When my husband was a rep, he could eat apple strudel to his heart’s content. Luckily, he did just that; it was almost like he knew it wouldn’t last. We could pop into a bakery and pick up a freshly made sandwich and a huge fruit flan to fuel our hike for just a few Swiss francs. We could share a cheese fondue with friends without fear of bread crumbs. When he was diagnosed as Coeliac a few years later, our days of Kaffee und Kuchen vanished like a melting bar of Ovomaltine chocolate. Read on for our experience of eating gluten-free in Switzerland.
Our experience of gluten-free holidays in Switzerland –
This is how Swiss holidays have changed for my husband (and in many ways, for me)
Then: Maxibon ice cream sandwich
Now: Classic Magnum
Then: Mountain hut stops for huge slices of home-made apple strudel or Nusstorte (a very sweet nut-filled pastry tart)
Now: Snickers
Then: Bratwurst in a bun at a local barbecue, crêpes at a street market, raclette (with bread) at a folklore evening
Now: Eat before we go and buy a drink instead
Then: When finishing a long hike and feeling ravenous, make a spontaneous decision to eat in the first restaurant we can find
Now: Avoid the stress of not finding anywhere suitably gluten-free by not even trying. Instead, head back as quickly as possible to heat up our supermarket rösti.
Then: Indulge in the Swiss tradition of sharing a cheese fondue
Now: Arrive with our own gluten-free bread. Or order cheese fondue with potatoes (we tried this once and were told that the potatoes were reserved for the raclette). Or just order the raclette instead
Then: Pick up a picnic from a local bakery or a sandwich from a supermarket for a handful of Swiss francs
Now: Pay three times as much for one of those fancy salad bowls from the supermarket (you know the type – Buddha bowls, Quinoa Rainbow bowls, Daily Bio Protein bowls). Or make our own packed lunch every morning
Then: Dig into pizza and chocolate brownie for another happy evening at one of our very favourite places, Onkel-Tom’s Hütte in Grindelwald
Now: Go to Interlaken for gluten-free pizza (still delicious) at Ristorante Città Vecchia instead
We don’t spend our holiday counting the Swiss cents, making packed lunches and surviving on nightly rations of Co-Op packet rösti.
We usually book a couple of nights out, eating wherever fits our financial and dietary limitations. And while we treat ourselves to a few hearty lunches in high alpine mountain huts, my lunch tends to be more hearty than my husband’s. I order apple strudel for dessert, trying not to feel guilty as he sips his cup of coffee.
There is no doubt a gluten-free holiday in Switzerland is either much more expensive or much less enjoyable, depending on the importance of the foodie side of your experience and your budget. If you can afford to stay and/or dine in Switzerland’s best hotels, you are almost guaranteed a stress-free, gluten-free stay. The top hotels will bend over backwards to ensure you don’t miss out on the Swiss cheese fondue experience if that’s what you want. They will likely bake you fresh gluten-free bread and pastries for breakfast.
There will be exceptions, I’m sure, but any 5-star hotel I’ve walked past (or stayed in) has clearly marked gluten-free options on the menu. But, regardless of your budget, you’re quite unlikely to stroll into a mountain hut and find a gluten-free apple strudel waiting for you.
More frustrating are the challenges presented when trying to find a traditional restaurant to enjoy a simple, hearty Swiss dish. Many Swiss products (cheese and potatoes, for example) are naturally gluten-free, so there are many dishes, such as rösti, raclette and sausages even, that could be or should be gluten-free. However, the menu is often completely devoid of any reference to the gluten-free credentials of the dishes.
It sometimes becomes clearer upon quizzing the waiting staff. On other occasions, it can become more and more confusing with every question you ask. Finally, you’re forced to retreat and try your luck elsewhere because you just can’t be sure the chef doesn’t automatically add copious amounts of non-gluten-free Aromat to every dish.
We see occasional signs that it’s getting better. It’s just that these are completely random discoveries. We never know when or where we will find the next one.
We were beyond excited to see the gluten-free signs on the menu at the Hotel Oberland in Lauterbrunnen a few years back. We marched straight inside to indulge in a three-course traditional lunch.
But eating out requires planning. Hoping to repeat the experience on our most recent summer holiday, we made a last-minute decision to jump on the train up to Lauterbrunnen. It was early evening, so we expected to arrive before the rush. We foolishly told ourselves we would have no problem getting a table. Of course, they were fully booked for the entire night. Luckily, after roaming the town, we bagged the last remaining table at a nearby restaurant. Unfortunately, the waiter looked at us as if we’d just landed from Mars. After much deliberation, he told my husband (who by now was extremely hungry) that the only thing he could have on the menu was the salad.
In general, this is what you can expect in Switzerland –
- The two main supermarkets, Co-Op and Migros, are generally very well stocked for gluten-free self-catering, from pasta to cereals, bread, biscuits and cakes. Look out for either gluten-free aisles or gluten-free labelling on products scattered supermarket-wide.
- If you can find an Alnatura Bio Super Markt branch, you’re in for a gluten-free treat. We always get our picnic lunch in Lucerne here. Unfortunately, there are not many branches, but other locations include Basel, Bern and St. Gallen. See more here.
- Subway solved our lunchtime dilemma on a recent day trip to Montreux. Most branches can advise on their gluten-free fillings and make you a sandwich on their gluten-free bread (which they don’t bother advertising).
- We’ve found eating out easier in cities and the larger touristy towns. For example, Interlaken is pretty good, and Lucerne is even better. Head into the higher mountain villages and expect to trudge past beautiful-looking traditional restaurants, bustling bars and pizzerias. Unless you actually do want the salad, in which case you should be fine. Of course, there are gluten-free offerings in the mountain villages. They’re just not abundant (or in any way obvious), so it’s much easier if you do your research first.
- We have found that Italian restaurants tend to have more options, usually offering at least gluten-free pasta (if not pizza, too).
Top tips for a gluten-free holiday in Switzerland
- Self-catering accommodation is the most stress-free solution, so you can prepare your own meals where needed.
- Do your research and book in advance when eating out to secure tables where you can be sure of a gluten-free meal.
- Menus marked with GF are rare, so be prepared to quiz the staff. Learn your gluten-free vocab depending on the Swiss language in your destination –
German:
Gluten-free: Gluten frei
Wheat: Weizen
French:
Gluten-free: sans gluten
Blé: wheat
Italian:
Gluten-free: senze glutine
Wheat: Frumento
- Download the Coeliac.org.uk Guide to Switzerland
If you also need to follow a gluten-free diet, look out for my gluten-free gems and tips throughout these pages. I might also sneak in some gluten-free groans. We shall see…
Further information:
Look out for posts tagged gluten-free, where I’ll share gluten-free gems and tips. Follow my Instagram feed here to keep up to date on new posts.
Gluten-free gems in the Jungfrau region are included in my general post on the region here (skip to the bottom if this is all you’re looking for).