I stumbled on this place when looking for a place to satisfy a cake craving on Friday night and discovered a really big gluten free menu! Don’t you love when that happens? I still only had a cake (they had a flourless orange cake) and hot chocolate but this is a place to put on the list for a dinner. It’s also a bakery and they apparently bake gluten free bread on the weekends. Menu includes salads, pizzas (a few extra dollars for a gluten free base), pastas (yes there is a gluten free pasta option) and meat dishes. They also do breakfast with options for gluten free bread.

[rating: 3.5]

[mappress]

Rice ‘n Rolls is a Thai rice and noodle bar with 2 locations in Melbourne’s CBD – 33 Degraves St and 181 William St (CBW Building). I’ve only been to the William St one but every time I’ve been there has always been a massive queue, which is usually a sign that it’s pretty good! And it is pretty good food – they have a huge range of curry, noodle and rice dishes that can be made gluten free. You can select your level of chilli – if you’re a chilli coward like me make sure you ask for very mild as they are not shy with the spice! Casual setting – they mainly do take away but there are also a few tables and chairs if you want to eat in.

[rating: 4]

[mappress]

Crown Pizza is one of the original gluten free pizza places in Melbourne. You can select pretty much any pizza from their standard and gourmet pizza range (minus anything with ham, salami or BBQ sauce), just ask for it to be gluten free. Gluten free pizzas can only be made in a medium size and are an additional $4.50. Staff are very knowledgable, service is fast and friendly and the pizzas taste great…what more do you need? Click here for more information.

PS: there is also a Crown Pizza in Camberwell (which I thought was affiliated with Crown Pizza in Reservoir but turns out they’re not the same company!) who are also really good – 1357 Toorak Rd, Camberwell

Have a look at the Gluten Free Pizza page for more gluten free pizza places. Like the Fish & Chips page this list is ever growing so make sure you let me know if you have anything to add!

[rating: 4]

[mappress]

I’ve always wanted to check this place out…finally this weekend I did. It’s on the Windsor end of Chapel St, right next door to Pizza Piazza. It’s a small, rustic, romantic Polish retro cafe / restaurant / bar that has amazing, authentic food that is also really good value. A lot on their menu is gluten free (ask for a specific gluten free menu) like soups, meat dishes, salads. The staff are friendly and easy going. As the name suggests, they also serve vodka…over 100 varieties to be more precise so with this much choice you get a lot of interesting flavours, like sour cherry or vodka with flakes of gold in it (yes, actual gold). They do breakfast and lunch until 3pm. Highly recommended, I’m planning on going back to try their dinner menu and maybe another type of vodka…

[rating: 4]

[mappress]

If you have not tried Grill’d burgers yet you’re missing out…they are freshly made healthy burgers – a great alternative to fast food burgers, the chips are also nice and chunky. I have not yet tried a huge variety of burgers, every time I seem to choose the same burger because I love it so much – the Mustard & Pickled burger! And they now have gluten free buns!

Grill’d has a lot of locations around Melbourne, for a full list check out their website, www.grilld.com.au

The following Grill’d menu items ARE GLUTEN FREE* when prepared with Gluten Free* bun or NO bun (*although they may contain traces of Gluten due to cross contamination risk as all buns go through same toaster):

BEEF BURGERS
Simply Grill’d
Crispy Bacon & Cheese
Mighty Melbourne / Big QLDer / Almighty
Summer Sunset
Mustard & Pickled!
Hot Mama

CHICKEN BURGERS
Simon Says
Tuscan Delight
Grill’d Bird & Brie
Caesar’s Palace

LAMB BURGERS
Moroccan Lamb
Baa Baa’ Burger

VEGGIE BURGERS
Field of Dreams

SNACK / KID’S BURGERS
Mini Moo
Chicken Licken
Mini Me Pack

CHIPS AND DIPS
Chips
Herbed Mayo
Tomato Relish

SALADS
Mediterranean Salad with Lamb Skewers

Gluten IS PRESENT in the following menu items:
Kung Fu Fighter – Gluten in Satay Sauce
Sweet Chilli Chicken – Gluten in Sweet Chilli Mayonnaise
The Zen Hen – Gluten in Satay Sauce
Garden Goodness – Gluten in Vegetable Pattie
Bombay Bliss – Gluten in Vegetable Pattie
Sweet Chilli chip dip – Gluten in Sweet Chilli Mayonnaise
Chicken Caesar Salad – Gluten in Croutons
Pumpkin Cous Cous Salad with Lamb Skewers – Gluten in Cous Cous

[rating: 4.5]

I have walked past this place hundreds of times, always meaning to drop in for a look – today finally I did. This cafe is a gluten free heaven for affordable lunches and snacks in the CBD. All foods are low GI, low fat and most are also organic and vegetarian. Everything in there is marked as to whether or not it’s gluten free – and 90% of the foods are. There is a huge range of smoothies and juices, freshly baked gluten free muffins, soups, salads, sandwiches (yes with gluten free bread options) and daily specials. It’s small so most of the traffic is office workers grabbing their take away lunch but there are a few chairs and tables too if you want to eat in. It’s open Mon – Fri for breakfast and lunch.

[rating: 4]

[mappress]

A casual easy going Japanese restaurant on Brunswick st with some gluten free options on the menu. The staff are friendly and quite up to speed on what is and what is not gluten free so you can feel free to ask or double check things.

The food was good, not amazing “party in my mouth” kind of food but good nonetheless. And prices are reasonable.

[rating: 3.5]

[mappress]

Beautiful location overlooking the Yarra river on Southbank. This cafe / restaurant is a casual and easy place to go for breakfast, lunch or dinner and you can count on the food being great each time. They don’t have an extensive range of gluten free options but a lot of their best dishes are gluten free (or can be made gluten free on request) like their seafood nasi goreng and fish and chips. Prices are pretty good too, most mains are under $20.

To see a full menu go to their website

[rating: 4]

[mappress]

It’s restaurants like this that give Melbourne its nice cosmopolitan, funky feel. Located on Flinders Lane (near Exhibition St), Terra Rossa is a bar / cafe / restaurant with a classy decor. I’m not sure whether it’s trying to be Spanish or Italian, but the menu seems to be a mixture of both.  The atmosphere is nice and cosy and waiting staff are very attentive and friendly.

There is a good range of gluten free tapas and salads however there is only one gluten free main – chicken risotto and no gluten free deserts.  So not a huge gluten free range but if you just need a snack with drinks it’s fine. To see their full menu see their website, www.terrarossarb.com.au

[rating: 3.5]

87 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

[mappress]

A nice casual little cafe / restaurant in Glenferrie Rd, Malvern. I’ve had (and heard of other people who have had) some bad experiences with the service here in the past, but gave it another go this weekend. The service was better but still nowhere even close to being great. The food is ok – they have a small range of gluten free options – risottos, pasta (fettucine) and occasionaly some gluten free cakes.

A good place to drop into for a coffee and cake or a casual meal.

[rating: 3]

111 Glenferrie Rd, Malvern[mappress]