Gluten-Free in Curaçao

/ curacao4canadians

The question, “can I get gluten-free food in Curaçao?” gets asked fairly often, so I decided to do some research and find some answers. It turns out you can actually have a gut-friendly holiday on the island quite easily if you do your homework.

Groceries:

Going to one of the bigger supermarkets (Carrefour, Vreugdenhil, Van Den Tweel, Harmonia Tiendadi Salu, for example), will yield you good results. Most of them, and a few others, have many gluten-free products for sale. That said, it can vary from week to week based on supply. That awesome gluten-free bread you bought today, may be out of stock next week. Unfortunately, the grocery stores are slaves to international shipping, just like all of us.

Restaurants:

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it will give you some options to start. The best way to make sure is to contact the restaurant directly and ask. Some of them may need a day’s notice to prepare a gluten-free meal for you, but it’s surprising how many are willing to!!

  • Bowls Noodle Bar
  • Mandal Indian restaurant in Punda. Indian food is often safe for gluten-free.
  • Cafe 5999
  • Sol Food has gluten-free pizza
  • Number Ten
  • Esty’s
  • DushiMeow (GF arepas, and also pizza crust when GF flour is available)
  • Bario Urban Street Food will cater to gluten free if you just inform the server when ordering
  • Brgr.Haus (most items, including the fries are gluten free, even gluten free buns)
  • Serafina (they have gluten free pasta)
  • BKLYN
  • Soi95
  • Mosa Cana
  • Caleo
  • Maira’s Kitchen
  • Doña Carmen
  • Fort Nassau
  • Cactus Cafe
  • Osteria Rosso
  • Mi Famiglia
  • Mia Nonna
  • De Heeran at Sea
  • De Dames
  • Bliss the Berry
  • La Reina
  • BlueFinn charters to Klein Curaçao on their catamaran and they can cater for gluten free if they have 24hr notice.
  • Gia Gelato and Cafe: gluten free flavors and also almond or oat milk for the coffees
  • Breeze Number 5

Communication:

As you may know, even when you speak the same language as a server, communicating your food issues can be difficult. Here is some help for that.

This phrase in Papiamentu will be helpful: “Mi no por kome NADA ku tin gluten (por èhèmpel hariña), mi ta bira hopi malu!”

Which means: “I will get very sick if I eat anything with gluten (for example flour).”

Or, if you want to be more thorough, here are some “Gluten cards” you could print off and bring with you, or keep as a picture on your phone:

(Credit for the Gluten card to Celiactravel.com and translations to Tittel Del Mar)

As I stated earlier, this is not a comprehensive list of options, but from the info provided, I think most people will be able to satisfy their dietary needs and have a delicious vacation in Curaçao!!