How to ask a Japanese restaurant about gluten

Staff in Japan are usually glad to help, but “gluten” isn't a word everyone knows, and a quick “is this OK?” tends to get a quick “yes”. Specific questions, in Japanese, get specific answers.

Say who it's for, first

Start with one sentence about your diet. Our staff cards let you choose: a wheat allergy, coeliac disease (wheat, barley and rye, even in small amounts), avoiding gluten, or a child with a wheat allergy. The rest of the card follows from that.

Ask about the kitchen, not just the dish

• 揚げ油は、小麦を使う料理と同じですか？Is the frying oil shared with dishes that use wheat?
• 麺は別の鍋でゆでますか？Are the noodles boiled in a separate pot?
• 鉄板や調理器具は、ほかの料理と同じですか？Are the griddle and utensils shared with other dishes?

Ask about soy sauce and tea

• 醤油を使っていますか？小麦を使っていない醤油はありますか？Does it use soy sauce? Do you have soy sauce made without wheat?
• 味噌や出汁に、麦は入っていますか？Is there any wheat or barley in the miso or stock?
• 麦茶ではなく、お水か緑茶をください。Water or green tea instead of barley tea, please.

When to ask

• When booking: many places take requests in their booking form. Every place page has a ready-made Japanese message to paste in.
• When you arrive: show the card before ordering, not after the food comes.
• If the answer is “difficult” (難しい): that's a polite no. Thank them and move on; our cards include the words for that too.

Show it full screen

On our phrases page, tap any phrase to show it large. On each place page, “Show staff” opens a card written for that kind of food, such as frying oil for tempura or noodle water for soba.

This isn't medical advice. How strictly to avoid gluten is your call, with your doctor.