Eating Gluten-Free in Prague

Czech food is a notorious foe to us gluten intolerant folk. Upon traveling to the land of beer, goulash and dumplings, I halfway expected to pick at lettuce and/or McDonalds fries all week long. So imagine my delight when I was researching Celiac-friendly options in Prague and finally came across a restaurant that supposedly served gluten-free versions of traditional Czech dishes. At first I thought it was too good to be true, but thankfully I was mistaken.

At Švejk Restaurant U Karla, you can find classic Czech dishes specially prepared gluten-free for a surprisingly decent price. My mom and I, both Celiacs, went there twice during our week in Prague. We feasted upon their gluten-free beef goulash with onions and homemade dumplings, pork sirloin in a sour cream sauce with homemade dumplings, roasted sausage with mustard and horseradish, pancakes with marmalade, fruit dumplings and apple strudel. They even serve a tasty gluten-free Czech beer called Celia. You can check out the rest of their extensive GF menu here.

Behold, good gluten-free beer actually exists!

Getting my goulash on.

These fluffy pancakes filled with apricot marmalade melted in my mouth.

Gooey dumplings filled with seasonal fruit & topped with cinnamon, sugar and cheese. Perfection.

Švejk Restaurant U Karla is conveniently located in Nové Město, or New Town, just a 15 minute walk from Old Town Square.

We also had luck finding GF meals at Hotel U Prince, one of the few restaurants in town that specifically labels meals on their menu as gluten-free. Both of their indoor and outdoor dining areas next to Old Town Square offer many gluten-free dishes, but their rooftop terrace has a different menu with fewer options. (Which is a shame, because the views are amazing. But I still recommend going up there for a drink and perhaps an appetizer.)

If you are traveling to Prague and have Celiac Disease or a gluten intolerance, I highly recommend printing out a gluten-free restaurant card like this one to give to your waiters at restaurants. There aren't many eateries in Prague that have special gluten-free menus like Švejk Restaurant U Karla or Hotel U Prince, and not every waiter knows what gluten is. Using this card helped me enjoy dishes at other not-so-Celiac-friendly restaurants without getting sick.

Although I wasn't expecting to sample authentic Czech cuisine in Prague, I was pleasantly surprised by how much of it I got to enjoy. I think it's fair to say that I loved every single bite.

Do you have any food allergies? 
How do you survive them while traveling?