Detailed Gluten-Free Restaurant Card — Croatia

The coast cooks in your favor

Coastal Croatian cooking is naturally gluten-free-friendly — grilled fish, olive oil, pršut, Pag cheese, Istrian truffles. Awareness is growing fast in Zagreb and along the tourist coast, and hotels and konobas in Dubrovnik, Split, and Zagreb increasingly mark gluten-free dishes. The Hrvatsko društvo za celijakiju is the patient society to know. Inland and in bakeries, I keep my guard up.

What’s on the card

• A clear explanation of celijakija in Croatian, so the kitchen treats it as medical
• What I can’t eat and where gluten hides: ćevapi often bound with breadcrumbs, sarma that needs a rice-only filling, maneštra and pašticada that are sometimes flour-thickened, pohani (breaded) dishes and shared frying oil
• What’s usually workable: riba na žaru (grilled fish) and pršut with paški sir
• The kitchen questions — including “Is this dish thickened with flour?” and whether the fryer is shared with breaded items

What’s in the travel companion (page 2)

• How I pick restaurants: “bez glutena” on menus, Find Me Gluten Free for Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik, the phrase “Imate li opcije bez glutena?” — and avoiding pekare (bakeries) entirely unless dedicated gluten-free
• Six dishes worth ordering (crni rižot with a confirmed broth, buzara only after checking for flour or breadcrumbs), shopping notes (Schär plus the Polish brand Bezgluten; free-from sections at Konzum, Spar, and dm), and where options cluster — Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik, Hvar, Rovinj
• If you get glutened: the ljekarna phrase “imam celijakiju i jeo/jela sam gluten,” and 112 as the EU-wide emergency number, with English common in coastal cities

The honest certification picture

Croatia has a real patient society — the Hrvatsko društvo za celijakiju — and on packaged foods you’ll find the crossed-grain mark and the EU-regulated “bez glutena” claim (max 20 ppm). Those apply to packaging, not to the konoba’s grill — the card handles that conversation in Croatian.

Format

Instant download. Two-page PDF — print it or show it 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.