We lived in the Vancouver area in BC, for 18 years, and were living here when Suzanne was diagnosed with celiac disease. This meant lots of time to explore many of the gluten free options Vancouver has to offer! Because these spots were part of “daily life”, we sadly often forgot to take photos to share and as such this blogpost will unfortunately be very light on the photos.
If you’re looking for more gluten free options in BC, check out our other gluten free articles here.
Because we didn’t live in Vancouver proper, there are quite a few recommended restaurants with gluten free options that we haven’t eaten at (see list below). Restaurants are opening and closing all the time, so this list may not be complete with new places that have popped up.
Here are the categories if you’d like to jump ahead:
- Gluten free bakeries (yes, completely GF)
- Restaurants with GF options (where I’ve had luck)
- Chain restaurants with GF options (that may be hit and miss)
- Restaurants with GF options I haven’t tried yet
- Grocery store brands
- Map of Gluten Free Vancouver
100% Gluten Free Bakeries
Lemonade (Cambie Street)
The cupcakes and cakes are delicious! Our favourite is the chocolate peanut butter. And croissants. Don’t forget the croissants.
Gluten Free Epicurean (Mt Pleasant)
On 15th Ave near Fraser and Kingsway in Vancouver. Their Cookies, donuts, and squares/brownies are to die for! They have different donuts each day. We particularly enjoy their savoury items as they are often super unique and things we can’t find anywhere else.
Innocent Ice Cream (Hastings-Sunrise)
Okay, not a bakery, but dessert – gluten free ice cream sandwiches! I recommend getting the flight (three mini sandwiches of different flavours).
Restaurants with Gluten Free
The Fish Counter (Main Street)
Two locations (one is in North Vancouver), they specialize in fish and chips and have a SEPARATE FRYER! Fish is light and airy and delicious. A must-visit if you’re craving fish and chips!
Juke Fried Chicken (Chinatown)
Fried chicken, safe fryers, and no flour on site (just a gluten-y bun option for gluten-eating folk). We visited recently after not having been in years, and it was better than we remembered! A note that Juke itself is take out only, but right next door is their sister restaurant/cocktail bar The Chickadee Room, where they focus on the appie style dishes. If you want to eat in, just go to Chickadee and you can order anything on the menu from Juke!
Iki Japanese Restaurant (Kitsilano)
This is a 100% gluten free Japanese restaurant. Check their hours before visiting, as they vary greatly, and sometimes you need a reservation to get in. There are a number of other sushi restaurants in the city with gluten free options, but this is the only one that’s completely gluten free.
Lin Chinese (Broadway)
Yup, you read that right, a Chinese restaurant with gluten free options! Almost everyone dining here was when we visited was celiac, and we can understand why. Gluten free ginger beef? Lemon chicken?! Dumplings?! What is this heaven? The portions are massive, so go in prepared to share and take home some leftovers.
CinCin (Downtown)
Downtown on Robson Street. Very good at explaining the menu and options, though it’s been a few years since I’ve been so I’d suggest calling ahead to make sure you can be accommodated.
Rain or Shine (Cambie St, Kitsilano, & UBC)
Multiple locations, this is our favourite artisanal ice cream in the lower mainland. They’re super knowledgeable about which flavours are safe and have used new scoops and tubs when I’ve asked. Cambie Street is our favourite location as it’s larger with more staff so that may be why I’ve been accommodated. They also have a GF cone.
Chickpea (Main Street, Art Gallery, & Food Truck)
There are multiple locations of Chickpea, but we’ve eaten at the one on Main Street, in Vancouver. Most of the menu is GF except the pita bread and their breakfast menu. This restaurant is also vegan.
Frankie’s Italian (Yaletown)
I’ve only eaten here once, but it was super busy and I still felt safe. My server had great knowledge of cross contamination and what was safe.
Chain Restaurants with Gluten Free
You’ll find these restaurants in multiple locations, so make sure to inquire before eating as they are not all created equally!
- Cactus Club – most have a separate fryer now for GF items and fries, but double check upon ordering – I’ve never gotten sick here. Their burger buns also don’t disintegrate upon eating!
- Red Robin – they’re supposed to have one fryer for fries and one for everything else, but check upon ordering as sometimes they abandon this practice and switch in and out – I have had luck at the Lougheed location (near Lougheed mall).
- Triple O’s – most have a separate fry fryer, and a GF bun, but it really varies location to location if they’re safe or not depending on cross contamination tolerance levels and the precautions they take.
- White Spot – A western Canada classic, they have gluten free noted on their menu but different locations seem to take “gluten free” more/less seriously than others. Your mileage may vary.
- McDonald’s – In Canada, the fries are GF if fried in a separate fryer. Most locations except the ones that are in stores like Walmart should have separate fryers, but better to be safe and ask.
- Chachi’s – A local sandwich chain, I’ve found it sort of depends on the worker here if they’re willing to do the proper protocols (change gloves etc) here. But I have had some luck.
- Browns Socialhouse – A decent amount of gluten free options, but beware that many locations only have shared fryers and so some items marked “gluten friendly” will not actually be safe for you if you cannot handle cross-contamination.
Restaurants I haven’t tried yet
These are restaurants that have come recommended to me, but I haven’t yet eaten at. Make sure to ask any questions you feel necessary to ensure your own comfort level and safety requirements are met.
- East is East (Main Street & Kitsilano)
- Ask for Luigi (Gastown-ish)
- Sopra Sotto (Little Italy)
- Tractor Foods (Kitsilano, Downtown, & Olympic Village)
- Heirs Pears (To go only, but 100% GF)
- Lucky Taco (Kitsilano & River District)
- MeeT (Yaletown & Main Street)
- Nuba (Gastown, Mt Pleasant, & Yaletown)
- Bakery by Jany (Kitsilano, 100% GF)
- Virtue Natural Bakery (Kitsilano, 100% GF)
- Saan Saan (Main St, 100% GF)
- Nook (Kitsilano, Coal Harbor, Olympic Village, West End, & North Van)
- Maxine’s (Downtown Vancouver)
Grocery Store Brands
Here are some common brands you’ll find in grocery stores to look out for, and where you’re likely to find them.
- Kinnikinnick – Canadian! Usually in frozen section. Lots of independent grocers carry them, but can also find them at chains like Save On Foods or Safeway.
- Schar – They have GF graham crackers and knock-off KitKat and such. They also have bread products. You might find these at a Walmart, but can also find them at Save Onn Foods and some independent grocers.
- President’s Choice – Found at any Loblaws store, like No Frills and Superstore. They have an entire gluten free line of products (pancake mix, breads, chicken wings, etc).
- Wendell’s – based in Langley, things like muffins and pies. Mostly at Save On Foods and independent grocery chains like Choices, Nesters, and Nature’s Fare.
- Chapman’s Ice Cream – Canadian company that is not entirely GF, but they label GF safe products, like their fudgsicles! These are in most grocery chains like Walmart, No Frills, Superstore, Save On, etc.
- Annie’s – they have a GF “kraft dinner” and some other goodies, but double check as not all their products are GF! In the “natural” or “health conscious” aisle of most stores that carry them, you can find them in Save On, No Frills, Superstore, etc.
- Promise – bread products, found at Safeway, Thrity’s, and Superstore.
- Little Northern Bakehouse – fantastic bagels and bread, found at Safeway, No Frills, Costco.
Map of Vancouver Gluten Free
If you want more options, here is the Wanderlog map I made of everywhere I could find that had good gluten free reviews, labelled menus, and/or indications that gluten free was safe at their restaurants. Please note that I did not personally eat at all these restaurants, so do your own due diligence and reach out or check their websites/menus ahead of your visit.
HOW TO USE THE MAP: Click on the Wanderlog logo in the bottom right corner to open the full-size map up in a new tab. There, you can choose to just look at one category at a time or see all the categories on the map at once (click the 3 squares in the top right to choose). You can also export the map to Google Maps, share the map with others, or save the map.
