AIBU to not choose a gluten free cafe for lunch if I’m not gluten free?

[TenuousTed]

This was prompted by a post I saw on social media where someone who has coeliac disease complained about overhearing someone say that they walked into a cafe and when they realised that it was gluten free, they left.

Personally I fail to see the problem with them choosing another cafe, though I appreciate that it’s not so good for the gluten free cafe owners.

I appreciate that I eat plenty of naturally gluten free dishes and some like tempura chicken, work well gluten free but if I’m looking for a sandwich and cake I wouldn’t actively choose gluten free bread and cakes because gluten free bread isn’t nearly so nice.

I am very happy that gluten free cafes exist for people with coeliac disease and gluten intolerance but if you have no such issues, is it really so unreasonable to choose to go elsewhere?

It depends what you’re looking for I guess. If I was looking for sandwiches and cake then I would actively avoid going to a gluten free restaurant/cafe because gluten free bread isn’t nearly so nice as regular bread and most gluten free cakes aren’t generally as nice as gluten containing. I
might consider it for a salad , baked potato or curry that would generally be naturally gluten free but I probably wouldn’t want most of their puddings.

Like others have said, it would friend what I wanted to eat. Let's ignore my actual really restrictive diet (mix of choice & health requirements). If I wanted say a chickpea cauliflower salad & they had it, of course ud eat there. If I really wanted a sandwich then no, I'd go elsewhere - well actually I'd probably just order something like the salad or a baked potato, but if all they had were bread based choices then I'd go elsewhere as I've yet to try a gf free bread I'd eat out of choice rather than necessity. In my RL I eat a bread that's 'specialty' because it is 'good enough' when I can't eat 'normal' bread, but no way I'd choose it over regular bread if I could

99 GF cafes in the Uk and circa 45000 towns and villages.

Honestly, she is probably offended because if people walk out without trying it’ll make it harder to run a business.

I mean if there’s things like tortillas and rice dishes, baked or grilled meats and fish and brownies they would all be exactly the same as not GF. I can see why that would be annoying. But each to their own.

I have walked out of places where I have looked at the menu and decided there is nothing I want, for whatever reason. I think that is the customer's privilege. I don't think walking through a door means I have committed myself to spending money there.

An interesting question, why is GF bread universally crap apparently? The GF cakes i make for a GF relative are perfectly ok, and I've had no complaints from anybody, the usual comment is "if I hadn't been told, I wouldn't have known it was GF"

It isn’t her cafe though but then she still has a vested interest in it staying open.

I do have to disagree about brownies though. I love brownies but I hate gluten free ones. They aren’t nearly so nice. But yes there are probably plenty of naturally gluten free options as you rightly pointed out.

I’m gluten free (not coeliac) and I’d probably walk out too because the cake is usually a prepackaged flapjack, or it’s the ‘cake for every allergy’ so it’s gluten, egg, dairy and joy free.

I probably wouldn’t eat in an exclusively vegan restaurant or cafe either

@Somersetbaker I don’t bake my own but I find all gf bread is just the same. Whereas non gluten bread is texturally and tastes different (eg a pitta vs a roll vs a sliced loaf etc) whereas GF is just exactly the same but shaped into different shapes. And it’s incredibly expensive.
we had an expensive gluten free and vegan cake from a supermarket as a birthday cake and it was genuinely vile, tasted of chemicals and margarine. I’d rather have nothing.

We had a gluten free cafe near us and it ended up closing, more due to the owner's health than anything else. I was gutted as it is so nice to be able to go somewhere and just order with no fear of being ill after. I think there is a perception that gluten free food is some kind of weird cult when many "normal" foods - jacket potatoes, salads, roasts etc are or can easily be GF. As for cakes being full of additives, no more so than any other bought cake. Homemade GF cake is pretty simple. The bread is not great but even that can be tolerable if it's not the cheap stuff and thoughtfully prepared.

Obviously...

I meant I'd eat there but just wouldn't touch the bread as GF bread is disgusting!

If I was looking for sandwiches/cakes etc or pizza/pasta and there were other options nearby then I would probably leave and find another option too. Gluten free versions of those products are usually not as good. But if i was looking for a different type of meal and it looked good, or there was nothing much else nearby, then I'd stay. I don't know why you should be given a hard time over this!

Gee I’d give it a try at least. Made a date to meet a friend for brunch at a cafe which I didn’t know was vegan. We had a tasty meal and I liked the vibe so will be back. I mean I wouldn’t care less if someone looked at the menu and though ‘oh no sausages, was really looking forward to that’ and leaving, but I think they could have tried the alternative just once as they were already there!

I thought I was gluten intolerant for 18m and cut out gluten…..

turned out to be colon cancer and I’m now cancer free. Finished all treatment and in a weird way (I like to see positives in things) cancer was better than being gluten free!! 🤣 so yes, I’d walk out

Yes, gluten free bread isn't the best but GF cakes have come along way in the last 20 years and it's even difficult to tell the difference anymore.

I’ve got non-coeliac gluten sensitivity and I feel very sorry for all you people saying that GF cakes are pre-packaged horribleness or not very nice.

There’s a bookshop near me with a coffee shop. I’d noticed the cakes but hadn’t looked closely because I’d lust after them and wouldn’t be able to eat them. However, the other day I was feeling so miserable, I asked if they had any GF cakes and lo and behold they were all GF! I couldn’t believeit! I had a Lemon and Pistachio Slice and it was absolutely lush! You’d never have guessed it was GF.

So, IMO people shouldn’t just automatically walk out of a cafe if they see it’s GF. The proof of the cake pudding is in the eating, after all. Try it and see. You may be very pleasantly surprised 🤤 🍰

It could also be that they have health issues that mean a lot of the food isn't suitable rather than just not liking the taste of gd food...I can't think of any in particular with gluten free but some people would struggle to find something that agreed with them in e.g. a vegan cafe...e.g. they could have a soy allergy, or have issues with specific vegan alternatives (I'm like this with some vegan alternatives...I'm not sure quite what ingredient it is, but it's a migraine trigger for me) or they could be following a strict keto diet and not eat much fruit and veg etc.

I wouldn't by choice eat gluren free or vegan food, so I'd absolutely not choose to eat in a vegan or GF restaurant. Yes, if I had to, I could probably find something gluten free or vegan to eat, but I'd prefer to go somewhere with more options that aligned to my personal taste preferences.

Absolutely this!! I'm done with a brownie as the only dessert option. Or overly priced pre-wrapped tiny slivers in the chain outlets that cost a ridiculous amount.

I can see why a non-coeliac person would behave like this. It's a shame though. I've been to places that cater really well for coeliac diners and had to question the bread and pastry as they were that good, so I'm sure they'd have had a good meal still.

Why is it silly to leave a cafe when you realise you don’t really want to eat the food they sell? Sandwiches in most cafes aren’t cheap. I’m on a budget, like most people, so if I’ve decided to treat myself to a sandwich in a cafe, why would it be silly for me to leave a cafe which sells sandwiches I am unlikely to enjoy?! Are you supposed to stay and spend your money there just so you don’t hurt the staff’s feelings?

I was in this situation once. A few friends mentioned a cafe , there was an event near by so we popped in after for a cup of coffee. I was a bit distracted as they had a complicated layout, DH started ordering and I realised that they were completely gluten free. We stayed as they started making DH’s coffee already but otherwise I would walk away. I don’t mind almond cake as GF option but I prefer my coffee and walnut to have gluten in 🙂.

I'm a coeliac and I live near a cafe that's 100% gluten free, they only do toasties and cake. They don't make a big deal of it and it's always packed with people - you have to be really looking/asking to know it's GF.
I'm very lucky as I also have a GF bakery that does pies nearby!

I don’t mind gf cake but gf bread is dire 99.9% of the time. Actually maybe Ive got used to gf cake as Dd has coeliac disease so i only make gf cake now.

dd took me to a vegan pizza place the other week and my heart sank for the same reason. 4 cheese vegan pizza? No thanks. 😁

Vegan and GF baking is not as nice as regular baking. This is surely not news to anyone.

How odd. I'll often walk out if I can't see the menu from outside & don't fancy it. I find most places are just about all fried food, or super expensive. It's so expensive & rare for me to eat out, I want to enjoy it!!

Ds refuses to buy from his school's tuck shop because it's vegetarian. He doesn't fancy the bean tacos on offer this week.

If you’re after a cheesy baked potato, then I’d think you were being weird to walk out just because it was a gluten free cafe.

If you wanted a sandwich, then fair enough. I wouldn’t eat gluten free bread if I didn’t have to!