for an ice cream as I was able to devour a bag of divine dark truffles!

The assistant was able to look up which truffles were gluten-free (a decent range!) and other wrapped products such as bars were clearly labelled as gluten-free in English. There was also a diabetic range available.


Gluten-Free Raw Ice-Cakes

Unfortunately I didn't try these myself but look out for the sign below displayed in restaurants - they seem to be a Slovenian brand as I saw them offered in Lake Bled too. They are made with entirely natural products.

 

The Market

The market offers a huge range of different fresh products such as fruit, vegetables, fruit smoothies and cheeses.

Ljubljana Castle

The castle is a really great place to visit, but if you were hoping to grab lunch here it is probably best to make alternative arrangements as there isn't really anything suitable for Coeliacs on the menu. It was a nice place to grab a drink though with a variety of coffees, teas and juices on offer.

LAKE BLED

 Hostel Vila Viktorija

Our hostel offered cheap breakfasts (I think it was roughly 2.50 euros), one of which was able to be made gluten-free! It was supposed to have granola on it but I explained my requirements and they made me this 'Healthy Breakfast Pot' (strawberries, apple, Greek yoghurt, honey) which was really delicious:

Healthy Breakfast Pot by Hostel Vila Viktorija

 

Gostilna Planincu (pizzeria)

This place was absolutely amazing and one of my favourite meals of the whole trip! The pizza was genuinely the best pizza I have ever had even taking all gluteny ones into consideration pre-diagnosis. The pizzeria is quirkily decorated with motorbikes on the ceiling and so it is a really interesting place in which to sit and eat.
The chef prepares all the pizzas in front of you in a woodfired oven. I could see him washing his utensils and putting my pizza on a clean tray before cooking it to avoid contamination from the oven. I would thoroughly recommend this for a delicious and safe meal - ten out of ten!

Motorbikes in Gostilna Planincu pizzeria

 



                                                     My amaaaazing four cheese pizza

 

Villa Preseren 

 Although this was a lovely lake-side bar/eaterie I would issue a word of warning here - it was an excellent place just for a drink but they offered NO FOOD at all really for Coeliacs and were not particularly friendly about telling me so. There is a huge range of lovely cakes for gluteny people, but if you want to go here with your Coeliac partner or family member I wouldn't really recommend it as they will only be left disappointed as they are left with only lettuce in comparison to your chocolate torte or fruit strudel.
I did enjoy the delicious strawberries and cream they provided, but I was left feeling ripped off as I was charged full price for a sundae of which I had not been able to have half of the ingredients. My attempts to negotiate did not go down well so overall this establishment didn't really have a positive approach to dietary requirements.

Gluten-Free Zagreb, Croatia

Nishta

The first place we ate in Zagreb was a café called Nishta. Nishta is a speciality dietary restaurant and offers a huge range of clearly labelled gluten-free options at affordable prices (along with vegetarian and vegan options too). They also have an establishment in Dubrovnik.

Nishta had a really nice atmosphere and staff seemed knowledgeable about the various dishes on offer.


Nishta Salad Bar

You could select from an expansive menu of soups, curries, Nachos, gnocchi, salads, fishcakes, gluten free rice noodles and other creative dishes. On request desserts could also be adapted to be gluten free.



Gluten free nachos with salsa, cheese and sour cream along with homemade lemonade

 Agava

We ate here for an evening meal - it was in an excellent central location and we sat on a nice outdoor table overlooking the street below.

I shared a starter plate of local cheeses and smoked meats and then I had a roasted breast of duck with fresh vegetables (or 'ratatouille' at the Croatians seemed to call  it).



Starter Platter

 

Duck Breast

 

 



 All the food was fresh, simple, tasty and excellently prepared and the waiter basically introduced you to your food as he pointed and explained each ingredient and where it had come from.

My one criticism would be that there was a very limited menu here for those eating gluten free - basically all that was available was meat accompanied by vegetables (for some reason the waiter said I couldn't have rice, potatoes or any sauces so I assume they floured lots of their products) so I wouldn't recommend it for Coeliacs who are also vegetarian.

Amélie

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of my cake here as I ate it on the go but this quaint patisserie was centrally located and offered three gluten-free cake options. The man on the counter spoke absolutely perfect English and offered a wonderful explanation of the gluten free products and precisely what ingredients they had been made of. My chocolate cake was flavoursome and had a good moist texture - I would thoroughly recommend Amélie to anyone visiting Zagreb!

 

 

 

Fruit Markets

I found fruit in Zagreb really delicious as a quick snack or for a picnic lunch - the market offered an amazing selection of all sorts of things!

        Berries at the market, with thanks to Ben Powell

 

 



 

 

More reviews to follow shortly - next stop Ljubljana, Slovenia!

 

Gluten Free Travelling

From what I have read and heard so far during my time as a Coeliac, I discovered that many of my fellow Coeliacs are dissuaded from travelling abroad since receiving their Coeliac diagnosis. When I embarked on a trip through Europe earlier this summer with friends, I was also very nervous about how I would manage on the trip. It was my first time travelling abroad as a Coeliac and one of my favourite things about travelling previously had always been experiencing the local cuisine. I had visions of sitting there gazing hungrily on as my friends all indulged in eye-watering Austrian apple strudels or munching on a stale cracker as they all devoured Parisian pastries. Even worse, I was terrified of being ‘glutened’ and getting ill for the rest of the trip. I felt increased trepidation as I read through Coeliac UK’s (very helpful though they are) country guides – the Austria one explains, “flour and breadcrumbs are regularly used in cooking, even with vegetables”. Great, so I wouldn’t even be able to eat vegetables at a restaurant without being terrified that flour was evilly lurking inside!



Would this be my sole food companion for the duration of the trip?

However, my visions of surviving the trip gnawing on a lettuce leaf were quickly dissolved from the very first night we arrived in Zagreb, Croatia. As we travelled through six countries (Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland and France) I found that I not only managed, but I actually ENJOYED meal times. In fact, the trip was the first time I truly began to enjoy eating again since my diagnosis in February.

Coeliac Disease may stop you eating certain foods, but I really believe that it shouldn’t stop you from doing anything else that you want to do, and so I thought I’d share my top 10 tips for those wishing to travel abroad based on my experiences.

Grace's Gluten-Free Globetrotting Top Ten Tips

1.       Travel Cards – my absolute top tip for anyone travelling to a non-English speaking country would be to ensure you have one of these handy travel cards stashed in your bag at all times: http://www.celiactravel.com/cards/ This fantastic website provides gluten-free cards in a variety of languages and I found them to be absolutely invaluable to my trip. Coeliac Disease is often not as well known in countries outside the UK but with these cards I found that even if staff had not heard of it, they were able to comprehend my dietary requirements.

2.       Coeliac UK Country Guides -  https://www.coeliac.org.uk/gluten-free-diet-and-lifestyle/holidays-and-travel/country-guides/ Coeliac UK produces these useful guides to give travellers a brief overview of a particular country’s approach to the gluten-free diet. The main thing I found handy about these was the recommendations of supermarkets that stocked gluten-free brands abroad as this avoided wasting time trawling endless supermarkets searching for gluten-free products.

3.       Take some emergency snacks – I think breakfast would have proved quite a tricky meal had I not crammed my bag full of my favourite gluten free muffins! It was also reassuring to know that if the worst came to the worst and I couldn’t find anything to eat I wouldn’t go hungry.

4.       Research restaurants and cafes – I think it is a really good idea to have a look on social media, blogs and TripAdvisor (search e.g. gluten free Paris) to find reviews of establishments in advance of your trip. The best people to recommend an establishment are those who have eaten there gluten free before and I found gluten-free travellers’ online reviews invaluable to my trip.

5.       Don’t be afraid of walking out if you’re not happy. I did this twice, once in Ljubljana in Slovenia when the chef slouched out of the kitchen to glare at my language card splattered with stains of multiple unidentifiable substances and looking like she hadn’t washed or changed her clothes in about a year (Coeliac or not, I wouldn’t want her preparing my food!) and once in Bern when despite working in a centrally located catering establishment and reading my German language card, the waiter had never actually heard of gluten as an ingredient and had no clue what it was.

6.       Show the waiter your language card and ask if they can accommodate you and what precisely they could prepare for you before you sit down.

7.       As you would in the UK, double check with your waiter or waitress that your food will be cooked separately and utensils will be cleaned – ensure to be polite of course and you will hopefully find that establishments try extremely hard to accommodate you.

8.       Make the most of local markets – the fruit in Europe really is excellent and it makes a healthy, tasty and cheap snack.

                                                 

 

Fruit Market in Ljubljana, Slovenia

 

 

9.       Although this is hard, try not to think about before-Coeliac – yes, before you could eat whatever you wanted and not give it a second’s thought, but this is the situation now and you can still eat lots of nice foods. Take the opportunity to try different things, e.g. before I was diagnosed I would always have picked a pasta option off the menu, but the options now available to me meant that I got to try lots of things I wouldn’t necessarily have picked as my first choice before but which I really enjoyed!

 

                                            

                                             Shared platter of Croatian cheeses and meats

10.   Try not to get too sad when there are things you can’t have – there were of course times when I couldn’t have a cake or an ice cream or some chocolate, but instead just think of other nice food you have enjoyed recently or other things you have been enjoying on your trip and try to remember that you will get to eat a nice treat again another time.

Unfortunately no Swiss chocolate from all the nice chocolate shops as they all seemed to contain barley, but there's always Toblerone which is gluten-free and always seemed to be available in the supermarkets.