The Encounter Cafe

Several gluten free options here for coffee, smoothies, muffins, salads, and they have gf bread! The man taking my order asked the kitchen about a salad when I asked if it could be made gluten free. The muffin was amazing!! The muffin was said gluten free when the server brought it to my table, which made me feel very comfortable. Such a great option in Iowa City!

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Safety Feature Ratings

• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

Other Characteristics

• Good for breakfast/brunch
• Good for dairy-free
• Good for lunch
• Good for takeout
• Good selection of healthy options
• Good vegan options
• Good vegetarian options

Pretty good food. Marked GF allergy on receipt. Had a skillet with no butter or toast. Next few times we ordered eggs and bacon. Asked them to Change utensils. Felt comfortable. We have been a few times and had no issues. Staff is very helpful.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Safety Feature Ratings

• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions
• Staff will clean kitchen space or change gloves if asked

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Some

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Good

Other Characteristics

• Good for breakfast/brunch
• Good for dairy-free
• Good for keto
• Good for kids
• Good for lunch
• Good for takeout
• Good selection of healthy options
• Good vegan options
• Good with other allergies
• Offers online ordering

This is a gluten friendly place. I see others have reviewed and said there are a lot of options for celiac so here are details of what we learned. French toast can be made with Gf bread is dipped in same batter as regular bread so just be aware it’s not ok for celiac. They have a couple of Gf muffin options as available/if not sold out. They do not have gf pancakes (previous reviews who indicated they do were from 2 years ago so maybe that’s just a change they made more recently). They do have really good Gf bread so any breakfast or lunch sandwich can be made Gf. They change gloves and keep Gf items separate as much as possible. They have good simple fruit smoothies. Coffee is great, very kind and friendly atmosphere.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Is there a gluten-free menu?

— No gluten-free information on the menu

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Not Much

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent

Other Characteristics

• Good for breakfast/brunch
• Good for dairy-free
• Good for lunch
• Good selection of healthy options

Delicious and fresh gf food. Caring friendly staff. We will look forward to going back.

Celiac friendly?

Yes

Wonderful food, atmosphere and friendly and informative staff!

D & J Super nice folks running this, and excellent GF!

Celiac friendly?

Yes

They made me gluten free French toast! It was delicious and I was not sick afterwards!

All sandwiches can be made gf and they have gf muffins. My latte came with a heart. This place also opens at 7am. Great place to start your day.

Yummy muffins, breakfast choices and sandwiches with gluten free bread