Travelling Gluten-Free: What to Eat in Istanbul and How to Ask

The tiring part of travelling with a gluten sensitivity is not finding food but having the same conversation at every meal. Turkish cooking is in better shape here than people expect, because a large part of the menu carries no flour at all. There are, however, a few traps worth knowing.

The naturally gluten-free part

The grill. Most grilled fish, chicken, lamb and beef amount to meat, salt and fire. Because the grill is a section of its own in Turkish cooking, the choice is wide.

Olive oil dishes. Almost everything in this group is flour-free: imam bayıldı, borlotti beans in olive oil, artichoke, vine leaves.

Yoghurt mezes. Haydari, atom, cacık. They contain dairy but no grain.

Rice pilaf. Pilaf in Turkey is generally made from rice — with one exception, below.

The traps

Pilaf with orzo. Turkish pilaf very often includes small wheat pasta, and menus rarely say so. This is the first thing to ask about.

Köfte. Almost always contains breadcrumb. It looks like plain meat and is not gluten-free.

Thickened soups. Lentil soup appears safe, but some kitchens use flour for body.

Pastes and ready-made sauces. House-made ones are usually clean; with commercial products it is worth asking about the starch.

Frying oil. If pastry is fried in the same fryer, the chips are not clean either. This is the point where cross-contamination is most often overlooked.

How to talk to a kitchen

Asking “is there anything gluten-free?” often fails, because the person in front of you may know the word without knowing its reach. Being concrete works better: “I cannot eat wheat, flour or bread. Is there flour in this dish? Is there orzo in the pilaf? Is the fryer shared?”

Timing matters too. A question asked mid-service on a busy evening reaches the kitchen incomplete. Writing it when you book is far safer — the kitchen can prepare for that day.

Where we stand

Eleven dishes on our à la carte menu are gluten-free and marked (G): the charcuterie plate, Aegean salad, saç kavurma, Sultan Kebab, hanging skewers, grilled sea bass, grilled salmon; and among the desserts, baked rice pudding, ice cream and the sugar-free gluten-free brownie.

We bake fresh gluten-free bread every day — the detail that opens most of the meze list back up to you.

If you have coeliac disease, please say so separately. Our kitchen team will speak with you directly about how things are prepared; we would rather have a specific conversation than offer a blanket assurance.

The full menu is on the à la carte page.