by Andrew Coppolino | November 2024
The Canada Gluten-Free Foods & Beverages market size is estimated at $763 million in 2024 and is expected to reach $1.2 billion by 2029. Gluten-free is quickly transitioning from a niche to a mainstream market.
Local gluten-free aficionado Alex Kinsella says that more and more Waterloo Region food outlets are offering gluten-free options. As someone with celiac disease, Kinsella is always careful in selecting restaurant foods which can be prepared in gluten-friendly rather that gluten-free facilities.
“It’s important to note that even with gluten-free options, there’s still a risk of cross-contamination,” says Kinsella. “Restaurants I trust to take reducing cross-contamination seriously include The Yeti, Ethel’s Lounge, Bauer Kitchen, Janet Lynn’s Bistro, Arabella Park Beer Bar, Rosel Flavours For Life, and almost every shawarma place – but especially Highland Halal Shawarma.”
When it comes to beverages, he suggests Arabella Park Beer Bar and Ethel’s Lounge for gluten-free beer and cider options. And, according to Jennifer Tamse, Director of Beer and Beverage at Charcoal Group of Restaurants, Beertown offers two gluten-free beers year-round plus two gluten-free ciders on tap and six ciders in the can or bottle – for a total of 10 gluten-free cider and beer offerings.
Here’s a select neighbourhood roundup from around Waterloo Region – north, east, south and west – for a selection of gluten-free and gluten-friendly foods.
Please always check with individual food establishments regarding your specific gluten-friendly and gluten-free needs.
NORTH
Levetto, Country Squire, Waterloo
Gluten-free pizza is available for their ten pizzas: from a simple Margherita with luscious fior di latte cheese, tomato sauce and basil – an homage to the Italian flag – or the meat lovers pie laden with pepperoni, bacon and sausage. The Fungi would be a heady one: a mushroom medley, arugula, mascarpone-garlic cream, grana padano cheese and truffle oil. Create-your-own-pizza option and lunch-size pizzas available.
Bloom Restaurant in Conestoga College Waterloo Campus, Glenridge, Waterloo
A culinary student-operated restaurant with an ultra-cool, faintly Nordic and minimalist décor inside an extraordinarily well-equipped culinary facility: Bloom serves two-course or three-course lunches and dinners for very reasonable prices (and you can even gauge the carbon footprint of your meal). As for gluten-free dishes, the menus change but at time of writing that includes a duck prosciutto salad, roast chicken, a lamb shoulder roulade, seared salmon and a flourless chocolate torte. (Dining room open according to school schedule, so check their website.)
Wildcraft Grill & Long Bar, Lakeshore, Waterloo
From a menu that includes a wide range of plant-based options, Wildcraft’s “Gluten Friendly” options are wild and extensive: from prosciutto-wrapped burrata with basil pesto and gluten-free flatbread points and grilled Hasselback calamari to steak au poivre with a four-peppercorn Armagnac sauce, and a stuffed short rib, brie and truffle burger with shredded lettuce, sweet-onion jam, truffle aioli on a toasted gluten-free bun.
EAST
Four Fathers Brewing Co., Silver Heights, Cambridge
The Taproom menu supports a host of delicious gluten friendly options. Craft Chippery corn chips make the nachos gluten friendly while their garam masala hummus can be made gluten friendly. Get your greens in with the toasted pecan and chevre salad, and just ask for a gluten-friendly bun swap on their half-dozen burgers, made daily.
Choun Kitchen, Hespeler Village, Cambridge
A very cool small space in the Village with elevated home-inspired cooking. The kitchen prepares a gluten-free pad Thai – stir-fried rice noodles in their sweet-sour-salty tamarind sauce with garlic, onions, garlic, chives, bean sprouts, eggs and crushed peanuts – as well as vegan Lao laksa vermicelli dish with coconut-lime curry. You can also get a spicy gluten-free tom yum egg noodle soup to keep the encroaching chillier fall weather at bay.
Ernie’s Cookhouse, Hespeler Village, Cambridge
After an ownership change last January, Ernie’s Roadhouse became Ernie’s Cookhouse. In 1855, Ernie’s was the Queen’s Hotel and played a key role in the Hespeler community as a hub of events and hospitality; that remains today as a neighbourhood brunch spot, watering hole and venue for live music. Gluten-friendly and “modified gluten friendly” options include nachos to serve four, chicken wings (including tequila chili-lime), fish and chips, Caesar salad, beet salad with feta and candied walnuts, and an autumn salad with spinach, apples, candied pecans and honey-apple cider dressing.
CENTRAL
Beertown, Uptown Waterloo
Now with about a dozen locations across the province, this home-grown beer wonder has an ample GF menu – and one for kids too. Calamari, truffle fries and chicken wings included but also nachos and D-I-Y “mahogany” lettuce chicken wraps.
CE Food Experience and The Bakery, Uptown Waterloo
A specialist in supplying good eats to those in the community with specific dietary needs and wants, CE Food Experience is an artisanal bakery preparing a wide range of sweet and savoury selections – the gluten-free lemon tart is dynamite – that covers gluten-free, vegan, dairy-, nut- and egg-free dietary requirements.
Café Pyrus, Innovation District, Downtown Kitchener
A go-to for locals like Alex Kinsella (who is celiac) in the heart of the region – and the heart of Kitchener – is Café Pyrus, a venue that has become a landmark for healthy, fairly-sourced and sustainable food.
“Café Pyrus can make just about any menu item vegan and gluten-free except for the bagels,” says Kinsella.
That includes a breakfast wrap with organic tofu scramble, a black bean burrito, Reuben SoHo with tempeh bacon or a grilled “cheesmo.” And, as well, “PB Fun Bites” play on a giant Reese’s peanut butter cup with natural peanut butter and a rich dark chocolate ganache.
Yeti Café, Market District, Kitchener
Adjacent to the bustling Kitchener Farmers’ Market, the Yeti (“Home of the pregnant cowgirl”) is a long-standing casual venue with a huge and dedicated following. You can get the Bob or the Sasquatch sandwich, to name only a couple, with a substitute of gluten-free bread.
SOUTH
Foundry Tavern, The Gaslight District, Cambridge
Foundry Tavern is located in Galt’s new and exciting destination spot – graced by a large public square and historic limestone architecture – the Gaslight District. The Foundry’s gluten-free shepherd’s pie features the classic lamb, carrots, turnips, peas, crispy parsnips and roasted-garlic mashed potatoes. Their sandwiches, served with russet potato fries, can switch it up and provide you with a gluten-free bun. Personally, I’d go for the Italian muffuletta with mortadella, soppressata and olive relish
Café du Monde Crêperie, Greenway-Chaplin, Cambridge
Crepes are generally a bit difficult to find in Waterloo Region but not at Café du Monde. Their vegan buckwheat crêpe is gluten friendly and nutritiously packed with veg: sautéed bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, red onions and zucchini are topped off with house-made hummus and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
The Mule, East Galt, Cambridge
Have at with “pre-tacos,” tacos, “not tacos” and sweets: the Mule kitchen is 100% gluten free. The beef brisket birria “foldies” are scrumptiously messy-drippy: soft corn tortillas with cotija cheese and sides of purple-cabbage slaw and juicy birria jus.
WEST
Gluten Free by Suzie, Westvale, Kitchener
Another Kinsella favourite, all products are prepared in a gluten-free facility: breads, pies, butter tarts, cookies, scones, squares and more. (Note that a Christmas menu order form will be available until December 9.)
Halibut House Fish and Chips, Forest Heights, Kitchener
There’s quite a following for this casual chip shop, and while there’s a lot of breading going on, the kitchen offers grilled halibut, grilled shrimp, and grilled chicken souvlaki for gluten friendly options.
MeMe’s Café & Food Shop, downtown New Hamburg
The menu changes weekly, so check their website for new dishes. At time of writing, MeMe’s offered gluten-free feta salad, their Thai Health Bowl with vermicelli, edamame, organic shiitake mushrooms and cucumbers and mint. There is also local sausage with sauerkraut, apple bake and potato salad, and a wintry stew of root veg and white beans.
*****
Writer Andrew Coppolino was the food columnist for CBC-KW Radio (2013-2024) and Metroland newspapers. The author of Farm to Table (Swan Parade Press) and co-author of Cooking with Shakespeare (Greenwood Press), he was the 2022 Joseph Hoare Gastronomic Writer-in-Residence at the Stratford Chefs School. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @andrewcoppolino.