According to Coeliac Australia, about 80% of the population who are living with coeliac disease don’t know that they are. This is probably due to a number of factors, like relatively minor symptoms, or the fact that eating gluten-free has felt like a relatively fringe idea up until very recently—like one of those annoying dietaries fussy people demand due to some dreamt-up health issue. Who in their right mind would willingly give up pasta?
This was definitely my thinking, until a few years ago when I left my place in that unwitting, pasta-loving, beer-drinking 80% group and learned that I was coeliac. My first thought was, as you might imagine, how can you be a food editor and forgo such a vital category of food? Well, I didn’t really have to despair very long. Trust me on this one—Sydney does not disappoint when it comes to living a gluten-free life.
As awareness around both coeliac disease and gluten intolerance has grown, Sydney restaurants have leaned in, plating up what I can attest is a diverse and delicious universe of GF alternatives. Alongside dedicated gluten-free venues and menus are some of your favourite restaurants, willing to switch up ingredients with precision to make the taste, texture, and end result pretty much perfect.
While an exhaustive directory of venues giving the thumbs up to hungry coeliacs doesn't yet exist (it’d be quite the task I reckon), keep scrolling for a few surprising Sydney restaurants, bakeries, and fine diners helping you live your best (GF) life.
Pasta
Image credit: Ragazzi | Instagram
Let's begin with the probably the most drastic of losses in a life without gluten: pasta. If you've been avoiding Sydney's best Italian joints because, what even is Italian without gluten, think again. Ragazzi, and its sister pasta shop Fabbrica, have created some of the best GF pasta I've tried to date.
"We’ve offered our gluten-free pasta at Ragazzi since the beginning. We also sell it by the gram up at Fabbrica to take home," says head chef Scott McComas-Williams. "It took us a long time to come up with this recipe; I worked on it for at least half a year before I was happy to serve it. I tasted so many dried GF pasta options and, to be honest, never found a product I’d dare put in a bowl."
Ragazzi and Fabbrica's gluten-free pasta is a combo of all-natural flours—besan, buckwheat, potato, rice, maize, and eggs. "Being a pasta restaurant, if you don’t have a GF option, you are really ostracizing yourself from a good part of the population," McComas-Williams adds. "I think it’s only fair that everyone gets to enjoy both Ragazzi and Fabbrica."
More Gluten-Free Pasta
You'll also find delicious fresh gluten-free pasta at Merivale's rooftop poolside spot, Ucello. Alessandro Pavoni's a'Mare at Crown Sydney can whip up a GF spin on their fluffy focaccia with Pugliese extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic, as well as GF pasta (though, I have to say, the aged carnaroli risotto with southern calamari and Yarra Valley salmon roe, which is naturally GF, would be my top pick here).
Bakeries
Image credit: Nonie's | Instagram
In Sydney, we're lucky to have a few stand-out gluten-free bakeries serving bread and pastries that are, in my opinion, even better than the real deal. Like, Nonie's. Chef-owner Nonie Dwyer's activated charcoal and quinoa bread is now ubiquitous at Sydney cafes. Dense, chewy, and delicious, it trumps all of the gluten-free bread lining the supermarket aisles.
"In my professional work as a chef, I identified a real lack of options for people like me, who couldn't eat a multitude of things but also loved and appreciated great food!" Dwyer tells me. "I also worked in an industry and at a time when it was easy to dismiss or have difficulties (for all kinds of reasons!) to cater for people like me."
So, she started Nonie's Food back in 2014 with a small range of really delicious breads made without gluten, dairy, gums, or preservatives. As well as Sydney cafes, you can find Nonie's GF treats at artisan delicatessens and specialty shops like Feather and Bone, and you can also shop here. You can pick up these tasty GF treats from Nonie's warehouse roller door on Fridays, or at Saturday markets around town like Carriageworks Farmers Market or the Northside Produce Markets.
More Gluten- Free Bakeries
Wholegreen Bakery is a haven of gluten-free pastry heaven. Now with three outposts in Sydney, this gluten-free accredited spot serves incredible meat pies, ham and cheese croissants, cakes, tarts, hot cross buns, and so much more. Owner Cherie Lyden is a real champion
For doughnuts, the gluten-free, dairy-free doughnuts at Comeco Foods in Newtown are a favourite. Made with a GF sourdough starter (brown rice and rice flour), they are fluffy and crispy and fried to order with a range of toppings like adzuki red beans, mocha coffee, matcha, passionfruit curd, and more.
Other very honourable mentions in the universe of gluten-free baked goods include Sébastien Sans Gluten in Leichhardt, Nutie in Surry Hills and Balmain, and Hudson's Bakery at Bondi Junction. Read our full list of the best gluten-free bakeries here.
Gluten-Free Ramen
Image credit: Rising Sun Workshop | Instagram
Yes, rice noodles are gluten-free. Ramen noodles? Not so much. So you might swing to tasty Vietnamese pho or Thai-style laksa if you're after a steamy bowl of noodle soup—but ramen diehards can still live the dream at the one-and-only Rising Sun Workshop.
"We’ve been offering gluten-free ramen options from day one," says head chef Nick Smith. "Instead of wheat noodles, we offer konniyaku, made from a starchy tuberous vegetable."
While they're not by any means a straight substitute, they do hold their own in the broths, retaining more bite than rice noodles and feeling more satisfying than GF ramen noods," Smith adds. All the garnishes at Rising Sun are gluten-free too, and the kitchen uses all-important gluten-free soy across the board.
Gluten-Free Thai And Pan-Asian
Image credit: Long Chim | Instagram
Asian cuisines can be tough for coeliacs. Sauces are just generally a tricky space and most, especially soy sauce, have wheat additives. Luckily though, one of Sydney'sgreat Thai restaurants, Long Chim can dish out a full gluten-free menu on request.
Meanwhile, the menus at Sugarcane and sister venue Sugarlane are almost entirely are almost totally GF—including the crispy fried chicken with plum sauce, which is fried with tapioca flour.
Chin Chin is also an awesome pick for gluten-free-friendly dining as a lot of the menu is GF and Chin Chin floor staff are super helpful with ensuring you are well-fed if you go for a banquet feast. While you'll miss out on their famous dumplings, Merivale's Mr Wong can also dish up a gluten-free menu on request.
Gluten-Free Mexican
Image credit: Ricos Tacos | Instagram
Tradition Mexican should be an easy win for coeliacs, where finely ground corn flour (not wheat) is the time-honoured ingredient for tacos, tamales, tortillas, and more. In fact, corn is largely considered to be the foundation of Mexican cuisine.
So, my advice is to skip the Old El Paso Tex Mex mood, where tacos are mostly made from wheat, and go for more authentic Mexican options. Head to Esteban, Calita, Sonora, or Ricos Tacos, and you will be well looked after.
A real highlight in Sydney's gluten-free scene is Maiz in Newtown. Named for the Spanish word for corn, Maiz is as authentic as it gets in Sydney, and yes, most of the dishes on the menu are gluten-free.
Gluten-Free Fine Dining
Image credit: Khānaa | Supplied
Fine dining, degustations, fancy dinners. This shouldn't be a spot to shy away from for coeliacs, especially when you are in the hands of some of Sydney's most experienced hospitality professionals.
Khānaa in Surry Hills is a top pick for a multi-course degustation, serving avant garde, artistic Bengali-style food. Here, talented father-daughter chef duo Opel and Lucinda Khan can work some magic and make each dish gluten-free.
I'd also recommend working their way through our list of Sydney's best restaurants and Sydney's best degustations. Most fine-dining restaurants will be ready and willing to cater to the GF crowd with enough notice. I recommend checking with the kitchen ahead of time and considering your level of sensitivity.
For more of Sydney's best, check out:
Image credit: Ragazzi | Instagram
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