After a two week stay in Paderborn last year, I’ve finally got round to this post to summarise my gluten free dining experiences. I’m pleased to say that the restaurants and cafes mentioned are still open! As usual, there’s a Resources section at the end of this post with links and lists.
The City
Paderborn is a charming city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The city’s name originates from the Pader River. A leaflet in my hotel detailed a walking tour around the centre taking in sights such as Paderborn Cathedral. I followed the guided route on a Sunday and it took me approximately an hour.
Schloss Neuhaus, a beautifully preserved Renaissance castle is away from the centre…it was an hour’s walk way on a very pleasant Saturday morning.
The Research
Some of my choices of restaurants came from Google searches and Trip Advisor recommendations. A couple, such as Xinh City, were just a case of walking past and popping in to enquire about gluten free or glutenfrei.
Travelling
Getting to Paderborn involved two short flights with a connection in Munich. I was able to order a yellow chicken curry at Seafood Meets Asia in Munich Airport. This was marked as gluten free on the menu.
Best Western Plus Arosa Hotel
Westernmauer 38, 33098 Paderborn
The hotel staff were able to advise me on gluten free options and gluten free toast was offered to me every morning. I had a couple of evening meals at the hotel. The dinner menu is seasonal and I happened to catch the end of asparagus season so I did try the asparagus with ham and potatoes served with a cream sauce. The asparagus were huge and white coloured, unlike the far slender green variety we see in UK supermarkets.
Another evening, I had the tuna fillet in a mustard and tarragon sauce with pak choi and potatoes.
The menu was far more limited at the start of the week, probably due to the level of occupation. I had the chilli con carne with gluten free buns, as the other main choice on the menu was pizza.
Overall, the service was very good, as was the quality of the food.
Restaurants
Xinh city
Königstraße 80, 33098 Paderborn
This was a Vietnamese restaurant with a very pretty indoor décor.
There was a language barrier with some of the staff but one of the team was able to assist me and I enjoyed two dishes here. Bo Xao and Ga Xao which were beef and chicken, respectively, with vegetables in a garlic and chilli sauce. Absolutely amazing! Despite the language barrier, the service was friendly.
Goa Curry
Westernmauer 86, 33098 Paderborn
A very busy Indian restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. During my stay, I enjoyed a chicken jalfrezi, butter chicken, and a chicken biryani.
El Chingon
Kamp 31, 33098 Paderborn
I’m always excited when I can eat at a Mexican restaurant. I was advised that the tostadas were gluten free so I had the combo of three including pulled pork, pulled chicken and chorizo and potato. The sopa azteca was so good that I looked up the recipe when I got home and have made it a couple of times since.
Café central
Rosenstraße 13, 33098 Paderborn
A lovely café set in a quiet square just off a main shopping street with indoor and outdoor seating.
They had some soups and salads on the menu marked as gluten free. I ordered something called Kartoffel-Ggemuse-Pfanne which translate to ‘Potato vegetable pan’. It was chunky vegetable in a tomato sauce with rocket….similar to a ratatouille.
Café & Bar Celona
Rathauspl. 7, 33098 Paderborn
This is a busy but also huge café with lots of outdoor seating in a nice central spot in Paderborn.
I didn’t see anything gluten free on the menu but after enquiring with the staff and waiting patiently, I was eventually offered the Pollo Bowl. It was a tasty salad with fajita chicken strips, sweet potato fries, baby spinach and various dips such as salsa and guacamole.
Saturday market
I talk a walk through the Saturday market around the cathedral and came across a stall with the sign ‘Kriegels schnitte- glutenfrei’. I purchased the chocolate filled waffle…it would have been rude not to!
dean & david
Detmolder Str. 57-59, 33100 Paderborn
I came across one of their stores in Paderborn but didn’t actually try anything on the menu as it was closed when I passed by. Dean and David are a chain of stores that offer healthy and fresh food in the form of curries, wraps, bowls and salads.
Resource List
Website to research restaurants: https://www.findmeglutenfree.com
Spanish Coeliac Restaurant card: http://www.celiactravel.com/cards/spanish/
Gluten Free Holiday Checklist:
restaurant links
My essential packing
- Schar Fibre Seeded loaf (as it’s got air in the packaging to stop it getting squashed).
- Nakd raw fruit and nut bars in Peanut Delight
- Schar rich tea biscuits
- Nairn’s fruit oat biscuit breaks
- Granovito pate and M&S chicken pate for making sandwiches