Category: Amsterdam

Amsterdam, Europe

Guest Post: Gluten-Free in Amsterdam

Erin Smith

One of my favorite parts about writing Gluten-Free Globetrotter is connecting with people across the globe. In December, Barbara left a comment on this site. She is the author of Gluten-Free Amsterdam, a website (in English) about restaurants and tips for eating gluten-free in Amsterdam. Barbara graciously agreed to sharing her top five gluten-free friendly restaurants in Amsterdam. 

glutenfreeamsterdam.com

Gluten-Free Amsterdam

My name is Barbara, and I am a celiac living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Amsterdam is not the easiest city to live in. Going out for dinner can be hard sometimes. However, the gluten-free options are increasing and I would love to share my top 5 restaurants with you!

1. Heasje Claes (www.haesjeclaes.nl)
The absolute winner is restaurant Heasje Claesje. This restaurant has the best gluten-free service in town. They have a gluten-free menu, gluten-free bread and gluten-free beer. The menu offers typical Dutch dishes with many choices of meat and fish. They also have a special gluten-free kids menu! It’s located in the city centre. The menu is translated in several languages. So if you are visiting Amsterdam as a tourist, this is absolutely the place to be.

2. Restaurant Lieve (www.restaurantlieve.nl)
You will find this great place for celiacs at one of the main canals of Amsterdam. The service in Restaurant Lieve is very nice and they have a gluten-free menu with delicious food. The atmosphere of the restaurant is great.

3. Spaghetteria (http://spaghetteria-pastabar.nl)
This little pasta-bar is one of the hotspots of Amsterdam. This means it’s always really crowded, and there is no possibility to make a reservation. However, it’s worth waiting for. They offer all the pasta’s in a gluten-free variety as well. Just ask for it. It’s located in the popular living area called ‘de Pijp’.

4. The Seafood Bar (www.theseafoodbar.nl)
If you are into fish, this is your restaurant. They offer al kind of fish and have a great gluten-free service. They know how to deal with celiacs, are always really friendly and have gluten-free bread as well. You’ll find this place next to the Vondelpark.

5. Bazar (http://bazaramsterdam.nl)
This restaurant has an Arabic menu. As soon as you walk in this (huge) restaurant you are not longer in Amsterdam, but in the Middle-East. You can ask for their allergy menu. On this menu you will exactly find which dishes are ok for which diets. It’s really delicious.

This was my top 5 gluten-free restaurants in Amsterdam. I am still exploring the gluten-free scene of the city, so for any updates please visit my blog:
www.glutenfreeamsterdam.com.

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Glutenfree Amsterdam
Website: www.glutenfreeamsterdam.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/AmsterdamGF
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GlutenfreeGlutenvrijAmsterdam

Amsterdam

Gluten-Free in Amsterdam

Erin Smith
Picture from the StudioGrassi website

When my good friend Kristen mentioned she was going to Amsterdam in March, I got really excited. I love researching new cities and I thought finding gluten-free food in Amsterdam would be a challenge. I didn’t find a ton of restaurants that could cater to a gluten-free traveler, but did find one gluten-free bakery and another chain restaurant that served gluten-free food. I cannot vouch for any of these places, since I haven’t been myself, but I wanted to share my Amsterdam research with my readers. You can read Kristen’s Amsterdam tales here.

Restaurants
Haesje Claes (restaurant)
Gluten-free menu available
http://www.haesjeclaes.nl/?language=en_EN
Spuistraat 273-275
1012 VR Amsterdam
Tel. 0031.20-6249998

Cau (Carne Argentina Unica)
Argentina restaurant
http://www.caucaucau.com/
Damstraat 5, 1012 JL,
+31 20 623 9632

Bakkerij Visser / ‘t Stoepje (Bakery)
Rozengracht 80
1016 NE Jordaan
020-6244284

Wagamama (chain restaurant)
Gluten-free menu

Markets
Albert Heijn (supermarket)
Gluten-Free product list

BioMarkt Amsterdam (supermarket)
Weteringschans 133-137
1017 SC AMSTERDAM
http://www.biomarkt.nl/

Links
Translation cards: http://www.celiactravel.com/cards/dutch/
Gluten-Free Food: http://www.glutenvrijeten.nl/
Dinner Site (Amsterdam search): http://bit.ly/GDwBn5
Nederlandse Coeliakie Vereniging: http://bit.ly/GDwiZn
Horecaad: http://www.livaad.nl/Locatieshorecaadned.htm

UPDATE:

After my original post, a dear reader and friend passed along a photo from her trip to Amsterdam and a comment:

“Yes, I AM … Gluten-Free and having fun being so! Your delightful guest blogger Kristen reminds us of our take on Amsterdam. Surely you did an excellent job researching GF for her trip, Erin. That ol’ lump in the tummy is no longer de rigueur in order to travel GF. Amsterdam is a fun, energetic, lovely, historical, and easy place to get around. We love seeing things from a different point of view. Anything can go!”

Amsterdam, Europe

Guest Post: Wine with Kristen Travels Without Gluten

Erin Smith

My colleague, fellow Celiac, and dear friend Kristen Siebecker, of the blog Wine with Kristen, recently came back from an exciting trip to Amsterdam and Spain. I have been living vicariously through her blog posts and gorgeous pictures of Spanish wine country since she got back. Kristen was kind enough to share some of her gluten-free adventures with Gluten-Free Globetrotter.

Wine with Kristen Travels Without Gluten
by Kristen Siebecker 

Erin knows how to travel Gluten Free, so as I planned my trip to Amsterdam and Spain. I asked for her help. She gave me a fantastic list of Gluten Free restaurants, groceries, and the like so that I didn’t have that pit in my stomach (not related to ingesting gluten) before even getting on the plane.

First up Amsterdamned.

We hit the grocery stores first, and I was pleasantly surprised with all the gluten free packaging they had (wheat with a negogatory bracket) so it was very easy to feel safe and sound.

My favorite restaurant meal was a great rice, veggie and chicken meal at a chain place called Wagamama and they were convenient. The only bust was the Bakkerij Visser Stoepje Bakery, I stopped in and asked to see the gluten free products and they did have frozen gluten free bread. But only by the loaf, which wasn’t exactly tourist friendly. Ah well.

Now onto Spain! We hit Castellon which is a town about an hour north of Valencia. The great thing about this area is that is paella based, naturally gluten free, so I felt pretty comfy. Actually I printed out my gluten free travel cards in Spanish, and I never really had to use them, every place we went knew what I meant when I said, “Sin Gluten.” Even the grocery store had very well marked GF signage, see the Turkey below!

Now the best for Gluten Free travel was Barcelona by far. I found what, to me, is the best gluten free sandwich bread I have ever had. The place: Fast Vinic.

The whole place was green. Everything in the restaurant was recycled or re-purposed, including the tables, chairs etc. Everything you eat on and with was recyclable. They had an enotech machine to get over 20 local wines by the glass. And they had gluten free bread. Let the picture speak for itself:

That is a good lookin’ sandwich. Big thanks and shout out to Erin for helping me with my Gluten free travels…it was easy and delicious!

About Kristen Siebecker

Kristen Siebecker has been a great fan of viticulture and vinification since her first illicit sip of Boone’s Farm wine beverage many years ago.

More recently, she became a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, completed the Advanced Certification program from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust with distinction and is certified in Advanced Blind Tasting by the American Sommelier Association. Kristen continued to hone her skills for several years in the wine retail industry, advising customers and assisting in the “Sommelier for an Evening” program.

Kristen is available for all things wine related! She is the currently the Events Director for Swirl Events providing private and corporate wine tastings in the NYC area. In addition, she is a wine consultant and occasional on-site sommelier for Good Commons, a retreat center in Vermont, as well as the NYC Celiac Meet-Up group.

Kristen’s current favorite wine is Cava! Sparkling wine all the time.

Feel free to contact Kristen about wine pairing, shopping for wine, sourcing appropriate wines for your next special event, or putting together your own tasting!

Web: www.WineWithKristen.com
Twitter: WineWithKristen
E-mail: WineWithKristen at gmail.com