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Disclaimer #2: We do not have Celiac Disease. Thus, we can eat foods even in a heavily contaminated environment (cross-contamination). Depending on your level gluten intolerance, you should always double and triple-check with the restaurant on gluten content and cross-contamination. We are not responsible for your decisions!
Based on our previous trips through the Southern Cone of South America—Uruguay and Chile—I did not expect much gluten-free selection in Paraguay. This even includes the capital city, Asunción. Unlike Northern South America and Central America, which use corn (maíz) and rice (arroz) as the main food grains, Southern South America uses much more wheat (trigo).
I don’t know exactly why this is. I bet it is because Southern South America has a far more significant European influence than the North. And Europe – like North America – is far more wheat-intensive. For example, while Quito, Ecuador, isn’t a gluten-free hotspot, it is quite easy to eat gluten-free in Quito because the culture naturally doesn’t use wheat.

After arriving in Asunción, I will say that my prediction was right. If you are gluten-free, Asunción is not going to be that friendly. A handful of gluten-free restaurants exist in Asunción, but only one is good. Instead, you’ll want to focus on picking out safer foods at regular restaurants.
Below, I go over some of the restaurants we have been eating at while in Asunción. Please note that we eat gluten-free, but we do not have celiac disease. Thus, I am sure all of the regular restaurants have cross-contamination, and something to note if you do have celiac.
- Torres, Amanda (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 192 Pages - 08/22/2017 (Publication Date) - Page Street Publishing (Publisher)
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A Word about T.A.C.C.
In Northern South America and Central America, foods are either gluten-free (sin gluten) or not. But Southern South America often labels gluten-free foods Sin T.A.C.C. This is Spanish for “without Wheat, Oats, Barley, and Rye.” All four grains *may* contain gluten and thus are all lumped together. You’ll want to be on the lookout for any of these Spanish words:
- Gluten = gluten; Spanish simply borrowed the English word.
- Sin / Con = Without / With. Hence, sin gluten is “without gluten.”
- Trigo = Wheat
- Avena = Oats
- Cebada = Barley (not to be confused with cebolla, which means onion).
- Centeno = Rye
- Pan = bread
- Mandioca = cassava. Cassava is gluten-free on its own, and it is common to serve cooked or fried mandioca as a starter or side dish. We haven’t had any issues with mandioca, and it tastes great with a dipping sauce. But if you are highly sensitive or celiac, you may want to confirm it hasn’t been contaminated with wheat somehow.
- Masa = dough. Note that masa madre is a common wheat-based dough.
- Maizena = cornmeal. There is a brand actually called Maizena, and it is labeled Sin T.A.C.C. in the grocery store. However, if you are eating something containing maizena, that doesn’t mean wheat hasn’t been added to it.
- No Puedo Comer… = I cannot eat…
- Salsa de soya = Soy Sauce. Remember, in Asian restaurants, it is prevalent to use wheat-based soy sauce.
- Celíaco = A person with Celiac Disease. Even though we don’t have Celiac, we found it is a lot easier to say celíaco than to try to explain. If you are a woman, you would say celíaca instead.
- Alergía = Allergy (not to be confused with alegría, which is happiness).
- Sopa paraguaya = cornbread. This isn’t necessarily gluten-free, but it initially confused us since sopa means soup in Spanish. But sopa paraguaya – Paraguayan soup – is just cornbread. I wanted to include this because it is a common side dish, and I wouldn’t want you to order it and expect soup.
Gluten-Free Restaurants in Asunción
There are a few dedicated gluten-free restaurants in Asunción, but not many. The ones we found are generally bakery-type places offering an assortment of gluten-free baked goods, pizza, and empanadas. Beyond that, there isn’t much imagination, but that also describes the local cuisine. Below are two gluten-free restaurants we visited in Asunción. We also went to a third gluten-free restaurant in Downtown Asunción, but the chef was on vacation, so the restaurant only sold pre-made frozen foods at the time. There was also no place to sit, so we skipped eating there.
Eco Restó Café
To be fair, the Eco Restó Café is not entirely gluten-free. However, it has a large gluten-free menu and seem to really cater to gluten-free people. Ultimately, it is a plant-based restaurant, so if you want meat, no need to come here. We are heavy meat-eaters, but we really wanted to try Eco Restó Café anyway.

We ordered the corn empanadas, the garbanzo empanadas, and the Daily Lunch deal. The Daily Lunch consisted of a rice-based dish with potatoes and a side of croquettes. The empanadas were not bad, but I wouldn’t go out of your way to have them. Both empanadas had a paste-like textured filling, presumably of either corn or garbanzo beans. There was a good crust-to-filling ratio, so they weren’t dry, which is good. But they lacked any flavor; they tasted like they looked.

The Daily Lunch was better, but quite a small portion. The rice dish was satisfactory and would have been fine if there was just more of it. Think of it as a risotto but without the sauce. On the other hand, the croquettes were quite good and by far the best part of the meal. If the entire meal was based on the croquettes, we would been pleased. But the croquettes were only a small part of the meal.

We also ordered two juices since the restaurant has a large juice and smoothie menu. One juice was the Super Immune, which consisted of pineapple, strawberry, orange, and carrot. It was watered down and tasted more like flavored water than actual juice. The other one was the Choco-Maní (chocolate peanut butter), but we substituted the peanut butter for tahini paste since Kevin can’t eat nuts. (We thought it was very nice of the owner to suggest this substitution to us.) This drink was quite good and tasted like a nice chocolate protein smoothie.
La Clari Senador Long
La Clari is a small gluten-free bakery in the northern Villa Morra neighborhood of Asunción (Senador Huey Pierce Long 536). There are only a couple of seating places inside. They also sell food to take home and cook.
We went for lunch and ate pizza and empanadas. None of it was that great. The pizza was very dry because it had a thick crust and little sauce. The cheese was okay, but it didn’t help. It had a few olives on it and no other toppings. If you are like my husband and don’t like olives, the pizza is essentially bread with cheese.

We also tried two of the empanadas, as there were three choices. Like the pizza, the thick empanada shell overpowered the meat inside. There wasn’t much flavor, nor any cheese, sauce, or juice to help moisten it. I would rate the empanadas marginally better than the pizza solely because there was a higher meat-to-bread ratio. But Kevin and I decided we wouldn’t come back.

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Other Asunción Restaurants Serving Gluten-Free Meals
While being gluten-free is not common in Paraguay, there is some recognition of wanting to eat gluten-free. Below are some spots with gluten-free foods. Please note that cross-contamination is highly present, so keep that in mind.
Almacén de Pizzas
Almacén de Pizzas (literally “Pizza Mall”) is located in Paseo La Galería and offers both indoor and alfresco seating. We almost didn’t consider eating here as they make zero mention of having a gluten-free menu. Fortunately, one of the waiters said hi to us, and we asked him just in case. And good thing we did! He immediately pulled out a separate gluten-free menu.

The gluten-free menu offers three main courses: empanadas, individual-size pizzas, and lasagna. For dessert, you can order a gluten-free brownie. And for a starter, Almacén de Pizzas gives everyone free bread and marinara sauce. They will give this to you immediately, but if you say you are gluten-free, they will bring you gluten-free cheese bread instead. We didn’t expect it the first time we went, and it was a lovely surprise.
All three main course options are fantastic. However, we’d recommend getting the ham and cheese empanadas over the chicken empanadas. The chicken empanadas are just rotisserie chicken stuffed in an empanada shell, without cheese or any seasoning. The ham and cheese ones are pretty good. The same goes for the pizza: get the ham and cheese, as the other options are plain. On the other hand, there isn’t a bad choice for the lasagna as long as you love marinara sauce.

I don’t usually comment on drinks, but I need to give a shoutout to their peach juice. I don’t know how many places in the world we’ve been to that serve peach juice. But it is somewhat common in Asunción, and the peach juice at Almacén de Pizzas is fantastic. If you are into lemonade, they also have a great ginger-basil lemonade too!
Expect to pay around US$10 per main course, plus extra for drinks. For two of us, usually we spend around US$25 for dinner at Almacén de Pizzas.
Burger King
Not many people associate hamburger places with being gluten-free. However, almost any burger place can be gluten-free if you skip the bun. Often, skipping the bun means you get a piece of meat served in a container that you eat with a fork or knife. Some places may also wrap the burger in lettuce, which is more common in the U.S. However, Carl’s Jr. in Quito knew what lettuce-wrapped meant; so did Carl’s Jr. in Mexico City.
However, Burger King in Shopping del Sol offers more than bun-less hamburgers; they also have a menú para celíacos. The bun-less Whopper is essentially the menu, but it also features other gluten-free goodies such as french fries and ketchup. It does not include the bacon, which two separate cashiers told us contained gluten. Not only did I appreciate BK trying with the gluten-free menu, but they also trained the cashiers on what is gluten-free. Nice job!

TGI Fridays
I may have only been to TGI Fridays a handful of times in the U.S., as they aren’t that common. Thus, it was quite weird to live next to one in Quito, Ecuador, of all places. But we never went because the menu was super expensive, and there was plenty else to eat. So I was further surprised that not only is there a TGI Fridays in Asunción, but its menu is extremely affordable.
The trick with TGI Fridays in Asunción —which is located in the Paseo La Galería—is to go Monday through Friday between 12pm and 3pm. That is when they have an incredibly affordable lunch menu (almost everything there is US$5-7). You pick a main course, a starter (a broth-based soup or fried mandioca), and a drink for one price. It is an exceptional deal.

Not everything is safe, as there are sandwiches and milanesas (breaded chicken or beef). The two dishes we have tried are the Jack Daniel’s Grilled Chicken Breast and the Grilled Tilapia. The Jack Daniel’s chicken is served with a side of grilled vegetables and mashed potatoes. The Grilled Tilapia comes with a tomato-based sauce and flavored rice. I thought both plates were scrumptious, while Kevin gravitated towards the Jack Daniel’s chicken. Note that The Gluten-Free Brothers gave Jack Daniel’s Barbecue Sauce a 7/10 gluten-free score.

Because it is a lunch menu, the portions are smaller than usual. And because we love to eat, the portions are too small for us. Thus, we order three plates and then split the third between us. Even so, three Jack Daniel’s chicken plates, with the mandioca starter and drinks, come to around US$17. Excellent deal!
Delicias Japonesas
Delicias Japonesas is a Japanese restaurants in Shopping del Sol. We generally avoid Asian restaurants (except for Thai restaurants) because soy sauce contains wheat. However, a Japanese person we met in Asunción told us that this place has an unwritten gluten-free menu. He was right!

Nothing on the menu or the signage says they have gluten-free options, so we had skipped eating here previously. But after the tip we received, we asked the cashier if they had gluten-free options. Right away, he took out the regular menu and started pointing out options that could be made gluten-free. (Note to management: Consider advertising this feature!) The gluten-free menu is mostly regular items, but without soy sauce. They will substitute rice noodles for ramen if it is a noodle dish.
We tried a beef dish and a salmon dish the first time we ate here. Both dishes came with white rice, vegetable stir fry, and miso soup. Unfortunately, the miso soup is not safe, but we didn’t find this out until the second time we ate here. Since there is no soy or teriyaki sauce, both meat dishes are rather plain. The salmon would have done well with some lemon, but they didn’t have any. The beef was not bad, as it was quite juicy on its own.

The second time we visited, we went for noodle dishes based on the advice of the first cashier. However, the second cashier brought out the manager, who told us that while they could use rice noodles, the broth was not gluten-free. She can’t make it gluten-free as it is pre-made. If we wanted noodles, she recommended the Yaki don instead. It wasn’t bad at all and relatively flavorful for not having soy or teriyaki sauce. But Kevin wasn’t so happy with it because it had a lot of rice and rice noodles compared to how much meat it had. I wasn’t so upset, but I agreed with him; it is mostly rice and rice noodles with a few sprinkles of beef on top.

Ja-virá and Ese Lugar Parrilla
Ja-virá and Ese Lugar Parrilla are mall staples that serve various cooked foods in steamer trays. Kevin isn’t a fan of steamer tray places, but he has grown to like both places out of necessity. Ja-virá has a slight Brazilian theme, whereas Ese Lugar is pure asado culture. Both places serve practically the same food: grilled meat – sausage, beef, or chicken – along with various side dishes.
Ja-virá offers a standard plate with one meat option and two sides, which can be any vegetable, rice, or potato dish. Ja-virá also has a special of the day Monday through Friday, but we haven’t tried it. The price difference isn’t much, and as most of the options have wheat, we don’t want to risk it. When we asked one of the workers about gluten-free options, she pointed out that most of the stews and cream-based sauces have wheat in them. Thus, the safest option at Ja-virá is the grilled chicken with rice or mashed potatoes, plus any of the salad choices. Each plate is around Gs. 30,000, or around US$4.

At Ese Lugar, you fill up your plate from their buffet assortment, and then you pay based on the weight of your plate. Almost every time we eat at Ese Lugar, the total comes to around US$25 for two people. I’d say the quality and quantity of food is greater at Ese Lugar than at Ja-virá. Ese Lugar also has more vegetable and fruit options, plus you can get as many sides as you want since you pay solely based on weight.
- Steves, Rick (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 448 Pages - 09/17/2019 (Publication Date) - Rick Steves (Publisher)
Last update on 2025-02-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Final Thoughts on Eating Gluten-Free in Asunción
Asunción is not a paradise if you are gluten-free. Nor is it really even easy, unlike the corn-based cuisine of other parts of Latin America. However, it is possible to eat gluten-free if you pick the right places and can communicate in Spanish. Of course, if you go to any restaurant and order grilled meat with rice and beans, you should be okay.
Let me know in the comments other suggestions you have for eating gluten-free in Asunción!
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Your blogs are always so detailed and informative, and I love that you show pictures of the actual food…….real pictures……real food…….no filters and such. This gives the real facts about the food! The restaurants and cafes there are so clean and so cute, and are they popular with the locals and residents, or are they mostly frequented by tourists? I’m assuming that the residents would love cooking their own dishes at home, instead of going out? Every time you guys show pictures of steak, it looks soooo good!!!