gluten-free British Virgin Islands Travel

[Joel K]

Greetings, all. Has anyone had recent experience traveling and eating at restaurants in the BVIs? Doing a search online locates only forums and reviews that are 5 years old or older, which, as we all know, is pretty useless. I've gone to the websites of most restaurants, resorts, and yacht clubs in each of the islands I might be traveling to in order to check out their menus. Very few give any kind of nod to gluten free anything marked on menus, so no real help there either. I will try emailing several this weekend and see if they even respond, but if any of you have had recent experiences down there, I'd appreciate firsthand input from the community. Mind you, I have celiac disease, not just a gluten preference, sensitivity, or allergy, and realize cross-contamination is going to be a concern as well. I plan to carry a few bottles of GliadinX with me regardless as it has worked well for me for the past few years. Thanks for the help!

[Scott Adams]

Good idea regarding the GliadinX, and I've never been there, but it seems like they should be able to accommodate you if you take careful approach and talk to the chef before you order. Hopefully someone who has been there can comment. There are also many apps on the market for this, but I do well using TripAdvisor for such things.

[Joel K]

A year later, I can say (1) I've sailed around in the BVIs now twice since my original posting on this subject and found several restaurants that were safe for me.  I was happy to see most of the larger restaurants had at least someone who could answer questions if no mention was made in the menus.  And (2) I was sad to see that none of the bars or restaurants in Cane Garden Bay, Tortola, were safe for folks with celiac disease, especially since I used to live there quite a while back but had not yet been diagnosed.

For the record, Road Town in Tortola had two places I could eat relatively safely in public: The Village Inn Marina restaurant, because the kitchen is outside and I could speak directly with the chef (servers aren't much help in knowing, but are helpful if you ask them to ask the chef), and Capriccio di Mare, which is a short hike from Village Cay.  Again, servers, not so much.  But the owner/manager is very visible and accessible and she's got celiac down to a tee.  She even makes sure there are gluten-free desserts available!

As for the other British Virgins:

Virgin Gorda: There's a place in Leverick Bay and another at Saba Rock resorts where we can eat safely.  I didn't make it down to Spanishtown on either trip due to weather.  Above The Baths was another place supposed to be another place, but I have that on hearsay from one of my non-celiac disease shipmates.

Marina Cay: Lots of gluten-free options and I felt quite safe eating there.

Jost Van Dyke: Foxy's had someone who knew what I could have safely, and they included most everything on the menu.  Some weren't, but the lady could tell me which.

Norman Island: The Pirate's Bight restaurant is about as safe as it gets down there.  Servers are clued in, food was marked on the menu and plates when they came out.  Leave it to BVI to have the safest gluten-free restaurant on an unhabited island! No problem, mon.

Anegada: We ate at the Lobster Trap and at Potter's.  Good stuff, Maynard!

I have to say, most of the restaurants make real food rather than processed, out-of-the-packet/box food down there.  So as long as you stick to whole foods, you're more than likely fine.  I did use my GliadinX product the first time I went down there last November in all the places I ate ashore.  But not the second time in April.  Especially in the places where the locals remembered me.  I actually felt safer in most places down in the BVIs than most restaurants in my own hometown in New Hampshire.