Gluten-Free Portland, Oregon: dedicated bakeries, restaurants, beer and cider, for celiacs

Every one of the 16 places on this page says, in its own words, that its kitchen, bakery or food menu is gluten-free, and where that promise covers the food but not the bar, its card says so. Most of them are across the Willamette River from downtown, on the east side. In the inner Southeast, Kann on SE Ash St and Berlu Bakery on SE Belmont St are about 10 minutes apart on foot, and Kann is about 15 minutes on foot from Portland Saturday Market, over the river; Ground Breaker Gastropub on SE 7th Ave is about 10 minutes on foot from OMSI. On SE Division St, about 2.2 miles (3.5 km) south-east of Pioneer Courthouse Square in a straight line, New Cascadia Traditional, Mestizo and Schilling Cider House are about 5 minutes apart on foot, and Crave Crêperie is about 10 minutes further on foot, in the Farmhouse Carts pod. In the Northeast, Gluten Free Gem is on NE Broadway St, Mikiko Mochi Donuts on NE 28th Ave and Zilla Sake on NE Alberta St. On the west side, Petunia’s Pies & Pastries on SW 12th Ave is about 5 minutes on foot from Pioneer Courthouse Square and from Powell’s City of Books, Butterfly Belly on NW Park Ave is about 5 minutes from Powell’s, and Harlow and Kirari West are on NW 23rd Ave in the Northwest. Two are further out: Chem Gio on N Lombard St, about 6 miles (9.5 km) north-west of Pioneer Courthouse Square in a straight line, and Sinful Confections on SW Barbur Blvd, about 4 miles (7 km) south-west: plan a train, a bus or a car, not a walk. Downtown itself is walkable: from Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Portland Art Museum is about 5 minutes on foot, Powell’s about 10 and Tom McCall Waterfront Park about 10, and the Lan Su Chinese Garden and Saturday Market are about 5 minutes apart. Washington Park, with the Japanese Garden and the Rose Test Garden, is two miles west of downtown and has its own MAX station; Forest Park and Mount Tabor Park are well outside the centre. All walking times and distances here are our estimate from the map.

A day that works, Wednesday to Sunday: breakfast at Petunia’s Pies & Pastries on SW 12th Ave, a bakery where, in its own words, all items are vegan and gluten-free (daily from 9am; its pizza by the slice usually sells out between 3 and 4pm, so go early). Walk to the Portland Art Museum on the Park Blocks, about 10 minutes on foot (from 10am, closed on Mondays), then on to Powell’s City of Books. From Pioneer Square North, the MAX Red Line runs on to Washington Park station: book a timed ticket for the Japanese Garden (closed on Tuesdays), and see the International Rose Test Garden, about 5 minutes away on foot, in bloom from late May through October. In the evening, cross the river for dinner at Kann on SE Ash St, where the entire menu is gluten and dairy free in its own words: book ahead, and ask which drinks at the bar are gluten-free. Or go out to SE Division St, where Mestizo, gluten-free and soy-free in its own words, serves dinner from 4 to 9pm, and Schilling Cider House, a couple of minutes away on foot, has an entirely gluten-free kitchen and 33 rotating draft ciders (21 and over only). On a Saturday, add Portland Saturday Market and the Lan Su Chinese Garden, about 5 minutes apart on foot.

In the US, “gluten-free” on packaged food is a voluntary claim under the rule of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and a product that carries it must contain less than 20 ppm of gluten. The rule covers packaged foods. For restaurant menus the FDA only recommends that a “gluten-free” claim matches its definition, so “gluten-free” on a menu, even on a whole menu, is the restaurant’s own word. Two programs of the Gluten Intolerance Group go further: GFCO certifies products, which must test below 10 ppm (or below the country’s limit, if that is lower), and GFFS validation (Gluten Intolerance Group) reviews a restaurant’s policies and procedures, recipes, ingredients and training. A third, Chef to Plate, is a separate program with a lower bar: the Gluten Intolerance Group itself calls GFFS validation the one with higher standards and an annual audit. Even at the entirely gluten-free places on this page, say you have coeliac disease every time you order: “celiac” is the spelling staff in the US know.

Portland is known for its craft beer and its doughnuts, and both are usually made with barley or wheat. At the dedicated places here, the drinks are the thing to ask about. At Kann and Zilla Sake the promise covers the food, not the bar; Chem Gio’s gluten-free kitchen sits inside a taphouse pouring 24 beers that are not part of its promise; Butterfly Belly’s bar sells ordinary beers brewed with barley; and Mestizo is a bar too: ask for a gluten-free drink. Ground Breaker Gastropub brews only gluten-free beer, in its own words; at Schilling Cider House, ask whether every beer on tap is gluten-free before you order one. For doughnuts, Mikiko Mochi Donuts says its kitchens are dedicated gluten-free. Kirari West’s wording names wheat only, so ask whether anything contains barley malt or rye. Check the days before you cross town: Berlu Bakery opens Thursday to Sunday only, and Crave Crêperie is a food cart that has moved, now in the Farmhouse Carts pod at SE 35th Pl and Division. We haven’t checked a Portland hotel kitchen ourselves: when you book, ask about gluten-free breakfast and pick a room with a fridge. Gluten Free Gem is open every day, and New Cascadia Traditional sells bread, bagels and take-and-bake pizzas.