Detailed Gluten-Free Restaurant Card — Arabic-speaking countries

The mezze table is half yours already

Much of the Arab table is naturally gluten-free — grilled meats, rice, hummus, salads, dates — and Gulf cities have growing gluten-free scenes thanks to large international communities. The traps are bulgur, semolina, and the vermicelli that hides in rice. “Khali min al-gluten” (gluten-free) is increasingly recognized, and this card does the explaining where it isn’t.

What’s on the card

• A clear explanation of celiac disease in Modern Standard Arabic, so the kitchen treats it as medical
• What I can’t eat and where gluten hides: tabbouleh built on bulgur, kibbeh with its bulgur shell, falafel batter that sometimes contains wheat flour (in a shared fryer), rice dishes cooked with vermicelli (sha’iriya) or orzo
• What’s usually workable: grilled meats like kebab and shish tawook (verify the marinade), and mutabbal or baba ghanoush
• The kitchen questions — including whether the falafel is chickpea flour only, and the glove-change and clean-utensils request

What’s in the travel companion (page 2)

• How I pick restaurants: looking for “خالي من الجلوتين” on menus, leaning on international hotel restaurants, and skipping street food served in or on bread
• Six dishes worth ordering (mandi and kabsa only after verifying no vermicelli), shopping notes (Schär in Gulf supermarkets; extensive free-from sections at Carrefour, Spinneys, and Lulu), and where options cluster — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Beirut, Amman, Cairo
• If you get glutened: the saydaliyya (pharmacy) phrase “عندي مرض السيلياك وأكلت جلوتين,” and a reminder that emergency numbers vary by country — UAE 998 for an ambulance, Egypt 123, Jordan 911

The honest certification picture

No region-wide gluten-free certification exists across the Arabic-speaking countries. “خالي من الجلوتين” appears on some packaged foods and menus but still needs verifying, and crossed-grain marks show up mostly on imported packaged goods. Nobody certifies the plate in front of you — the card carries that conversation in Arabic instead.

Format

Instant download: a 2-page PDF you can print or show from your phone.

This card helps communicate your dietary needs. It does not guarantee a gluten-free meal or eliminate cross-contact risk. Always use your judgment, and when in doubt, do not eat. Not medical advice.