What does GFO mean on a cafe menu?

GFO means gluten free option. The dish contains gluten as served, usually in the bread, but it can be made without it, most often by swapping in gluten-free bread. GF means the dish is gluten free as it comes.

Is Cappadocia Cafe safe for coeliacs?

We label every dish and offer gluten-free bread, but ours is a busy shared kitchen that also handles flour, pastry and bread. If you have coeliac disease, tell us when you order so we can talk you through the options and take care with your plate.

Which Turkish desserts are gluten free?

Our sütlaç rice pudding and San Sebastián cheesecake are marked gluten free. Baklava and künefe are made with pastry and kadayıf, so they contain gluten.

Are the charcoal grills gluten free?

The grilled meats themselves, including Adana, lamb shish, chicken shish and köfte, are marked gluten free on our dish pages. Ask for them without bread, and check the sides when you order.

Gluten Free Cafe Sydney: What to Order

Looking for a gluten free cafe in Sydney? What GF and GFO really mean, the dishes that are naturally gluten free, and how to order safely in Darlinghurst.

Finding a gluten free cafe in Sydney used to mean one sad slice of GF toast and a lot of questions. It is much easier now, but the labels on menus still cause confusion, and eating out gluten free is about more than a single swapped ingredient. This guide explains what the labels mean, which dishes are naturally gluten free, and how to order well at a cafe in Darlinghurst.

At Cappadocia Cafe every dish on the menu is labelled, and a good part of Turkish and Mediterranean cooking happens to be built on ingredients that never contained gluten in the first place.

GF vs GFO: What the Labels Mean

GF: gluten free as served. Nothing in the dish contains gluten.
GFO: gluten free option. The dish normally contains gluten, usually bread, but can be made without it. Ask for the GF version when you order.
V and VG: vegetarian and vegan. These have nothing to do with gluten, which catches people out. A vegan dish can still contain wheat.

Naturally Gluten Free Dishes on Our Menu

Turkish cooking leans on grilled meat, yoghurt, vegetables, legumes, olive oil and rice, which is good news for anyone avoiding gluten. These are marked gluten free:

Falafel bowl ($24, VG, GF): four falafel, hummus, mixed leaves, avocado, roasted tomato, mushrooms and olives.
The charcoal grills: Adana kebab ($23), lamb shish ($27), chicken shish ($23), köfte ($23) and the mix grill ($43). Ask for them without bread.
Ali Nazik ($27): slow-cooked lamb on smoked eggplant purée and garlic yoghurt, one of the great dishes of Gaziantep. Ask for it without the bread.
The dips: hummus, babaganoush, haydari, ezme, carrot and beetroot dips ($6 each). Ask for vegetables to dip if you are skipping bread.
Olives ($5) and hot chips ($8). If you are coeliac, ask us about the fryer before ordering chips.
Desserts: sütlaç rice pudding ($9) and San Sebastián cheesecake ($9).

Breakfasts With a Gluten Free Option

Most of our breakfasts are GFO, which means the eggs, cheese and toppings are fine and we swap the bread. That covers a lot of ground:

Menemen and çılbır ($20 each): the two great Turkish egg dishes, with GF bread on the side.
Eggs Benedict ($24), avocado toast ($19) and the Stanley Big Breakfast ($28).
Halloumi breakfast ($25) and halloumi bowl ($23).
Acai bowl and chia pudding ($18 each), where the only thing to check is the granola.
The omelette ($20), which is marked gluten free as served.

What to Avoid

Some dishes cannot be made gluten free because the wheat is the dish. Gözleme and pide are doughs, mantı are wheat dumplings, and the börek, simit and toasties are all bread or pastry. Among the desserts, baklava is layered filo and künefe is made from shredded kadayıf pastry, so both contain gluten.

If You Are Coeliac

Gluten free by preference and gluten free for coeliac disease are not the same thing. Our kitchen is a busy shared space that also works with flour, bread and pastry, so we cannot promise a trace-free plate. What we can do is label clearly, talk you through the menu honestly and take care with your order. Tell your server you are coeliac, not just gluten free, and we will treat it that way.

Tips for Eating Out Gluten Free in Sydney

Read the labels, then ask anyway. Recipes change, and a quick question at the counter costs nothing.
Say coeliac if you are coeliac. It tells the kitchen to think about cross-contact, not just ingredients.
Watch the hidden sources: sauces, stock, granola, fried food and anything crumbed.
Cuisines built on rice, legumes, grilled meat and vegetables, such as Turkish and Mediterranean, give you far more choice than bread-led menus.

Coffee, Tea and Drinks

Espresso coffees, Turkish coffee, Turkish tea, fresh juices and smoothies are all gluten free, which makes a cafe stop simple even if you are not eating. The only thing to double check is any added topping or syrup.

Gluten free and GFO breakfast, lunch and dinner at Cappadocia Cafe, 82-84 Stanley St, Darlinghurst. Every dish is labelled.

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