In May 2025, when I found out that I was likely going to be diagnosed with celiac disease, the doctor had one final instruction for me: Keep eating gluten until you have your endoscopy.
Luckily, I had a week-long trip planned to Ireland in the week leading up to the endoscopy, and I took my final opportunity to enjoy as much Guinness, Irish sourdough toast, and Tayto crisps as possible. And then I came home, had my endoscopy, and started my official gluten-free life.
About 8 months later, I visited Dublin for the first time since my official diagnosis — a long weekend winter trip for my friend Sarah‘s 30th birthday. But this past summer, we went for a full week and visited three cities, so I feel like I have a better handle on being gluten-free in Ireland.
So, here’s what you need to know!
Gluten-Free Dublin Map
Map Key (Colors)
- Green: Dedicated gluten-free establishment
- Dark pink: Not dedicated gluten-free, but has a 5-heart safety rating on the FindMeGF app
- Light pink: Not dedicated gluten-free, but has a 4 or 4.5-heart safety rating on the FindMeGF app
Map Key (Symbols)
- Fish: Fish ‘n’ chips
- Burger: Bar & grill
- Beer mug: Irish pub food
- Pizza: Italian restaurant
- Pasta bowl: Asian restaurant
- Sushi: Sushi restaurant
- Cow: Steakhouse
- Spoon & knife: Any other type of food
- Coffee mug: Cafe that has food
- Birthday cake: Bakery
- Ice cream: Ice cream shop
Notes About the Gluten-Free Map of Dublin
• I haven’t been many places in Dublin since being diagnosed celiac so I only have one personal review to share (so far)!
• The spoon & knife designation covers anything from brunch places, to Mexican restaurants and Ethiopian restaurants, to anything else that I just wasn’t able to categorize. Who knows what you’ll find!
• There may be other restaurants in Dublin offering gluten-free options that didn’t meet my “personal” requirements for the above map, such as not having enough reviews. But this should be a good starting point.
• There also just might be some places I missed because FindMeGF isn’t the best about actually taking your search filters into account, so I did my best with this map. If you find anywhere else I absolutely *HAVE* to add, let me know!
The Best Gluten-Free Restaurants in Ireland
Gluten-Free Dublin
Millstone Restaurant: We ate here on my first trip to Dublin as a celiac, and I had been missing the pub food (and the Guinness). Well, Millstone Restaurant was able to deliver on the pub food, at least! I felt really safe here, as there is a celiac-specific menu with lots of options. My local friends loved this place as well — they later told me they had initially unfairly judged it as touristy due to the location, but they were big fans and have actually brought family members here since! And we were all excited to return here for dinner on a night out in Dublin during our last trip.
Gluten-Free Galway
Chipeen: Several gluten-free options on the menu. When I asked them to confirm that what I wanted was GF, they asked if I was celiac, and I said yes. The worker said “I’ll make a note down on your order and I’ll wipe down all the equipment and clean the bowls to ensure there’s no cross contamination.” So nice 🥹
Brasserie On the Corner: A little bit fancy, but this was our nice dinner out for the bachelorette party I was attending! The staff were so attentive with me being celiac from the very start — bringing me gluten-free bread that’s toasted on a separate tray/surface, and my own butter. The staff were very knowledgeable about what was/wasn’t able to be made gluten free. At one point, the kitchen came out to check with me about the severity of my gluten issues and when I said celiac, they didn’t seem to have any issues. They always were very clear about my gluten-free items coming about and very confident with what they were offering me. Very thankful for a great experience here.
!! Where not to go in Galway: The Bunch of Grapes Pub. They were super mean to me after telling me I could bring in outside food since I was celiac… and then kicking me out and forcing me to stand outside alone while I finished eating.
Gluten-Free Waterford
Momo Restaurant: A wonderful place where they take good care of you. I’d had a few pints (of Bulmers) beforehand so I don’t remember everything 100% lol but they did bring me GF bread that was toasted separately, and they were very accommodating — most things can be made GF. I went with the curry since it seemed least likely to have been cross-contaminated at any point, and it was super tasty!
East Pier: The perfect little fish ‘n’ chips shop with a separate GF fryer for the fish, and all the chips are already GF. Menu is well marked and the staff is knowledgeable. So happy we found this place!
Gluten-free fish ‘n’ chips at East Pier in Waterford!
Gluten-Free Beer in Ireland
I didn’t start liking Guinness until 2022, and we had a good three years together. Despite many European beer brands actually being pretty solid in the gluten-free beer department, Guinness is not one of them. So, what to drink instead?
For me, the answer is cider!
I wouldn’t say that I’m a huge cider person. In my Old Life I would choose beer over cider probably 7/10 times. But I’m still not 100% sure what I think about gluten-free beer, and when you’re in Ireland you spent a lottttt of time at the pub, so you have to figure out what you feel comfortable and safe drinking. And I’ve found that Bulmers Original Irish Cider — bottled, not on draft in case the lines get switched occasionally — was available in every single pub we went to, so it’s my new go-to! Plus, Irish cider doesn’t seem to be as sweet as the ciders I had tried in the U.S., so I didn’t feel like I was drinking pure sugar.
If you really don’t want to drink cider, some pubs *may* have gluten-free Peroni beer, and others might have something local bottled or on tap, but you can’t really count on that. Cider will be your best bet… unless you decide to go for liquor!
Pub Snacks in Ireland: Gluten-Free Crisps
Of course, when you’re at the pub, you have to get a bag of crisps for the table. Or maybe just for yourself. But typically, behind the bar, there’s a hanging display of crisp packages and it’s customary to buy one to share with each round.
The most common brands you’ll find:
- Tayto
- Smith’s (Scampi/Bacon Fries)
- O’Donnells
- Manhattan
Of these brands, only O’Donnells crisps are guaranteed to be gluten-free and have a claim about being gluten-free on their website. Manhattan crisps don’t explicitly claim to be gluten-free, but as long as the ingredients don’t contain gluten, they are safe. (Thanks, proper gluten labeling in Europe!) Tayto and Smith’s are not gluten-free.
Common Questions To Ask at Restaurants: Gluten Free in Ireland
If the dish has gluten-free bread: Is the bread toasted separately?
If anything is fried (i.e. chips/fries, battered fish): Do you have a separate gluten-free fryer?
If anything is grilled (i.e. burger, eggs): Is this cooked on a clean grill, using clean utensils?
Note: I don’t really expect to find a good GF full Irish breakfast at any restaurant in Dublin. Even things you might not suspect — like sausages or black/white pudding — often contains wheat as a filler or binder. 😕
Luckily, whenever we visit, Sarah makes a great Irish fry-up at home and uses all GF ingredients so I get to enjoy it too!
Other Things to Know: Gluten Free in Ireland
Just a few more random thoughts on things you might want to know before you visit Ireland as a gluten-free traveler.
• Celiac disease is very well known in Ireland (though you’ll see it spelled “coeliac” instead 😉). If you find yourself somewhere that doesn’t have a good handle on what it is or what it means, LEAVE! There are plenty of other places you can go where you’ll be understood.
• Grocery stores like Tesco, M&S, and Dunnes all have a great variety of gluten-free items. I loved the GF frozen pizza from Tesco and the Dunnes ready meals, like curry or risotto, that are labeled gluten free!
• Even if something doesn’t say it’s gluten free, you can look for the allergy statement on the back of the label. Any potential allergens will be labeled in bold on the list, including gluten.
• Ireland is definitely one of the easiest places to travel as a celiac, out of the 14 countries that I’ve visited since my diagnosis. So enjoy the freedom to eat good food, labeled well, handled by people who understand what it means. And once you learn to love the cider (if you don’t already) then things will be perfect. 💚
Let me know what other questions you have about being gluten free in Ireland! I’d be more than happy to do my best to answer — and feel free to follow me on the FindMeGF app as well. 🙂
-Cathy
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