Gluten-Free Montreal: dedicated bakeries, restaurants and a crêpe counter, for celiacs

Montreal is a big city, and the places on this page sit in a few neighbourhoods rather than in one centre. Its strength is how many are entirely gluten-free: ten of the twelve say so in their own words. The biggest group is in Mile End and the Plateau. Pâtisserie Lu & I is at 5147 Avenue du Parc, and Sarrasin Boulangerie bakes in its kitchen; Roll’V is on the same avenue, about 10 minutes on foot from Lu & I, and Gino’s Negroni & Lasagne on Boulevard Saint-Laurent is about 10 too. Satu Lagi is on Avenue du Mont-Royal Est, and La Bolo à Lolo Sans Gluten on Avenue des Pins is about 20 minutes on foot from Place des Arts. In Little Italy, Crêperie du Marché is a counter inside Jean-Talon Market, with Panella about 10 minutes on foot away and L’Artisan Délices about 15. In Old Montreal, Le Marquis Signature Santé is on Rue Saint-Paul Ouest, about 5 minutes on foot from Notre-Dame Basilica, and the official tourist office’s advice for the quarter fits it well: «Take a walk back in time down Saint Paul Street». Petit Cake MTL is in the east, about 25 minutes on foot from the Biodôme, and Ottavio is out in Saint-Léonard, far beyond walking distance of the sights. By our estimate Old Montreal and Jean-Talon Market are about an hour and a half apart on foot, so plan one area a day and take the metro between them.

A day that works: start in Old Montreal with pastries and a loaf from Le Marquis Signature Santé on Rue Saint-Paul Ouest, open from 9 am every day by its own site. Notre-Dame Basilica is about 5 minutes on foot: the daytime visit is ticketed and self-guided, and takes about an hour. Pointe-à-Callière, on the spot where Montreal was founded, is about 5 minutes further (closed on Mondays), and the Old Port about 5 more. In the afternoon, go up to the Kondiaronk lookout on Mount Royal for the view over the city; by our estimate it is about 40 minutes on foot from Old Montreal. From the lookout, Roll’V on Avenue du Parc is about 25 minutes on foot: an entirely gluten-free Vietnamese menu in its own words, pho and vermicelli bowls included, and its site gives every day from 11 am to 9 pm. Keep Little Italy for another morning: a savoury galette at Crêperie du Marché inside Jean-Talon Market (its hours are on a separate page of its site, and its spot in the market can move with the season), then bread at Panella, about 10 minutes on foot, which by its own site is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

In Canada a food may be sold as “gluten-free” only if it contains no gluten protein from wheat, oats, barley, rye, triticale or their hybrids, says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and the rule covers advertising as well as labels. The rule itself names no number: the CFIA page adds that Health Canada considers levels of gluten below 20 ppm generally no health risk for people with coeliac disease. Celiac Canada (formerly the Canadian Celiac Association) certifies products, not restaurants: its mark is the Global Standard Gluten Free. For restaurants, Cœliaque Québec, the Quebec coeliac association, lists the places that hold the «Certification Sans Gluten Approuvé» (Gluten-Free Approved certification), under its «Programme de gestion d’aliments sans gluten» (gluten-free food management programme, PGASG). In its words, taking part shows a place’s will to adopt best practices for gluten-free meals that meet coeliacs’ needs; its pages don’t say who audits the places or how often. Panella on this page says in its own words that it is certified under the PGASG. Cœliaque Québec’s advice for eating out: book, say you are «cœliaque» (coeliac) when you book, and ask about the menu and cross-contamination, ideally the manager or the chef. Wherever you eat, and whatever the certificate on the wall, say you have coeliac disease, every time: staff will also know the English “celiac”.

Montreal’s famous foods are hard going with coeliac disease: bagels, smoked meat on rye, and poutine, where the gravy is often thickened with wheat flour and the fries can share oil with breaded food. Ask about the fryer every time. Canadian restaurants don’t have to list gluten sources on the menu, and menus are often in French, so ask: «Avez-vous une friteuse réservée aux aliments sans gluten?» (Do you have a fryer used only for gluten-free food?) Cœliaque Québec advises against buffets, which it calls a high risk of cross-contamination. Oats can surprise you too: in Canada specially produced oats may be labelled gluten-free, so if oats don’t suit you, ask about porridge, granola and baking. Watch the hours: Panella is closed on Sundays and Mondays and Lu & I on Mondays, Sarrasin sells fresh bread on Fridays (frozen loaves at Lu & I on the other days), and Gino’s serves dinner only, from 5 pm. L’Artisan Délices, Petit Cake MTL, La Bolo à Lolo and Satu Lagi give no opening hours on their sites, so check before you go. And ask about drinks even at an entirely gluten-free place: Satu Lagi’s site says nothing about them, so if you want a beer, ask whether it is gluten-free.