Lyon is the city of the bouchons, small traditional restaurants serving rich local food. It is a wonderful place to eat, but not an easy one when you are celiac. Here is how I would do it. For the rest of France, see my guide to eating gluten-free in France, and if you go on to Paris, my gluten-free Paris guide.
Is Lyon food gluten-free?
Let's be honest: most traditional Lyon dishes contain gluten, in one form or another, and the risk of cross-contamination in a regular restaurant is very high. The best way to taste them is to cook them yourself at home, replacing the ingredients with gluten. Here is what to look for on a menu:
Savory:
- Quenelle (a soft dumpling, often with crayfish sauce) 🚫 wheat flour
- Pâté en croûte (pâté baked in pastry) 🚫 pastry
- Saucisson brioché (sausage baked in brioche) 🚫 bread
- Tablier de sapeur (breaded tripe) 🚫 breadcrumbs
- Saint-Marcellin (a soft local cheese) ✅
- Cervelle des canuts (fresh cheese with herbs, despite the name, no brain in it) ✅
- Saucisson and rosette (dry sausages) ✅
- Salade lyonnaise (frisée, bacon and a poached egg) ✅ without the croutons
Sweet:
- Coussin de Lyon (green almond paste and chocolate sweet) ✅
- Pink praline tart or brioche (tarte or brioche aux pralines) 🚫
The list is not complete. As always, bring your own gluten-free bread and ask for the allergen list (la carte des allergènes) when you are not in a 100% gluten-free restaurant.
Bakeries and pastry shops
Les Gasteliers, 100% gluten-free
An excellent find to start this list: Les Gasteliers, in the 6th arrondissement near the Parc de la Tête d'Or, is a bakery, pastry shop, tea room, biscuit maker and caterer, all 100% gluten-free. The choice is huge and the quality high, with organic products and flour from the Chambelland mill (the best gluten-free bakery in Paris, see my Paris guide).
123 Rue de Sèze, 69006 Lyon - Google Maps
Chez Grégoire Pâtisserie, 100% gluten-free
A 100% gluten-free bakery and pastry shop in the 1st arrondissement, near the Hôtel de Ville: bread, individual pastries, cakes to share and even ice cream. They deliver in Lyon and you can order ahead. Grégoire, the founder, also wrote a gluten-free baking book, Délices sans gluten, which I highly recommend.
6 Rue Constantine, 69001 Lyon - metro Hôtel de Ville - Google Maps
Greenberry, delivered pastries
Greenberry has no shop but delivers in Lyon, which is handy if you are staying in an apartment. Their pastries are vegan, gluten-free and mostly organic, and they pay close attention to allergens and cross-contamination.
Shops with gluten-free options
- Palomas, a historic chocolate and pastry shop: their website lists their gluten-free cakes and sweets. 2 Rue Colonel Chambonnet, 69002.
- Îlet Gourmand, a confectioner specializing in dragées (sugared almonds), who also makes delicious chocolates. 7 Cours Lafayette, 69006.
Bakeries to avoid
- Au Pain Naturel sells gluten-free bread but also bakes with wheat flour, and does not guarantee there is no cross-contamination. Many celiacs report getting sick after eating there. Avoid it if you are celiac.
- L'Atelier du Pain is listed online as selling gluten-free bread, but I couldn't confirm it, and reviews on quality are very negative.
100% gluten-free restaurants
Sans Gluten Pizza Epicerie
A 100% gluten-free pizzeria in the lively Guillotière neighborhood, for eating in, takeaway or delivery. They even have a gluten-free beer to go with a margherita (more brands in the best gluten-free beers, in French). The wait can be long: the place is popular.
88 Grande Rue de la Guillotière, 69007 Lyon - metro Guillotière or Saxe-Gambetta - Google Maps
Arepado, Venezuelan arepas
Arepas are a Venezuelan specialty and naturally gluten-free: thick corn flour flatbreads filled with black beans, meat, cheese... I discovered them in Canada, and since then I can't resist when I see an arepa place. A quick and cheap meal for celiacs, and since the only flour in the kitchen is corn flour, there is no cross-contamination risk.
246 Cours Lafayette, 69003 Lyon - Google Maps
Restaurants with gluten-free options
These restaurants also cook with gluten: tell them you are celiac.
Comptoir Sauvage, vegetarian in Croix-Rousse
In the heart of the Croix-Rousse, the old silk workers' hill, this vegetarian restaurant has many gluten-free and vegan options: brunch on weekends, lunch on weekdays. Fruit and vegetables come from around Lyon, and their shop sells a granola made with gluten-free oats.
1 Rue du Pavillon, 69004 Lyon - metro Croix-Rousse - Google Maps
Toutes les Couleurs, organic and vegetarian
This organic vegetarian restaurant, on the slopes of the Croix-Rousse, has gluten-free options, and there are many good reviews about them. They also favor local and seasonal ingredients: what more could you ask for?
26 Rue Imbert-Colomès, 69001 Lyon - metro Croix-Paquet - Google Maps
Suzette, pancakes with a view
Pancakes with toppings, with gluten-free and dairy-free options. Sit on the terrace facing the Saint-Nizier church with a smoothie or a hot drink and a gluten-free buckwheat pancake. Takeaway too.
1 Place Saint-Nizier, 69001 Lyon - metro Cordeliers - Google Maps
La Crêperie de DéDé, Breton galettes
This crêperie serves galettes bretonnes, savory crêpes made with buckwheat flour, and its menu says they are gluten-free. Reviews about gluten-free are positive, so I would trust them on cross-contamination, although I haven't called them. Careful: the sweet crêpes are usually made with wheat.
4 Rue Petit David, 69002 Lyon - Google Maps
Buying gluten-free food
You will find gluten-free products in most supermarkets, like everywhere in France: see the supermarket section of my France guide. There are also local makers:
Gojo, organic gluten-free mixes
Gojo means "joy" in Esperanto, and that's what Marie, its founder, wants you to feel. The brand is based near Lyon and sells flour mixes for pancakes, cookies and bread, coconut and teff flours and biscuits, in shops and online. They also run cooking workshops, some with AFDIAG, the French celiac association.
Closed places
Almost half the addresses I found online had closed or stopped gluten-free. Don't look for these: Five pastry shop, Popotte & Co, Les Demoiselles Poncet, Ma Cantine Gourmande, My Petite Factory (now a caterer and cooking school), Boko Loco, Chez Soline, Moi #purjus, Hank Burger Lyon Opéra, and the Saint Vincent bakery (new owner, no more gluten-free).
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