Tarte flambée is the dish every visitor to Strasbourg ends up ordering, and for years it was the one celiacs had to skip. Gluten free tarte flambée in Strasbourg does exist, but with a caveat covered below. For a kitchen with no wheat at all, the city has two places that share a name and are easy to confuse. Rules on labels and restaurant certificates that apply nationwide are laid out in the countrywide overview of eating gluten-free in France, so this page stays in Alsace.
The tarte flambée caveat
Mama Bubbele, at 2 quai des Bateliers on the Ill, is the restaurant to know. The menu runs to fifteen varieties of tarte flambée, sweet and savory, with organic ingredients and local flour, and the dough can be ordered gluten-free. There is no separate oven, so celiacs should mention the diagnosis when ordering and let the kitchen prepare the oven accordingly. People who react to traces of gluten will be safer at the two addresses below.
Two Edens, one rule: check which one you are walking into
L’Eden Libre de Gluten, at 15 place du Temple Neuf, is a bakery, pastry shop and tea room five minutes on foot from the cathedral, and everything in it is gluten-free. Baguettes, pretzels, sandwiches, savory tarts, pizza by the slice and sweet pastries share the counter, along with fresh juices and a good number of vegan options. The concept began in Obernai, where Janine Strohm opened the first bakery in November 2015, and the Strasbourg shop followed after repeated requests from customers. The same all-gluten-free bakery idea has a Bordeaux counterpart in an art-gallery bakery near the Grosse Cloche, for anyone heading west.
L’Eden Sans Gluten is a separate business: a gluten-free restaurant at 6 place Arnold, next to the botanical garden, in a district that restaurants tend to overlook. The organic menu includes pizza, burgers, spaghetti, falafel and a vegan paella, and dishes can be ordered without sugar or with a low glycemic index.
Plant-based brunch and coffee near the cathedral
- Bistrot & Chocolat, 8 rue de la Râpe: half bistro, half tea room, run by a well-known figure in Strasbourg’s vegetarian scene, and one of the few places in town with a gluten-free vegan brunch. The same plant-based, wheat-free combination is the whole concept at an entirely vegan bakery-café in Nice, which suits anyone continuing south.
- Origin Coffee Shop Végétal, 122 Grand’Rue: a tiny plant-based café with options for celiacs. Seats are scarce, so mornings work best.
A half-hour detour to Obernai
The original L’Eden Libre de Gluten, at 2 rue Dietrich in Obernai, faces the town’s main square about thirty minutes from Strasbourg. Nothing on the counter contains gluten, from savory tarts to desserts, and some items are also lactose-free. A few tables allow eating in, though the room is small. Anyone adding Paris to the trip will find a dinner map built around wheat-free kitchens, which matters because several dedicated places there close after lunch.
Visiting in December
Strasbourg’s Christmas market spreads across more than 300 chalets, and its signature foods, tarte flambée, bredele cookies and mannele, are all flour-based. Choices at the stalls are limited, so in December gluten free tarte flambée in Strasbourg still means a sit-down meal at a restaurant. A bag from the Eden bakery covers snacks between stops.
Addresses at a glance
- Mama Bubbele, 2 quai des Bateliers, Strasbourg
- L’Eden Libre de Gluten, 15 place du Temple Neuf, Strasbourg
- L’Eden Sans Gluten, 6 place Arnold, Strasbourg
- Bistrot & Chocolat, 8 rue de la Râpe, Strasbourg
- Origin Coffee Shop Végétal, 122 Grand’Rue, Strasbourg
- L’Eden Libre de Gluten, 2 rue Dietrich, Obernai
Addresses, opening hours and menus change often, so check the venue’s website or social profile before going. People with celiac disease should confirm preparation details with staff, especially at places with a partial gluten-free offer such as Bistrot & Chocolat and Origin.
