Whether you’ve recently tested yourself and found out you’re gluten intolerant or you want to move towards a more gluten-free diet, it’s helpful to know how to avoid gluten when you go out for a romantic dinner. While it may feel like a minefield out there, it’s easier than you think. You certainly don’t have to compromise on taste or value and can end the evening feeling like you had a great time no matter what. Let’s look at how to dine out gluten free on a romantic dinner.
1. Call Ahead of Time
While it may be obvious just from looking up your favorite restaurant online, others will require a phone call to figure out if their popular dishes are gluten-free or not.
If you call ahead of time and ask them tough questions around their cooking methods and overall cuisine, you’ll know well in advance the kind of options you have to work with. This is going to save a lot of stress when you actually get to the restaurant.
Instead, you can just arrive and start enjoying your romantic evening together, straight away.
2. Be the Last to Order
If you’re the only gluten-free one out of the two of you, we recommend ordering after your partner. We also recommend repeating what you ordered to the manager as well as the server, so everyone’s on the same page when figuring out how to dine out gluten free.
This way, there’s a much lower risk of the restaurant getting your order wrong and accidentally including gluten in the meal. The last thing you want is to go home with a sore stomach because you were too quick to put your order in.
Make sure you tip generously every time, too.
3. Bring Your Own Food
If it’s your partners turn to choose the restaurant you’re going to, and you don’t have a lot of say, just take your own food. The restaurant may even have an entrée option you can eat, so you just need to take your own appetizer.
While this may sound a little scary at first, it’s all a part of being adaptable as someone who is gluten-free. The reality is, not everywhere you eat out is going to have a gluten-free option that you like. If you come prepared and with something you can eat regardless, you’re going to enjoy that romantic time with your partner regardless of what happens.
When you’re gluten-free, it can be a difficult world to navigate. While many restaurants out there are slowly altering their menus to keep up with food sensitivities, not all of them are there yet. This is why it pays to have a couple of tricks up your sleeve that you can use when things don’t go the way you thought they would.
Whether it’s calling ahead of time or making sure the server and the manager know your order, the more prepared you can be when you go out for a romantic dinner that’s gluten-free, the better you’re going to enjoy yourself.
