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gluten-free In Iceland, Finland And Estonia?

Coolclimates

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Coolclimates Collaborator
Coolclimates
Posted

In a few weeks, I'll be traveling to Iceland, Finland and Estonia. Does anyone know of any specifically gluten-free restaurants/cafes in these countries, specifically Reykjavik, Helsinki, Turku, Tampere and Tallinn? I know Finland is supposed to be pretty advanced in their knowledge about Celiac disease. Any help would be appreciated.

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munchkinette Collaborator
munchkinette
Posted

I've only been to Finland and Estonia. Most people in this region speak English very well, but I had my gluten-free travel cards with me just in case. All the waiters in the places I visited knew exactly what I meant as soon as I gave them the travel cards. There are quite a few restaurants in Europe that have symbols next to menu items that indicate gluten (or dairy, or vegetarian, etc.).

I was only in major cities, so it may vary in other areas.

nora-n Rookie
nora-n
Posted

I heard Iceland is okay at gluten free, but celiac is less known than in the rest of scandinavia.

  • 2 weeks later...
Coolclimates Collaborator
Coolclimates
Posted
  • Author

I am in Iceland right now (Reykjavik to be exact) and am finding some things I can eat, although they also aren't very knowledgable about Celiac. There's a health food store that has some gluten-free items, but I've been rather dissapointed with the larger grocery stores like 1011 and Bonus. I asked if they have a gluten-free section, but they said no. And it's really hard to tell if foods are gluten-free because often the ingredients are not written in English.

Fortunately, I don't have the classic dirrehea and other symptoms when "glutened" so I don't have as much to worry about. The restaurants I've gone to have been pretty friendly and willing to cooperate, but again, many of the employees are stumped when I ask for gluten-free. I even show them the gluten-free dining cards in icelandic, but some still can't help me that much. I'm hoping Finland will be easier. I'm not sure about Estonia. I'm not expecting it to be as easy as Finland.

NJKen Rookie
NJKen
Posted

In a few weeks, I'll be traveling to Iceland, Finland and Estonia. Does anyone know of any specifically gluten-free restaurants/cafes in these countries, specifically Reykjavik, Helsinki, Turku, Tampere and Tallinn?

Finland is the most celiac-friendly country that I have visited. Gluten-free foods are well-marked and plentiful in grocery stores, and many restaurants are prepared to serve gluten-free meals. English is widely spoken, so I had no trouble making my needs known.

My wife and I visited Turku one day, but stayed in nearby Naantali. We had dinner (in Naantali) at Ravintola Uusi Kilta. The server helped me select a gluten-free seafood dinner, and brought gluten-free bread to our table.

In Helsinki, we had two meals (lunch and dinner on separate days) at Rosso. Rosso is a chain of pizza restaurants in Finland that includes gluten-free pizzas and risotto on the menu; you should be able to find one of these in other locations in this country.

We also had a dinner in Helsinki at Raffaella. The menu clearly marked the gluten-free dinner options, and gluten-free bread was included with our meal. At least one other restaurant we passed by in Helsinki had gluten-free menu options indicated.

Have a good trip!

haleym Contributor
haleym
Posted

While in Finland and maybe Estonia, look for products from Semper and Finax. Gluten free is ''GLUTEENITON'' in Finnish, and since a lot of things are writting in Swedish also in Finland, GLUTENFRI, GLUTENFRITT and GLUTENFRIA is gluten free in Swedish.

Finland, like Sweden, is total gluten free heaven. I lived in Sweden for a while and got to experience this first hand! :)

Happy travels!

  • 3 weeks later...
Coolclimates Collaborator
Coolclimates
Posted
  • Author

I have just gotten back from my trip and it was wonderful. Finland is, indeed, amazing for us with celiac disease and gluten intolerance. That country is way ahead of the game and I was extremely pleased how just about all the menus were marked with gluten-free items, as well as the selection of gluten-free items in the grocery stores. Plus, just about everyone I spoke to there knew exactly what celiac disease was. Finland is a fantastic destination, I can't emphasize that enough!

Iceland and Estonia, however, were a lot less progressive. I'd say that Iceland was slightly more advanced than Estonia in gluten-free products and research. However, I was able to find enough to eat and in Iceland, I had a kitchen and therefore could make things from scratch.

It's very frustrating that here in the US they are so behind in knowledge and research. I'm sure the US is better than some countries, but visiting Finland gave me a whole new perspective.

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