Gluten Free Guide - Canggu, Bali

Travel is one of the most anxiety provoking things for many coeliacs, myself included. I am an foodie at heart and I absolutely HATE that I cannot simply go and eat wherever I please.

Personally I have found Asian countries are always a struggle when it comes to awareness and understanding of coeliac disease and the gluten free diet so I was a little worried about Bali. However, after a good IG stalk it became clear the health food cafe scene in Bali is well and truly alive, so my spirits were lifted!

Overall the experience was positive - I had a look at menus for places before we went and most of the healthy style cafes were really easy to manage. What we didn’t do is visit many restaurants with local cuisine. That’s not to say it isn’t possible, but sometimes I personally think its not worth the anxiety, or the disappointment when you ask for gluten free and the response is “glooten what?”

There was one day we did a day tour on Nusa Penida (highly recommend by the way!) and our driver stopped at a local place for us to grab lunch, now, fortunately, I had packed bulk gf protein bars for the day because all I could do there was plain steamed rice and fresh fruit. But I’ve learned that it is better to be safe in these situations and try not to get disappointed, in fact, I didn’t even expect to get anything more than plain rice.

So below are the places that we dined at in Bali - the good and the bad. 

Gypsy Kitchen, Canggu

Our accomodation in Canggu was directly above Gypsy Kitchen and they offered a couple of breakfast vouchers so we frequented here. It was actually one of the better cafes. They seemed to know what to do when I asked for gluten free and would check with the chef when they weren’t sure. The only fault was on one occasion I asked for the omelette which I was told was gluten free but it came with a side of fresh fruit which was sprinkled in granola (not gluten free). Fortunately, I could just avoid that.

I was game enough to go for the poke style bowl with raw tuna which I didn’t really think through from a food safety perspective until after. I can say with confidence I lived to tell the tale and no food poisoning was encountered.

Good For: Salads, smoothies and juices. 

The Shady Shack, Canggu

Another very cute cafe we frequented at. The menu here is incredible and we had a hard time choosing what to have. Plenty of items were gluten free or easily modified for gluten free. Highly recommend.

Good For: Healthy meals, lots of variety and really cool reggae music! 

Leroy’s Vietnamese, Canggu

We actually stumbled across this one on a late night, post massage rampage for food. We were at our wits ends trying to find somewhere and this was a very pleasant surprise. Just up from Shady Shack the noodle soup with rice noodles was DELICIOUS!

Good For: Yummy noodle soup!

 Betelnut Cafe, Canggu

I wish we were able to get back here more than once as it was to die for. HUGE portion sizes, but so so good. They had a salted caramel protein smoothie on their specials for the day and it was one of the best smoothies I’ve had! Plenty of options were able to be modified for gluten free. 

Good For: Big portions of healthy meals, smoothies and juices.

Kynd Community, Seminyak

We finally made it to this place on our last day but mannn do I wish we went earlier. It is paradise. Lots of insanely delicious gluten free options. It is an entirely vegan cafe so don’t bring your meat loving friends, although even they will love the food on offer. The rice paper rolls with peanut sauce were so damn good.

Good For: All the plant based food

Nalu Bowls, Canggu

I was super excited to visit to Nalu Bowls but was left severely disappointed, as was Tarryn. The acai itself was average at best and they unfortunately didn’t have any gluten free granola so I was left with a measly portion of an average acai bowl.

Good For: a small, average acai bowl 

Cafe Organic, Canggu

I would not recommend this place - although they had some gluten free options the food itself was not good. The smoothie bowls we got were not actually cold. Riddle me that, how do you make a room temperature smoothie bowl. I don’t know but it happened.

Good For: Very disappointing smoothie bowls  

The Lawn, Canggu 

We spent a day here sipping cocktails but unfortunately, the gluten free items on offer were very limited so once the cocktails set in we went off in hunt of food. I would highly recommend spending a day sipping cocktails on the day beds though. Just pick a bed that catches a bit of a breeze if it is a hot day.

Good For: Yum cocktails and a good happy hour!

We also spent some time in Nusa Lembongan which was actually quite a bit harder to get good food, not surprising as it is much less busy, less popular than Bali itself.

Ohana’s, Nusa Lembongan

This place was recommended to us, it is a beach club and the venue itself was very cool but the food was disappointing. I got a piece of snapper that wasn’t very nice and very small without much to go with it.

Good For: Cute beach club, not so great food

Sandy Bay Beach Club, Nusa Lembongan

We actually stayed just up the road at the Garden Shacks which are attached to the beach club here so we ate at the beach club numerous times. They had gluten free well labeled on the menu and the food was pretty good, large variety of western and some asian style dishes.

Good For: Sunset views, cocktails and simple food.

Honestly, it was an easy gluten free trip, just pack some snacks to take and when in doubt - steamed rice and fresh fruit.

There were a few other places we didn’t make it to: Motel Mexicola, Peloton Supershop, Sisterfields and there are probably so many more I can’t even think of right now. To be honest there is so much good food in Bali! 

Comment below if you’ve got some good places to add, I’d love to hear your favourites.