Destination Guide: Gluten-Free Leavenworth, Washington
- Alina
- Feb 1, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Mar 13
The small town of Leavenworth is a cute, German village-styled getaway in the mountains a couple hours east of Seattle. Adorable year-round, it becomes especially exciting the Friday after Thanksgiving when it turns into a veritable Christmas wonderland for the holiday season! The lights all through the town are absolutely breathtaking, and there’s so much to do, whether it’s a bracing hike, a ride in a horse-drawn sleigh through the snow, a visit to the reindeer farm, or shopping till you drop at the many cute stores along the strip.
In our experience, finding safe eats in Leavenworth can be a bit less magical. But nothing some extra planning can’t fix! So without further ado, the following are our tips, tricks, and recommendations for a gluten-free, celiac-safe vacation to Leavenworth, Washington.
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Restaurants
Recommended Eats
Safety: ★★★★☆
Not dedicated gluten-free, but servers are very knowledgeable about cross contact to safely accommodate patrons with celiac disease.
Pros:
Mention that you have celiac disease, and they’ll press a “celiac button” when taking your order
Gluten-free items are clearly marked on the menu, and you can also modify many other dishes to be gluten-free
Cons:
N/A
Note: We didn’t order a sandwich or burger — and therefore didn’t get to discuss how they handle cross contact with those — so definitely talk through precautions on that front if you’re considering ordering any of those.
Taste: ★★★★☆
Very solid, healthy, fresh, and filling food!
Must tries: Their broths + the Thai peanut rice bowl
Overall Experience: ★★★★★
Shoutout to the extremely sweet waitress we had for our second visit, who told me she was “proud of [me] for advocating for [myself] so well” — what an unexpected breath of fresh air compared to the usual response we get from waiters when we mention allergies! Head on over for some much-needed validation, all my fellow people pleasers and anxious diners!
Note: This place is popular, so we’d recommend making a reservation!
Others We Tried
Safety: ★★★☆☆
Not 100% gluten-free, but servers are knowledgeable about cross contact and able to accommodate patrons with celiac disease.*
Pros:
They will cook gluten-free pasta in separate water upon request
Menu isn’t labeled, but servers are knowledgeable about what can be modified to be gluten-free
Cons:
*When we visited, they were training new staff in their kitchen, so even though our waitress was great, the kitchen staff made some mistakes, including sending out one of our pastas with gluten-full noodles. Thankfully, it was obvious because their gluten-free noodles are spaghetti-style and these weren’t. On the plus side, they were super apologetic and happily replaced it, and I didn’t get sick.
The cheese sauce isn’t gluten-free, which reduces menu options
We had to be more vigilant here than I would like, so make sure to send food back if it’s missing modifications or looks suspicious in any way!
Taste: ★★★★★
Delicious gluten-free pasta made for a scrumptious meal! They also have a gluten-free custard dessert — we didn’t try it ourselves, but it sounded yummy.
Overall Experience: ★★★★☆
Our waitress was great, super kind and helpful despite the kitchen mishaps. We ate well and had a good time, but did need to be on our toes to stay safe here. Hopefully this is resolved now the staff is more settled, but something to keep in mind!
Crêpe Café Sisters
Safety: ★☆☆☆☆
Not recommended for celiacs or others sensitive to oats that aren’t certified gluten-free.
Pros:
Dedicated section of the kitchen (and associated equipment, etc) for gluten-free crepes
If you ask, they have a binder that tells them which toppings and fillings have which allergen, including gluten
They can also confirm which of their drinks are gluten-free
Cons:
At the time of my visit, they used Pacific brand oat milk for the crepe batter, which doesn’t use gluten-free oats and is therefore unsafe for celiacs. This isn’t obvious (I didn’t check until I started having a reaction, unfortunately), so make sure to confirm the milk they’re using for the batter before you order anything!
I unfortunately got pretty ill due to the milk, so I can't recommend this restaurant until they change the oat milk to a celiac-safe brand.
Taste: ★★★☆☆
Not the best crepes I’ve had, but they tasted decent, and I appreciated the variety of fillings.
Overall Experience: ★☆☆☆☆
We have to rate this one low due to getting glutened, but would be happy to revisit if they updated to a celiac-safe milk for their gluten-free crepe batter.
München-Haus
Safety: ★★★☆☆
Not recommended for celiacs or others sensitive to cross contact.
Pros:
You can ask for an ingredients list for their menu items to check for anything you may be allergic and/or intolerant of
If asked, they will wrap your sausage in aluminum foil to reduce cross-contact risk when cooking on the shared grill (some of their sausages do have gluten in them)
Cons:
A large majority of the menu has natural flavors listed as an ingredient, and they were unable to confirm whether they were gluten-free for this reason
Their foil wrapping left much to be desired — I noticed one sausage hadn’t been fully wrapped, leaving the ends sticking out and touching the grill. If you decide to risk it, I’d go over to the grill on the right and watch them wrap it to make sure yours is done correctly.
While I luckily didn’t get sick, I wouldn’t trust their precautions after what I witnessed and would not have stayed/ate the meal at all if not for my parents being with us and it already being late at night with few other options open.
Taste: ★☆☆☆☆
Their gluten-free buns are extremely dry and crumbly, and the sausage was bland as well.
Overall Experience: ☆☆☆☆☆
Extremely rude staff that viewed someone advocating for their allergies as a personal affront, accompanied by eye rolls and a disrespectful tone and response to our polite, simple questions to confirm whether they had fully covered the sausage, given the only foil-covered sausage on the grill wasn’t properly wrapped. Thankfully, I didn’t have the usual severity of cross-contact symptoms, but I was nauseated.
Leavenworth Pizza Company
Safety: ★☆☆☆☆
Not recommended for celiacs or others sensitive to cross contact.
Pros:
Wait staff is knowledgeable on their protocol and able to answer all questions on process
Cons:
All gluten-free pizzas are cooked directly on the same grill grates as the regular pizzas, exposing you to flour. I asked if they could put my pizza on a separate pan or aluminum foil or something, but they refused, saying they’d tried that previously and “they never cook right.”
Taste: N/A
Since it wasn’t celiac safe, we opted to leave without ordering anything.
Overall Experience: ★☆☆☆☆
The staff was extremely friendly, patient, and happy to answer my many questions to assure my safety. Unfortunately, they can’t accommodate celiac disease safely, but they may be a good option for anyone with gluten intolerance that doesn’t have to worry about cross contact.
Additional Researched Options
You can find our full list of researched restaurants (and grocery stores with gf options!), including some we didn’t get a chance to visit ourselves, on the Find Me Gluten Free app here (get $5 off FMGF Premium here).
**Please note, all places on this list were well-reviewed for celiac safety at the time of our visit. We were only able to visit the above guide restaurants ourselves, though, so if venturing to any places on the larger app list, be sure to read the reviews and do your own due diligence before visiting.
Food Safety Tips
Tourist Attractions and Activities
Once you’ve got the food sorted, here are a few fun attractions and activities to consider during a winter visit to Leavenworth. For those who don’t feel equipped to tackle a snowy drive through the mountains, we’d recommend taking an Amtrak train from Seattle*.
*Note: The train back to Seattle often runs behind by multiple hours, so we'd recommend adding a buffer or, even better, staying overnight in Seattle so you don't miss your flight.
Explore the Great Outdoors
Sleigh rides
What could be more romantic than a horse-drawn sleigh ride? There are multiple vendors that offer this, but we’d personally recommend an advance booking with Eagle Creek Sleigh Rides.
Skiing and snow tubing
There are a number of nearby ski hills, including Leavenworth Ski Hill, Mission Ridge and Ski Resort, and Stevens Pass
Waterfront Park Trail
An easy walking path by the river, good for any skill level. For hikers, there are a number of paths in the mountains around Leavenworth that may be more your speed.
Culture It Up
Nutcracker Museum
Enjoy 7K+ nutcrackers from around the world, with some dating as far back as ancient Rome!
Christmas Festival
Taking place from the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve, Leavenworth goes BIG with its 500K+ Christmas lights as it turns the town into a Christmas wonderland. On weekends, you’ll also see live performances in the park and folks dressed up like various holiday characters or in traditional German wear.
If you want to avoid the holiday rush, shops and stores in downtown Leavenworth typically leave up their decorations all the way through Valentine’s Day weekend
Winter Karneval
In January, Leavenworth swaps to a new festival based on the old German tradition of “Fasching,” replete with live ice carving, ice sculptures, fireworks, and ice-centric games like ice cube scramble and snowball toss.
Get Your Shop On
Downtown Leavenworth
Leavenworth has so many cute little shops on the main strip that will keep you entertained for many hours, from German- and Christmas-themed wares to more modern and trendy options
Embrace Your Inner Child
Front Street Park sledding
Get the adrenaline pumping if you’re lucky enough to visit during a snowy day!
Feed Rudolf a well-deserved snack as he prepares for a busy Christmas Eve delivery schedule
If strategy games and puzzles are your thing, this could be a great respite from the cold
***Date of travel: November 2023