How to order a takeaway with coeliac disease: 4 questions

To order a takeaway with coeliac disease, treat the app’s “gluten-free” search as a starting point, not an answer: it finds words on a menu, not a kitchen that can cook for you. Pick a place from your own shortlist, phone before you pay and ask 4 questions (ingredients, fryer, clean pan, a marked container), use the app’s allergy field where there is one, and look at the food before you eat it. Just Eat UK and Lieferando both tell customers with allergies to phone the restaurant before ordering (their own pages, read 9 October 2026).

How we checked this page: on 9 October 2026 we read, on the apps’ own websites, what Just Eat (UK and Italy), Deliveroo (UK and Italy), Uber Eats (UK), Lieferando, Wolt (Germany) and Glovo (Italy) say about allergies, plus Coeliac UK’s page on takeaways. We quote or paraphrase only what those pages say; apps change their features often, so check the app on the day you order. Last checked 9 October 2026.

Why does a “gluten-free” search in a delivery app show dishes with gluten?

A “gluten-free” search shows dishes with gluten because the search box matches words, and the words come from the restaurant. How it often goes in the first weeks after a diagnosis: you type “gluten free” into the app and get battered fish, a curry served with naan and a pizza on a wheat base, because “gluten-free” appears somewhere in the menu text, a dish note or the restaurant’s description.

The apps say as much themselves. Just Eat says restaurants give it their menu information when they sign up, and that it cannot guarantee a meal suits your allergies because the restaurant prepares and cooks it (Just Eat help, read 9 October 2026). Deliveroo lets restaurants add a “Gluten Free” dietary tag to dishes and tells them, in its own help pages, that “these are not allergy tags” (Deliveroo help for restaurants, read 9 October 2026).

A dish that is gluten-free on paper can still meet gluten in the kitchen: shared fryer oil, a wok that just cooked wheat noodles, flour in the air of a pizza kitchen. That is why the kitchen’s process matters more than the word on the menu, and our restaurant playbook for eating out with coeliac disease explains how to tell the two apart. If you were diagnosed recently, start with our page for the newly diagnosed.

How do I build a takeaway shortlist before I’m hungry?

Build your takeaway shortlist on a calm afternoon, not at 8 pm with a hungry household: two or three places you have checked are worth more than thirty search results.

• Start with places you already know: a restaurant where you have eaten in and asked your questions. Ask whether the takeaway is cooked in the same kitchen, by the same people, with the same care.
• Look for accreditation where a scheme exists. In the UK, Coeliac UK says staff at venues with its Gluten Free Accreditation have been trained to follow the correct procedures (Coeliac UK, read 9 October 2026). In Italy, AIC runs its Alimentazione Fuori Casa network for eating out (AIC, read 9 October 2026). Still say “coeliac disease” when you order.
• The HTGF Atlas maps gluten-free places near you, and ★ Dedicated marks places whose own published words describe a fully gluten-free kitchen. Many of them don’t deliver, so check the app or call.
• For the UK, our cuisine pages cover gluten-free Chinese food in the UK, gluten-free fish and chips in the UK and fully gluten-free fish and chip shops.

Save each number in your phone with a note of what you asked and what they said, so next time the shortlist does the work. And keep one gluten-free meal in the freezer for the night nothing works out.

How should I place the order: app note, phone call, or both?

Place the order with both, in this order: read the restaurant’s allergy information in the app, phone before you pay, then use the app’s allergy field where there is one. A note in an app is a one-way message; on the phone you hear whether the kitchen understood.

1. Open the restaurant’s allergy information. On Just Eat UK, the restaurant’s phone number sits behind the allergy warning just above the menu (Just Eat help). On Deliveroo, it is under “Allergens, hygiene rating and more” at the top of the menu, and restaurants can list allergens for each dish in bold under the description (Deliveroo allergen policy; Deliveroo help).
2. Phone before you pay. Just Eat UK tells customers with an allergy or intolerance to contact the restaurant before placing an order and, if they can’t reach it, to cancel or not order. Lieferando’s terms give the same advice for Germany: phone the business about allergens before you order (Lieferando terms, section 5). Say it is coeliac disease and ask the 4 questions below.
3. Put it in writing too, where the app has a place for it. In the UK, Uber Eats has a dedicated allergy request field, saved to your account and highlighted on the restaurant’s order app and printed receipt; the restaurant can contact you if it can’t meet the request (Uber Eats UK newsroom, 9 October 2025). Wolt in Germany suggests adding allergy details in a note to the venue before you order (Wolt). Just Eat in Italy asks the opposite: don’t use the “Note” field for allergies, phone the restaurant (Just Eat Italy help).
4. On a busy night, ring back with your order number. Once you have paid, a short call with the order number lets the kitchen find your ticket and mark it. If anything you were told changes (“we’re out of the gluten-free base, we’ll use the normal one”), cancel.

Which 4 questions should I ask before I pay?

Ask about ingredients, oil, the pan and the container, in that order: the first two decide most takeaway orders.

Open with this: “Hello, I’d like to order [dish] for delivery. I have coeliac disease. It’s a medical condition, not a preference: even a crumb makes me ill. Could I ask two minutes of questions about how it’s made?”

1. “Is there any wheat, barley or rye in it, including the sauce, the marinade, soy sauce or a spice mix?”
2. “Is anything in my order fried, and is that oil also used for breaded or battered food?”
3. “Can it be made with a clean pan, clean utensils and a clean board?”
4. “Can you mark my container, so it’s clear which one is mine?”

Then listen. “Let me ask the chef” is a good sign; “a little won’t hurt” means you order somewhere else. Asking for a marked container is a normal request: Deliveroo’s allergen policy asks restaurants to train staff to answer allergen questions by phone and to send written allergen information with each meal, for example on a sticker, a menu or the receipt (Deliveroo allergen policy, read 9 October 2026). The full version, with how to read the answers, is in our phone script with seven questions in order.

What do the delivery apps’ own help pages say about allergies?

Every app we read sends you to the restaurant for allergy questions; they differ on whether to use a note or field. All pages read on 9 October 2026.

App	Country	What its own page says
Just Eat	UK	Contact the restaurant before ordering; if you can’t reach it, cancel or don’t order. The phone number is behind the allergy warning above the menu. Ask about shared fryers and grills. Some large chains have no allergen phone number; Just Eat links to their website instead. Source
Deliveroo	UK	Sends customers with allergies to the restaurant’s “Allergens, hygiene rating and more” section; allergens per dish appear in bold where the restaurant adds them; “Gluten Free” dish tags come from the restaurant and are not allergy tags. Report a reaction through Order Help. Policy, tags, FAQ
Uber Eats	UK	A dedicated allergy request field, saved to your account, highlighted for the restaurant; the restaurant can contact you if it can’t meet the request. Source
Lieferando	Germany	Its terms advise phoning the business about allergens before you order, and say the platform does not check the restaurant’s information for accuracy or completeness. Source
Wolt	Germany	Add a note to the venue with allergy details before you place the order. Source
Just Eat	Italy	Contact the restaurant directly; its phone number is linked from the menu. Don’t use the “Note” field for allergies. Source
Deliveroo	Italy	Check the restaurant’s “Informazioni” section, then contact the restaurant directly. Source
Glovo	Italy	Its terms say Glovo doesn’t prepare the food and isn’t responsible for ingredients, handling or allergen information: the restaurant is. You can add comments to an order. Source

Which takeaway cuisines work with coeliac disease, and what do I ask each one?

Takeaway cuisines built on rice, corn, potatoes and grilled meat give you the most to work with; the questions change with the cooking. These are general patterns, close to the ones on Coeliac UK’s takeaway page (Coeliac UK, read 9 October 2026), so ask every time, even at a place you know.

Indian

Tomato- and yoghurt-based curries, dal and rice are often free of gluten ingredients, while naan, roti, chapati and paratha are wheat. Ask about wheat flour in the sauce, about compounded hing (asafoetida, often bulked with wheat flour), and whether poppadoms and bhajis share oil with samosas; Coeliac UK notes that poppadoms are usually made with rice and lentil flour, so the oil is the question. More in Is Indian curry gluten-free?

Chinese, Thai and Japanese

Soy sauce is usually brewed with wheat, so it is the first question; plain rice and rice noodles are naturally gluten-free. Ask whether there is a separate gluten-free menu cooked with a gluten-free soy sauce, whether your dish shares a wok with wheat noodles, and whether fried dishes share oil with spring rolls or tempura. Read Is soy sauce gluten-free? and our page on gluten-free Chinese food in the UK.

Pizza

A gluten-free pizza base only answers the first question. Ask whether the base is prepared away from the flour, whether it bakes on a tray or a separate stone rather than the floured deck, and whether the peel, cutter and toppings are kept apart. Some pizza chains offer gluten-free bases; ask how the branch handles them on a busy night. More in Is pizza gluten-free?

Fish and chips

Chips and fish in gluten-free batter are only gluten-free if the oil has not been used for battered food. Coeliac UK warns that chip-shop oil is often rotated, so the chip oil may have cooked battered fish earlier, and that taking the batter off does not help. Some chip shops run gluten-free nights or have a dedicated fryer: ask which, and on which day. See gluten-free fish and chips in the UK and fully gluten-free chip shops.

Greek and kebab grills

Grilled meat on a skewer with rice, salad or chips and a yoghurt dip can work well. Ask whether the doner or kofte mix contains breadcrumbs or flour, whether the marinade has soy sauce or beer, whether pitta is warmed on the same grill, and whether the chips share oil with breaded or battered food. More in Is kebab gluten-free?

Whatever the cuisine, ask about the fryer. If the oil is shared with anything breaded or battered, skip the fried side; Are shared fryers a problem? explains why the heat of the oil does not help.

What should I check when the takeaway arrives?

Check the takeaway before anyone starts eating: opening the bag is your last chance to spot a change.

• Is your container marked as you asked, and does the receipt show your allergy request?
• Is it what you ordered? A swapped dish, an extra sauce, or a naan or bread roll on top means something changed in the kitchen.
• Does anything look breaded, battered or thickened that shouldn’t be?
• Is the packaging closed? A leak from another container in the same bag can reach your food.
• If you are unsure, don’t eat it. Take a photo, call the restaurant and report it in the app; on Deliveroo, problems with food and allergic reactions are reported through Order Help (Deliveroo FAQ, read 9 October 2026).

Are dark kitchens and delivery-only brands any different?

Dark kitchens and delivery-only brands need the same questions, plus one more: who cooks this, and what else comes out of that kitchen? A delivery-only brand may have no dining room, and several brands in one app can be cooked in the same kitchen, next to a pizza or burger brand. If the listing gives you no way to reach the kitchen, or nobody can tell you how your dish is made, choose another place.

How do I order a takeaway to a hotel or holiday flat abroad?

Ordering a takeaway abroad works the same way, with two extra steps: follow the local app’s own allergy route, and write your note in the local language.

• Check what the local app says: the table above covers the main apps in the UK, Germany and Italy; in Italy, Just Eat asks you to phone rather than use the note.
• Write the note in the local language. The lines below come from our translation cards; if the field is short, keep the first two sentences. For more phrases, see how to say gluten-free in German, Italian and Spanish.
• If you can’t phone in the language, show your gluten-free translation card at the hotel reception and ask them to call the restaurant for you, or pick a place where you have eaten and could show the card in person.

Language	A note for the app or the restaurant
English	I have coeliac disease, an autoimmune medical condition, not a diet choice or preference. Even a tiny amount, a crumb, makes me genuinely ill. Please use a clean pan, clean utensils and boards, and fresh oil.
German	Ich habe Zöliakie, eine Autoimmunerkrankung, keine Ernährungsvorliebe. Schon kleinste Mengen, ein Krümel, machen mich ernsthaft krank. Bitte verwenden Sie eine saubere Pfanne, saubere Küchenutensilien und Schneidebretter sowie frisches Öl.
Italian	Ho la celiachia, una condizione medica autoimmune, non una scelta alimentare. Anche una quantità minima, una briciola, mi fa stare davvero male. Per favore, usate una padella pulita, utensili e taglieri puliti e olio nuovo.
Spanish	Tengo enfermedad celíaca, una afección médica autoinmune, no una elección ni una preferencia alimentaria. Incluso una cantidad mínima, una miga, me hace enfermar de verdad. Por favor, usen una sartén limpia, utensilios y tablas limpios y aceite nuevo.
French	J’ai la maladie cœliaque, une maladie auto-immune, et non un choix ou une préférence alimentaire. Même une infime quantité, une miette, me rend vraiment malade. Merci d’utiliser une poêle propre, des ustensiles et des planches propres, et de l’huile neuve.

Takeaway and delivery with coeliac disease: your questions

Is a takeaway safe for coeliacs if the app says “gluten-free”?

It depends on the kitchen, not on the label in the app. A “gluten-free” tag or search result tells you what the restaurant wrote about a dish; it tells you nothing about the fryer, the pan or the person packing your order. Phone before you pay, ask about ingredients, oil and a clean pan, and look at the food when it arrives.

Should I phone the restaurant before or after I order?

Before you pay. Just Eat UK and Lieferando both tell customers with allergies to contact the restaurant before ordering (their own pages, read 9 October 2026). On a busy night, a second short call with your order number helps the kitchen find and mark your ticket.

Is writing “coeliac” in the order note enough?

No. A note is a one-way message that a busy kitchen can miss, and you never hear whether it was understood. Use the app’s allergy field where there is one and phone as well. Just Eat in Italy asks customers not to use the “Note” field for allergies at all and to call the restaurant instead.

Which takeaways are easiest with coeliac disease?

Places you have already checked come first, then accredited venues and fully gluten-free kitchens. By cuisine, Indian curries with rice, Chinese from a separate gluten-free menu, grills with rice or salad, pizza on a gluten-free base made away from the flour, and chip shops on gluten-free nights often work, as long as the kitchen can answer the fryer and sauce questions.

What should I do if my takeaway arrives wrong?

Don’t eat it. Take a photo, call the restaurant and report it in the app. Deliveroo, for example, asks whether you told the restaurant about your allergy and where you found the allergy information before checkout, so it helps to note both when you order.

Sources (all read 9 October 2026): Just Eat UK, What should I do if I have an allergy?; Deliveroo allergen policy; Deliveroo, dietary tags; Deliveroo, adding allergens to a menu; Deliveroo UK FAQ; Uber Eats UK newsroom, 9 October 2025; Lieferando terms (AGB), section 5; Wolt Germany, Special Requests; Just Eat Italy, allergy help; Deliveroo Italy FAQ; Glovo terms of use (Italy); Coeliac UK, gluten free takeaways; Coeliac UK, eating out and travel; AIC, Alimentazione Fuori Casa.

Last checked 9 October 2026. We inform, we don’t diagnose: for medical questions, your doctor or dietitian has the last word.