Eating Gluten-Free in Lancaster, PA

I spent Memorial Day weekend in Lancaster, Pennsylvania celebrating the wedding of one of my best friends. Lancaster is a small town, surrounded by farmland, and has a large Amish population. This was my first time visiting Lancaster and I enjoyed exploring and finding unique sights. One of the unique things I noticed was that the bar near my hotel had kale and swiss chard growing on the rooftop -- definitely not something you see in DC! Many of the restaurants in the area focus on local and organic food, and have gluten-free options!

Prince St. Cafe

My boyfriend and I ate breakfast at the Prince St. Cafe every morning for breakfast. It was our favorite restaurant. They use eggs from a local farm in their breakfast dishes. The staff was very accommodating and allowed us to make substitutions and additions to the meals, which I greatly appreciated. We both ordered the seasonal scramble with no cheese and added avocado for extra fat. Also, the egg mixture they usually use for scrambled eggs has milk in it, so be sure to ask for whole eggs instead when ordering! It’s always a good idea to ask if eggs have milk in them when ordering at a restaurant, it’s very common. There were a few gluten-free treats, like brownies and muffins and they have gluten-free bread for all their sandwiches. My boyfriend thought the coffee served was really good and I enjoyed their iced vanilla matcha latte with almond milk. Definitely check out Prince St. Cafe if you’re in Lancaster!

Lancaster Central Market

I was so excited to find out that Lancaster has a huge farmers market right downtown! Lancaster Central Market was open the Friday and Saturday we were there, so we got to go twice! I wasn’t able to buy much because we didn’t leave until Sunday, and I had nowhere to store groceries, but there was so much I wanted to buy! The market is located inside a large building and there were rows of vendors selling organic vegetables, fruits, grass-fed and pastured meat, natural beauty products, and much more! I even noticed some vendors selling gluten-free cupcakes, biscotti, and bread. I got an iced honey matcha latte with almond milk from an organic tea stand both days, and it was so good! I love exploring farmers markets when I travel and this one had so much to offer!

Tea Bar at Lancaster Central Market. I got the iced honey matcha latte with almond milk. Everything was organic, vegan, and gluten-free! The matcha was so good!

The Press Room

The rehearsal dinner was at The Press Room. I didn’t order off the menu here because all the food was already arranged for our event. My friend was super thoughtful and asked about gluten-free options for me. The Press Room was very accommodating and we were able to get the filet mignon and the salmon gluten-free! Our meals came with vegetables and mashed potatoes and everything was delicious. They also offer gluten-free pizza!

Aussie and the Fox

Aussie and the Fox was recommended to me by a few of the people we were with, so my boyfriend and I decided to have a date night here. They have gluten-free items marked on the menu and even some of the non-marked items can be made gluten-free if you ask. They also use a separate fryer for gluten-free foods so there’s no cross contamination! We started with the Bush Tucker salad, which had fruit and nuts. It was a huge salad and very good! Then I got the salmon and my boyfriend got the filet mignon. They were both very good, but we didn’t love the sides that came with our meals. Mine came with rice that was cooked in a cream sauce, and I didn’t think to double check there was no dairy in the rice. I’m not allergic to dairy, so I just ate around it, but I wish I’d realized. Aussie and the Fox is definitely a great option if you’re looking for somewhere to eat gluten-free in Lancaster!

What are your favorite places to eat gluten-free in Lancaster? Is there anywhere I need to check out next time I’m visiting? Let me know!