Gluten-free in Dublin - Overview

Dunnes Store on 20 S Great George's St, Dublin 2

Hello there! This is a quick sneak peak of what it's like living on a gluten-free diet in Dublin, Ireland. :)
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Available everywhere!

Almost all the stores in the city have got free from sections! We've been very spoiled with all the choices of gluten-free cookies, bread, and pasta available. Even a small Tesco near our house has a gluten-free dedicated section, so there's no need to travel all the way to a big supermarket to stock up. Pictures below were all taken in various different stores around the city.

Spar on New Street, Dublin 8

SuperValu on  Aston Quay, Dublin 2

Dunnes Stores in Rathmines, Dublin 4

Look at all these choices!

Aldi in Rathmines, Dublin 4

Various gluten-free options

We love eating out in Dublin! I apologise  for all the naughty food pictures...It's just that we only dine out once a month or so - we can't help ourself from choosing junk food..:D Anyhow, there are so many restaurants that offer gluten-free options here: pubs, cafes, fish and chip shops, burger shops, crepe shops, Italian restaurants...(there is an app that finds restaurants in Dublin that offer gluten-free options - you can download from https://www.dealiac.co/) Usually staff are very accommodating and knowledgable about coeliac disease, which is amazing. We never have to explain to them what it is, and everyone we have met has been very attentive and seemed to actually care. In the upcoming month, I will write reviews of individual restaurants that we've been to!

Clear labels and packagings

Perhaps it's just me, but I find that many of the food items I come across here have much clearer allergy information on the labels. In the past, I've found that many times I was just too unsure, because items aren't labelled clearly enough to tell whether it's really gluten-free or not. So, it's amazing that more and more products have clearer labels and gluten-free (or suitable for coeliac) logos on it - this has even enabled us to find more gluten-free food outside of free from sections in stores. However, so far we've avoided trying the Guinness flavoured crisps that say "GLUTEN FREE" ...has anyone tried this yet? :S

Potatoes...!!

Potatoes are amazing. To be honest...I've never loved potatoes as much as I do now since coming to Ireland - I'm really more of a rice person, you know. ;) We've been eating around 2kg of potatoes a week, which is a lot more than we used to and I love it (although now I need to watch my weight!). :D My favourite are rooster potatoes (the red ones). It's also fun to choose from the many different kinds of potatoes available here. They are not necessarily all produced in Ireland - but I recommend you to try out some of the delicious Irish potatoes when you get a chance!


After all, isn't this a worldwide phenomenon, now that gluten-free food seems to be everywhere? Or, is it just that Dublin is a gluten-free haven? For us, it's been an absolute pleasure to live on a gluten-free diet here. For good or bad (since there are much more choices available), I guess our new struggle is now to resist the temptation of all the naughty gluten-free junk food! :D Wish us luck..! hehe

I hope you have a lovely day!

Cheers

xxxx